public art | There is only 1 Meps

"Riding With Freddie" painting — “Riding With Freddie” by Meps Schulte. 60×60 inches, acrylic.

Freddie Webb was a Dunedin icon, locally famous for her friendliness, humor, and comical headgear. She cruised the streets in a bright yellow golf cart adorned with teddy bears, inviting complete strangers to ride with her and joking with everyone she passed. As part of the “Love Downtown Dunedin” campaign, the Downtown Dunedin Merchants’ Association commissioned artist Margaret “Meps” Schulte to create a five-by-five-foot painting to commemorate Freddie’s 92-year life in Dunedin.

“Freddie was never afraid to talk to strangers, and she could get away with anything!” says Schulte. “She was a friendship ambassador to Dunedin visitors, and with all her kidding around and teasing, she kept folks in town from getting too serious.”

The centerpiece of the painting is a smiling image of Freddie offering candy to children from her golf cart. It’s surrounded by scenes from her life, including the home where she was born, the tree her sister planted in the 1930’s, and the home where she lived out her 92 years. The painting includes teddy bears, rubber duckies, Freddie sailing on St. Joseph Sound, and her signature hat, which was bright orange and fuzzy. There’s also a scene showing Freddie inviting a family to ride, something she did often.

In the spirit of Freddie, Schulte even delivered the painting from her studio in downtown Dunedin on the back of a golf cart. “It was too big to fit into a car, and it made people smile to see Freddie riding across town in a golf cart,” she said. “She will never be forgotten.”

The painting is available for viewing at Lafayette & Rushford, in downtown Dunedin at the corner of Broadway and Main Street. There will be an official unveiling on Saturday, November 7 at 4 pm at the Mural & Canvas Art Walk & Block Party. The event will be held outdoors, with social distancing and safety protocols, at 730 Broadway. Tickets are available from the DDMA website, lovedowntowndunedin.com.

Love Downtown Dunedin is a new DDMA marketing campaign, targeted specifically towards the revitalization of the downtown Dunedin area. It includes murals and local art projects, events, and merchandise that celebrates the comradery of the community.

Painted park bench on the Pinellas Trail

Margaret “Meps” Schulte was selected by the City of Dunedin to paint a colorful park bench, entitled “Dunedin Rocks,” for the Pinellas Trail, an urban greenway used by 1.5 million cyclists, walkers, and runners a year. Placed just north of the intersection with State Route 580, the trompe l’oeil design celebrates the practice of kindness rocks, painting artwork and messages on stones and placing them in public places for anyone to take.

“People who would never call themselves artists are not afraid to pick up a brush and paint a rock,” said Schulte, who lives in Dunedin, a few blocks from the newly-placed bench. “The next thing you know, they gain confidence and start making original art. The practice of sharing these rocks in public places encourages Gifting and Radical Self-Expression, which are two of the Ten Principles of Burning Man.”

The bench is placed between two of Schulte’s favorite restaurants, Eli’s Bar B Que and The Scone Age Bakery. The hands painted on the bench reflect the black and white ownership of the two businesses. The artist said, ” I envision people getting takeout from both restaurants and enjoying it on the bench placed between them. It’s a friendly, shaded spot where you can smile and say hello to people on foot, bicycle, or skateboard.”