A powerful new pavement mural now graces the intersection of 4th Avenue and Hawkins Avenue in Rankin, Pennsylvania. It is a vibrant reflection of the community’s identity and energy. Led by local artist and activist Monica Daniels (aka Studio Odyssey), the mural is the product of months of collaboration with Rivers of Steel, residents, fellow artists and partners dedicated to community revitalization through creative placemaking. The new pavement mural will be officially unveiled to the public during Rankin Community Day with a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on Saturday, August 16, 2025.
As the founder of Studio Odyssey, LLC, Daniels has long been a creative force in Rankin. Her work goes beyond murals—she builds relationships, engages residents, and turns everyday public spaces into platforms for shared expression. The new mural is an extension of her practice and activates a previous project she led to transform the bus shelter located at the same 4th and Hawkins intersection where the new pavement mural now resides.
Daniels collaborated with Rivers of Steel Creative Leadership Program and a council of community members to co-create an abstract design that reflects the energy and interconnectedness of Rankin residents, manifesting a shared goal of revitalizing the borough with creativity, pride, and purpose. The mural’s design centers on the Flower of Life mandala for human connectivity, the flow of life and the universal connection between humanity as fluid and ever changing. Part of the growing #RankinRising movement underway in the town, the new mural is the first large scale activation completed as part of a three-year commitment to the borough through the Creative Leadership Program.
To complete the project, participants in Rankin spent eight months working with Daniels and Rivers of Steel staff Ashley Kyber and Jon Engel before landing on the pavement mural concept. This council of community participants worked collectively to develop ideas, review designs, build skills, and organize other creative interventions—all with the goal of amplifying local voices in the project.
That community involvement is what sticks with Jon Engel most from the experience. He notes that “while we were painting, citizens of Rankin or people driving by would stop us to tell us how excited they were, how they loved the piece, how their days went, whatever was on their minds. Some people joined us to paint; some people brought us food or water. When you’re out in the world doing beautiful things, people want to be together, they want to be part of it with each other.”
The new pavement mural is only the first of many projects envisioned by the community council for the borough of Rankin over the coming years. Mayor Joelisa MacDonald helped put paint to pavement herself, along with numerous residents, and she believes excitement is palpable, seeing the project as “a model for what’s possible when artists and residents come together to shape their environment.” MacDonald adds that she enjoys how the project “blends artistic excellence with grassroots collaboration and centers the voices of those who live, work, and create in Rankin,” and shares the community’s excitement for what’s to come over the three-year initiative.
The mural itself was installed during the week of June 16 by a team of local artists and residents, trained and supported by members of the Rivers of Steel Arts team. Tom Higgs, a teacher at Pittsburgh CAPA Magnet School for the Visual and Performing Arts, provided technical training in mural layout and epoxy application—offering participants a rare opportunity to learn hands-on from professionals in the field. Among the artists and community members who contributed their time and talent were Oscar Daniels, Rankin Borough Council President Glenn Ford, local poet and art therapist “Sweater Bob,” Rivers of Steel graffiti artists Scott Brozovich and Juliandra Jones, and many more neighbors and volunteers who helped bring the mural to life.
This mural is more than public art—it’s a symbol of unity, resilience, and the kind of future the community is actively building together.
About the Creative Leadership Program
The Rivers of Steel Creative Leadership Program is part of a regional initiative called Partners for Creative Economy, which has received support from the Appalachian Regional Commission, the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts’ Creative Communities Initiative, the National Endowment for the Arts “Our Town” program and the National Park Foundation. Partners for Creative Economy is a long-term vision for the future of the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area, stretching across eight counties in southwestern Pennsylvania. The vision unites Rivers of Steel’s cross-sectoral approach to placemaking with an integrated strategy that incentivizes partnership. Its goal is to build up local leaders and invest in the future success of the region’s cultural and heritage assets through a range of promotional and professional development strategies, creative interventions, workforce development and technical assistance. Through this work, Rivers of Steel invests in the capacity of partner municipalities to help accomplish local goals for the community and yield the type of collective economic and community growth the region requires.
