Artist caught in act of painting Hardy traffic box

I’ve had a knack this summer for spotting artists commissioned to paint traffic boxes in Wellesley: First there was Ellen Kim (and her mom) painting the box in front of the Rec Center on Washington St. This week, it was Meg Shea working on a bookshelf-themed painting in front of Hardy Elementary School on Weston Road. Books, she figured, was an appropriate theme for this box given its location.

Shea, a rising junior at Holy Cross, was prompted to apply for a coveted traffic box painting gig after painting one of the bikes during the Wellesley in Bloom promotion earlier this year.

A double major in architecture and accounting, Shea says she started the painting in mid-June and hopes to finish soon.

She still has finishing touches, such as plants and other items, to work into the painting. This is the biggest project size-wise that she has worked on. Challenges have included the weather, including both rain and extreme heat.

The traffic box painting program, in place since 2020 and coordinated by the town’s Public Art Committee and Police Department, has resulted in public art displays across town from Wellesley College to Linden Square to Wellesley Lower Falls.