Cherokee County Visual Artists (CAVA) Vice President Fred Knowles takes a look at his work after the first of a series of The Gaffney Ledger newspaper boxes to be painted by local artists was placed outside of the Rite Aid pharmacy store on Floyd Baker Boulevard. The vast array of colors on a number of The Gaffney Ledger newspaper boxes is not a product of vandalism.

Rather, a series of The Gaffney Ledger newspaper boxes around the county will be given a new look with help from those at the Cherokee County Alliance of Visual Artists (CAVA). The first of these newspaper boxes was revealed Wednesday at the Rite Aid pharmacy store on Floyd Baker Boulevard.

“The boxes we currently have are all the same blue color, and in some instances beginning to fade,” said Cody Sossamon, publisher of The Gaffney Ledger. “By doing this, we felt it was a good way to brighten up the boxes and give them a little bit of flair, as well as add some attractiveness to the locations in which they are displayed.”

The idea to let artists use the newspaper’s boxes as the canvases for their creations was borne while reading a trade magazine a few years ago.

“According to the magazine, a place in California let graffiti artists paint boxes, hoping it would ease problems with graffiti in the area,” Sossamon said. “Reading about its success made me want to try it.”

Not knowing of any graffiti artists locally, the publisher looked to CAVA for help. “(CAVA) was the first one to cross my mind when I read about it, and I thought they would be interested; fortunately they were,” Sossamon said.

Each box is expected to have a different theme, expressing the creativity of each member of CAVA. Approximately 50 Ledger boxes are scattered around Cherokee County, the publisher said.

The first box, painted by CAVA Vice President Fred Knowles, gives county residents a rare look — and maybe a laugh — at the local newspaper publisher.

“We were wanting to give people a look at the many faces of Cody,” Knowles said. “He was the one who wanted to get us involved in this, and this is a good way to get people to not only see The Gaffney Ledger, but also know CAVA is here as well.”

A local nonprofit organization, CAVA was organized to provide the opportunity to develop relationships between Cherokee County artists and other established organizations involved in the arts. Currently based at the Gaffney Visitors Center on Limestone Street, the group provides classes, training and demonstrations in addition to an exhibit consisting of a variety of paintings, sculptures and other items.