EIGHT NEWS AT SIX ONE MASSIVE PAINTING AT CENTRAL COLLEGE IN PELLA IS IT’S ARTIST’S WAY TO GRIEVE THE LOSS OF HER FRIEND AND BOSS. KCCI TOLD YOU IN 2022 ABOUT MOOSE BARBECUE IN NEWTON CLOSING AFTER THE OWNER DIED. AND NOW KCCI’S BEAU BOWMAN SHOWS US HOW THE EMPLOYEES ARE COPING WITH THE DEATH AND REMEMBERING THE PLACE THEY LOVED EVERY PIECE MUST BE PERFECT, RIGHT? THERE WE GO. BUT THIS ISN’T WOODSHOP 101. OKAY, SO THIS ONE’S RIGHT HERE. THIS ARE IS ART. I WANTED PEOPLE TO APPROACH THE WORK AND WONDER WHAT WAS GOING ON. CENTRAL COLLEGE STUDENT SOPHIE KRUGER MODELED HER SENIOR SEMINAR PROJECT AFTER THIS PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN ON HER LAST DAY WORKING AT MOOSE BARBECUE IN NEWTON. IT WAS LIKE A BIG OLD FAMILY ALL AROUND. ALL RIGHT, THERE YOU GO, SIR. THE RESTAURANT, A POPULAR PLACE IN JASPER COUNTY, CLOSED IN NOVEMBER OF 2022 AFTER ITS OWNER, JEREMY BIONDI, DIED OF LIVER AND KIDNEY DISEASES, LOSING HER FRIEND AND HER BELOVED JOB WAS HEARTBREAKING. IT WAS KIND OF THIS MORNING THE LOSS OF JEREMY, BUT ALSO MOURNING THE LOSS OF MY AWESOME JOB WHERE I GOT TO DO EVERYTHING THAT I LOVED. NOW, WITH THE PAINTING’S TIME IN THE GALLERY OFFICIALLY OVER, IT’S OFF TO THE SHOP. MY FIRST THOUGHT WAS THAT I WANTED TO DESTROY IT. THE FINAL STEP IN THE PROCESS OF GRIEF. KRUGER’S MURAL, CUT INTO PIECES, LATER PAINTED OVER WITH WHITE THINGS, COVER IT UP IN SOME WAYS, BUT YOU NEVER REALLY FORGET IT. A BORN AGAIN BLANK CANVAS WITH A BACK STORY. THE ARTIST WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER. IT’S A WAY THAT YOU CAN TAKE SOME RISKS WITHOUT FEELING LIKE YOU’RE LOSING SOMETHING THAT THAT YOU’VE REALLY TREASURED. THE LOSS OF HER FRIEND AND HER JOB WAS DIFFICULT FOR KRUGER TO GET THROUGH, BUT SHE’S LEARNED A LOT AT CENTRAL COLLEGE AND PERFECTED THE ART. I’M OF MOVING ON. I DON’T MISS THIS PIECE BECAUSE I KNOW THAT THAT’S WHERE THIS PIECE WAS SUPPOSED TO GO. KRUGER ALREADY HAS A JOB LINED UP AFTER SHE GRADUATES HERE IN A FEW WEEKS. IN FACT, SHE’S ALREADY STARTED AS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AT THE CENTER FOR ARTS AND ARTISTS IN NEWTON.