Shortly after, Velva Veterans Group member Jodie Frankl reached out to Holmen.

“We met up together and we measured the wall,” Holmen said. “And she told me this was the idea that she had.”

The idea to paint a rendition of Joe Rosenthal’s Pulitzer Prize winning photo, “Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima,” was backed by several members of the VVG.

The photo was taken in 1945, nearly 80 years ago, and is considered by many Americans to be one of the most iconic photos of World War II.

Artist Lacey Holmen sketches out the shapes of the mural she’s painting inside Velva’s American Legion. Holmen used a projector to map the shapes onto the wall.

“Anyone who was alive when this picture was taken, they know where they were the first time they saw this picture, just like we remember where we were with 9/11 or the moon landings,” said Brian Andersen, commander of American Legion Post 39 in Velva and also a VVG member. “It’s just one of those events that’s ingrained.”

For Holmen, the image of these military members raising the flag, three of whom died in battle later on, also came to her mind when the mural was proposed to her.

“I feel like it represents so much of us as Americans and it’s such a strong symbol of us,” Holmen said.

Adapting this significant image of photojournalism and U.S. history onto a massive wall canvas wasn’t without its challenges, however.

“This was the biggest mural I’ve ever done,” Holmen said. “I struggled emotionally with this because I knew this was going to be in the community for years to come.”

Artist Lacey Holmen dedicated the recent mural she painted for the Velva Veterans Group inside Velva’s American Legion to her uncle Ken Heard, a veteran currently living in Alabama.

Holmen had previously assisted Velva art teacher Amanada Schlieman in completing the mural on the side of Velva’s car wash on Main Street. The Legion’s mural was Holmen’s first solo venture, however.

Holmen grappled with her perfectionism while working on the project, something she believes most artists can relate to. “I never like what I make, I’m never happy. I still look at it like, ‘Oh, I should fix this and this,'” she said.

Because of her perfectionism and desire to please clients, Holmen sent frequent updates to Frankl to make sure she was delivering work on par with the VVG’s vision. As both an artist and owner of a photography business, Holmen believes in keeping the door of communication open as much as possible between client and artist.

“Ultimately, she could have done whatever she wanted on that wall and it would have been perfect,” Frankl said. “But I appreciated the updates. It was fun to see it in motion.”

Process

Audin Rhodes/MDN This newly finished mural in Velva’s American Legion was painted by Lacey Holmen. The mural is based on Joe Rosenthal’s famous 1945 photo “Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima.”

The first stage of working on the mural actually began on Holmen’s computer. “I uploaded the photo on my computer and I sharpened it a little because if I didn’t, there’d be so much shading. That’s why there’s more contrast than there is in the original,” she said.

“Then I used my friend Amanda’s projector and projected it up there and I just traced it out,” Holmen said.

Holmen and Schlieman used Schlieman’s projector on the car wash mural as well. The projector helped Holmen lay out the sketch of the mural and general shapes to be painted.

Additionally, due to the wall’s size, Holmen also had to add extra shapes and details in order to extend the image beyond what was shown in the photograph. Using her imagination and discernment, she made these new features blend in with the original details.

Frankl had suggested the mural curve into the wall perpendicular to it and flow down the short case of stairs to create an illusion of expansiveness.

Submitted Photo Mural artist Lacey Holmen’s husband, John, looks at Joe Rosenthal’s 1945 photo, “Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima,” as it’s projected on the wall for Holmen to reference while painting. Holmen’s husband is a veteran and part of the Velva Veterans Group.

“When you walk in, it’s like your eyes just literally go around the room,” Holmen said.

Holmen had made suggestions to Frankl as well, one of which being the pop of patriotic color in the mural.

“I loved the idea of her keeping the black and white theme throughout the whole building. The only thing I suggested was doing the flag in color,” Holmen said. “This is how I look at it. The black and white represents the past and the flag represents the future, but all of us together as one.”

The majority of the mural was painted using wall paints except for the flag’s reds and blues done with acrylics.

Frankl echoed Holmen’s sentiments of past, present and future when she spoke of the Legion’s renovations overall.

“We want to keep the heritage of the building and the history there, but also give it that refresh and move forward. I think this mural will be another piece that people can talk about and remember for the decades to come,” Frankl said.

“From the VVG side, I think the biggest part of our contribution to the Legion is leaving a legacy for the future of the building, but also for the history that our service as veterans brings to the table, that the Legion itself brings to the community and that now our veterans group can bring to the Legion and the community as a whole,” Frankl said.

Community

For Holmen, this sense of community has been greatly impactful to both herself and her husband, John, an Army veteran who served from 2000-2004.

Holmen and her family live in Voltaire but Holmen has worked at Velva Public School as a paraprofessional for nearly 12 years, and has served Velva and the surrounding communities as an area photographer and artist as well.

“I’ve done a lot in this community. My kids go to school here too and this is one thing that means a lot to me because now I feel I’m part of the community,” Holmen said. “I’ve never felt like I belonged anywhere so this means a lot. It really does.”

Holmen’s feelings of community extend to the VVG as well. “I’m not a vet, I don’t know what any vets have gone through but I feel a little bit a part of this group too,” Holmen said. “My husband is part of this group and it has changed him for the good 100%.”

Holmen’s uncle, Ken Heard, is a retired Air Force veteran currently living in Alabama. Holmen would talk to him periodically while working on the mural to help keep herself inspired and focused. She dedicated the mural to Heard in her artist signature on the mural.

Holmen was also motivated to keep working by her children, Chelsee, 12, and Molly, 7.

“I was either coming here after school with both my kids or I was going home, doing their thing, feeding them, and then coming back here and working,” Holmen said. She also painted on the weekends while Chelsee was doing golf for school.

Initially, the agreement between Holmen and the VVG was for Holmen to donate her time and skills to the project and for the VVG to provide the necessary paints and materials. Holmen and her husband, however, decided to pay for the paints as well once the project was completed on Sept. 28. “The whole thing is a donation,” Holmen said.

Holmen started the mural on Sept. 3 and completed it on Sept. 28. She tallied up 17 days of work on the mural with a total of 37 hours spent painting.

“I wish my grandma was here. My grandma was my biggest art supporter,” she said, adding, “I would like to say thank you to the Velva Veterans Group. This has meant the world to me.”