That new mural on Alki Point is on private property, but publicly visible, and today we got to meet the artist. We found out about Elise Waelder‘s project from her uncle, Danny McMillin (who has shared some wonderful bird photos with WSB over the years). She’s painting it on the west-facing side of his garage in memory of her mom, Danny’s sister Mitzi McMillin, who had been planning to move from San Diego to Seattle before cancer took her life.
While you can see most of the mural if you’re biking, walking, skating, driving eastbound on Alki Avenue in the 3100 block, you won’t see the part above, which wraps around the garage’s southwest corner into a small private courtyard. Elise is an accomplished artist but this is the biggest mural she’s done, and she’s been visiting from California the past week-plus to paint it:
She’s on deadline to finish the mural – Saturday she heads back to San Diego, and not long after that, she’s moving cross-country to Long Island to pursue an art career full-time. You can see more of her work on Instagram.
P.S. Her mom had deep West Seattle roots, as does Danny, who tells us Mitzi was a 1974 West Seattle High School graduate “who almost singlehandedly led the WSHS girls’ Track and Field team to a state championship” that year, and later won a national pentathlon championship while studying at the University of Southern California.
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