BOISE, Idaho — Boise-based artist Hawk Sahlein – alongside his team at Sector Seventeen – memorialized Boise High School student Jadin Zurawski with a mural on the same block a driver hit and killed the teen.
Zurawski was riding his skateboard to school on Aug. 3 with friends for orientation, according to a GoFundMe benefiting his family. Sahlein saw a post on social media asking a local artist to paint a mural in his memory; Sahlein did not know Zurawski personally but worked closely with his family to design the mural.
"We've done memorials for him and others over the years, so it's obviously sad and tragic. But it's one way to connect with the community and maybe do some healing at the same time," Sahlein said. "There's just a lot of things that connected us, and we're parallels. So, seems right."
Sahlein also went to Boise High School and rides a skateboard. Additionally, Zurawski's nickname was "Bird," just a stone's throw away from the artist's moniker.
"Most people know me as 'Hawk,'" Sahlein said. "He was a bright, complex person that was, you know – could have been any of us – and so loved by the people that was around him."
The mural depicts multiple items to represent Zurawski, including his dog, flowers, his music interests, and – of course – a bird. A makeshift memorial opposite side of the intersection still holds notes, letters, items and messages inked on the traffic light to remember Zurawski. It was created directly after he died.
"[The mural] is not necessarily in place of, but in tandem with that. So, you know, that's a spot where people have made their own marks, messages, left items. So, this is just adding on to that," Sahlein said.
The Shredder, a music venue in Boise, is hosting a show in Zurawski's memory on Dec. 17, which would have been his 17th birthday. The event will benefit Zurawski's family.
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