June 20, 2012 | Chickens in the Road

Archive for June 20th, 2012

Jun
20

Come see my etchings! (Ha.) Let me show you the art on the studio walls!

Below is a full gallery of photos showing all the murals painted on the studio walls in the past several days by artist Kelly Walker and her assistant Linda. I took some pull-back shots to give you the big picture then a number of photos to let you see the details of the many vignettes within the murals. There is so much to see, I still look and find new things. I could sit and stare at the walls for hours. I’ll say a little bit about the art here, then I’m going to let the art speak for itself.

Before Kelly came, she asked me–a couple of times–what I wanted. I refused to give her very much direction. Kelly is an amazing artist. I didn’t want to interfere with her magic–the best art is created with freedom. I knew if I left her to her own devices, she would come up with a far better plan than I could ever imagine. I asked for “The Studio at Sassafras Farm” to be lettered over the glass doors, pointed to which walls were available for art–and left it at that. And oh, did she make magic!

Kelly’s idea for the walls was to extend the glass doors that wrap around the main part of the studio by painting mural glass doors on the walls to either side of them–bringing the scenes hidden beyond the walls into the studio. To the right of the last set of glass doors is the barnyard, so she extended that view to include the barnyard.

To the left of the last set of glass doors, there is the garden–a huge hydrangea bush–and above that, fruit trees and the upper pasture, so she brought those scenes to life there.

Within those larger scenes are numerous smaller scenes of the animals and objects on the farm, such as the bird house. When she painted the fruit trees I’d planted, I asked her to paint them larger, with fruit on them! (In my dreams.) All of the animals in the murals are my animals, and as many of them were included as possible. I love Patriot’s bottom sticking out of the outdoor access stall. I love my blue goose in the yard. I love the Crooked Little Hen–who appears in more than one spot, which is JUST SO LIKE HER. (She’s such a busybody, she’s everywhere.) I love Casper and his feline sidekick Spice. I love my cat Maude over the TV. I love Mr. Pibb gazing up so pleadingly, as if asking for a cookie. I love the chicken over the towel dispenser in the bathroom. (Yes, they even went into the bathroom.) I love my Glory Bee over the door. But then, I could go on and on, because I love it all and can’t choose a favorite.

Kelly’s process begins with taking photographs of the animals. She prints them out and tapes them to the wall, using them for inspiration in recreating specific animals in the paintings. She outlines them on the wall then sets to work. I can’t say much more about her process than that. (I’m no artist!)

Note how the art goes right over outlets, light switches, a breaker box, wall trim, even cords (for semi-permanent objects, such as the window air conditioner), making them disappear into the art.

Thank you so much to Kelly and Linda for breathing vibrant life into the studio walls, transforming the studio into a light, bright, happy, and creative space–a setting just perfect for the creative workshops that will take place there.