NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio -- A green dinosaur now floats among clouds in North Olmsted's Water Tower Square, where family and friends gathered last week to dedicate a new mural honoring the memory of 3-year-old Julian Wood.
The mural, spanning the entire southside wall of Rooney Cleaning Company, is located only a few hundred feet from where a random act of violence claimed Wood's life in June, when authorities say he was fatally stabbed by a stranger outside Giant Eagle.
Arlin Graff, the Brazilian artist who created the mural, used to drive past the shopping center almost daily while taking his own 3-year-old son to daycare nearby.
"You see these things on the news and say, 'that's so sad,' but it's different when it hits your backyard," Graff told cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. "My family and I are in that parking lot all the time. When I heard what happened, I was in shock."
Since June, he has taken alternate routes to avoid the emotional weight of the area.
But one day, when his GPS redirected him past Water Tower Square, Graff noticed the blank wall and it sparked an idea.
Graff and his wife quickly got to work. They called the Wood family, who gave their blessing for the mural, and property owner Terry Rooney, who agreed to allow his building to be the canvas.
Frank Boulton from the North Olmsted Arts Commission helped coordinate logistics and secured donations from local businesses that wanted to be part of the project: a lift from United Rentals, paint from Sherwin-Williams and a commemorative plaque from Setta Trophy.
"I wasn't expecting anybody else to get involved," Graff said. "I just wanted to do what I could to help my community grieve. But in the end, a lot of people and small businesses came together, and it turned into a community project to help each other heal."
By the last week of October, all equipment had been assembled and it came time for the artist to start painting.
During the painting process, in what Graff described as a "touching coincidence," Wood's family visited him on what would have been Wood's fourth birthday.
"His mom said 'this is a perfect week for you to choose to do it,'" Graff said. "She gave me a big hug and told me 'today is his birthday.' I didn't even realize."
The mural took a week to complete - longer than usual for Graff due to struggling with its emotional impact.
It captures Wood through two of his favorite things - dinosaurs and green color. Rather than realism, Graff chose something softer like "a toy or something a child would imagine."
For Graff, this mural represents more than just memorializing; it's about how communities unite during tragedies.
I think it's very important especially in hard moments that we come together,. want thE famiLy tO feel embraced bY thE commUnity.. W