MARION — Brew Fish Bar and Eatery has a new fishy friend.

A fish-shaped mural, comprising wooden blocks painted by community members, was unveiled on Sept. 29 in the restaurant’s beer garden. The mural was crafted alongside the Marion Art Center, where Brew Fish Owner Erin Zell is on the board of directors.

“We were looking to add some life and art,” Zell said, to the beer garden.

Beyond the mural’s appeal as an art piece, the over $1,200 raised during two paint nights where community members decorated each wooden block went to the art center.

The mural, Zell said, is based on a similar piece in Korea, where “all the little blocks come together to form the fish.”

Zell applauded the community effort, and the “synergy” of the group that helped create the mural, saying it was a “really fun community art project.”

Zell said she was initially worried it would be hard to get people to attend the decorating events at the Marion Art Center and Brew Fish, both held in the middle of the day on Wednesdays.

“But they filled right up,” she said, adding that she was pleased to see “a lot of other people get excited about it as well.”

The blocks for the mural were cut by Zell Builders, Erin’s husband Todd’s shop. They cut, primed and painted the pieces for artists to decorate. Zell Builders also installed the mural in the beer garden.

The mural will remain outside until the end of the season. Come winter, it will be brought in for safekeeping, and possibly displayed inside the restaurant.

“To have people get excited about it and have it fall together was really exciting,” Zell said.