NOTE: The Vero Beach Mural Project is being Sponsored by the Vero Beach Art Club as a gift to the City. The artist members of the Vero Beach Art Club who are volunteering their time and talents are Dawn Mill (Project Manager), Christine Thomas (www.innerspacesandouterplaces.com), and Judy Burgarella (http://www.burgarellaart.com/). Examples of artists' work can also be found on www.verobeachartclub.org/. The Mural consists of six stretched canvas panels, 36' long by 8' high, each panel 8' x 6'. Created in and for the Community Center, in their "Florida Room," 2266 14th Avenue, Vero Beach, Florida USA, 772-978-4592. Visitors are welcome to watch the artists paint between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. on Mondays and Fridays.
_______________________________________________________________________
Wow. What a day. My day to sit the gallery (Artists Guild Gallery), and Rita covered for me while I scooted over to the Community Center to see how the installation was going. I fully expected to see one or two of the panels up, but to my surprise they were completely installed. My eyes teared up as I entered the Florida Room and the sight of all the panels up there altogether took my breath away. It looked incredible. Dawn and I just stood there staring at it in awe.
I guess the culmination of working on this big of a project for over a year has struck all three of us. Christine soon got back from getting her salad and we all got a bit giddy over it, hugging and laughing and getting all mushy. What a fantastic feeling, and we can hardly wait to show it to the public. So I laid the tablecloth down on the table (actually it was an old beach towel that's been knocking around in my car), popped the wine, poured it into the lovely 3 wine glasses I brought, and we gave a toast to a job well done.
I had been enjoying getting back my Mondays and Fridays and hadn't given a whole lot of thought to how great it would feel to see it in place, so it was certainly the high point of the day, and probably for the month. We talked about how we would make a legend, and probably visiting the mural to tweak a bit more now that it's installed and we don't have to wrench our backs moving them around the building. The City and the people of Vero Beach and Beyond will get years of enjoyment out of the mural, and hopefully the City will enjoy recognition for all the wonderful attributes and exciting things to do in and around Vero Beach, some of which is depicted in this mural.
|
Left to Right, Dawn K. Mill, Judy Burgarella, Christine Thomas in front of Panels #1 & #2 |
|
Panels as they look installed |
|
All panels digitally attached (variations in shads and colors due to separate photographs) |
On the opposite wall resides the mural painted in 2001, which depicts the history of Vero Beach. Our new mural depicts the habitats of today's Vero Beach.
|
Older mural, painted in 2001, of which Dawn was one of the artists |
Below are single photographs of each individual panel. Unfortunately, the first panel did not come out so hot, but I will be sure to get a better picture of it on my next visit.
|
Panel #1 by Judy Burgarella. Habitat: Downtown Vero Beach |
|
Panel #2 by Judy Burgarella. Habitats: /Pine flatwoods, Scrub, Sandhill, Hammocks, Cypress Swamp |
|
Panel #3 by Dawn K. Mill. Habitat: Cypress Swamp, Mangrove Swamp, Lagoon |
|
Panel #4 by Christine Thomas. Habitat: Lagoon |
|
Panel #5 by Dawn K. Mill. Habitat: Ocean Drive, Beach, Dunes |
|
Panel #6 by Christine Thomas. Habitat: Beach, Coastal Strand, Ocean Reef |
Well folks, that's it for today, actually it's already tomorrow--been posting for a while. The postings may be a bit sparce from now on, unless we paint or have ideas we're willing to post which incidentally are many! Our minds--we three--work overtime with ideas when we're together, so stay tuned. And also stay tuned for news of when the launch of this wonderful project is. In the meantime, it can be viewed whenever the room is not being used, so stop in and take a peek.
Ciou!
Judy Burgarella
Blogger for the Vero Beach Mural Project