Category: Murals

Day One on the Mural

In life, I am pretty good at about 2 things (drawing and teaching drawing), pretty average at most things, and really bad at 2 things for sure: team sports and morning. Today, I got up at 5, left at 6, and was at the mural site at 6:30. 6:30 is a reasonable time; it is the preceding hour and 1/2 that really bite. When I got to the site I was greeted by this little guy:

Back in the early ’80s, my friend Stacy got a new Taurus, and we used to joke about all the push-button devices being like an electric wheelchair. (At the time I had a stick shift with crank windows and without a/c.) This electric lift is like the Taurus compared to the scaffolding I used last time!

I was also greeted by this list of names, a happy reminder of all the help I had on Thursday night. (but Michael forgot to sign!)

The wall looked like this with all the outlines:

You can see it didn’t fit all that well – there is extra space on either end. (Maybe projecting murals should get added to my list of team sports and morning.)

Okay, I am way too sleepy to continue this posting. Guess I’ll have to show you the morning’s work tomorrow. And no, I’m not going to take a nap because there is NO WAY I’m going to experience morning twice in one day!

Exeter murals Mineral King

Warming Up for The Mural

The paint and supplies had to be gathered to begin painting the new mural. As I was going through them, an overwhelming desire to begin came over me. Since it was afternoon and too hot at the mural site and besides, it was Sunday, and Exeter is 25 miles away, what was I supposed to do?? Paint another mural at home, that’s what!

This is the Eagle/Mosquito trailhead in Mineral King as it looks in August.

Mineral King mural

Projecting the Project!

Thursday, June 3 was the date of projecting the latest Exeter mural onto the wall. Wow, was that ever a project! (Isn’t that an odd word in its various meanings?) There was a nice group of people there to celebrate Bill Sario’s birthday and that of his grandson. Bill fixed wonderful sandwiches for everyone, and Betsy baked a fabulous cake. There were a few local dignitaries and sponsors of the first Mineral King mural present, along with the mural team, other friends and interested folks.

I had to have a brief lift-operating lesson, and then it was (wisely) decided that my personal practice time should happen later. Keith became the lift operator for the big job ahead, which was that of aligning and tracing 16 (yes, SIXTEEN) transparencies. There must be a better way to do this! Ed Kesterson suggested a method using a laptop that was way over my equipment and experience level. (If I get another opportunity to do a huge mural, I will call him for help!) There are so many variables using an overhead projector – it has to be centered vertically and horizontally and MUST be perfectly parallel to the wall. The math needs to be accurate so there isn’t either too much mural or too much wall. Since I knew there wasn’t much chance of the math being accurate, we began toward the center and worked outward. This allowed there to be minimal slop on either end instead of a spare 10 feet (last mural had about 20 extra feet to contend with!) Larry Lee (of Larry Lee Photography) was present with his years of wisdom and helped tremendously with the calculations. He directed the order of slide projection and told me the parts most crucial to accuracy and success. Then, the fun began! First we did the 8 top transparencies, measuring and marking critical points. This was mostly done from ladders, and there are so many photos that I will keep them small so you can enlarge them if you choose.

Paul of the Exeter Sun-Gazette placed the first mark. Mickey is right-handed and Michael is left-handed – a perfect team!Michael was awesome in his focus and bravery on a rickety antique ladder.Samantha, a brand new engineer, is one of my most cherished former drawing students. We bonded initially over our Cat Disorders.Nice group of folks here, included the soon to be born Otis/Emily.Betsy was a real trooper as always, and stuck with us until the end at 10:15 p.m.

Exeter murals Larry Lee Photography Mineral King

Exeter’s Mural Project

When we began the mural project in 1996, our hope was to create a reason for people to come to Exeter. We wanted to WOW folks with our high quality outdoor art gallery, and now that is the reality. It still amazes me to contemplate the level of dedication and determination and perseverance that this project represents. A few months ago I met an adventuresome young couple who move every 3 months as she works in temporary positions and he finds jobs in the area. They were delightful, and here is their blog posting about Exeter’s murals: http://tirello.wordpress.com/2010/05/27/exeter-california-gateway-to-the-sequoias-and-home-of-the-murals/ Makes me feel warm and fuzzy! Thanks, Chris and Teri, for sharing your mural experience!

Exeter murals

Designing a mural, part 4

This isn’t exactly about designing the mural, but perhaps you’d like to see where the next mural will be. It is the 100 block of North E, but it is in an alley/parking lot and I don’t have an exact address. So, a picture or 3 might help:

It is on the north facing wall of the same alley where my previous mural is!

Exeter murals

Designing a mural, part 3

The last time I did a large mural, I learned a boatload of information about the process, particularly about projecting it onto the wall. It was so exciting to be projecting, and it was overwhelming to have so much eager help, that last time I didn’t really think through. This time, I thought I had it all figured out. My plan was to mark the wall in the same number of increments as I have transparencies.

Yesterday I visited the wall, which has been both plastered (very smoothly – wow, excellent!) and primed. Since I planned for a 40′ length of wall, it seemed right to just mark it off in 10′ sections. Then, my more cautious self decided to measure the length just to be sure. Good thing – it is 45′! I have 4 transparencies, so I divided 45 by 4 and marked the wall in 11′-3″ segments. Then, I thought I’d better check the height, since I planned for 14′. At its highest, it is 15′-6″! This brings me to my next big lesson – MEASURE IT YOURSELF NEXT TIME BEFORE DESIGNING AND BIDDING! Today my plan is to test my overhead projector and to mess around with the math to see if my transparencies can be adjusted to fit the actual wall size.

Exeter murals

Designing a mural, part 2

After I recovered from the enormous overload of photographic input, I sorted the photos by lake. Then, I realized the only historical photo of a dam that I had readily available (thanks, Louise!) was of Franklin. That caused the decision to be easy. The mural team requested the addition of mules, so I had to chase down an old photo from which to paint. I know many resourceful people with lots of history in Mineral King, so finding a photo wasn’t too hard. (thanks, Cathy!)

Exeter murals Mineral King

Designing a mural

The most important information I needed before beginning the design was the wall dimensions. Those numbers showed me the proportions of the design, and allowed me to see how big the picture needed to be in order to have a human look the right size while standing in front of the mural. I decided 5′-6″ was the average height and found that spot on the scaled down version of the wall. Then I spread out all my photos. After I saw how many there were, I might have had to go into the house for a knitting break and a bit of chocolate. (But I can quit any time I want.) There were many more than this, but you probably get the idea without having to see them all.

Planning a mural

The new mural has been in the planning phase for over a year. It was requested that a mural be painted to the correct scale so that a person can stand in front of it and appear to be at the actual scene. To do that, I had to have people with me each time I visited a lake with a dam. There are 4 lakes with dams out of Mineral King. I knew that Eagle Lake most likely would not make a good candidate, so I only visited the other 3. My friends and family know that I am always working – thinking, planning and designing – so they have become accustomed to participating in rather unorthodox ways upon request. Here is Phoebe at Crystal Lake:

It is a fabulously beautiful place, and it might have worked for a mural. The dam is on the lower of the 2 lakes, and we all (Michael, Phoebe and I) prefer upper Crystal.

Here is Michael on upper Monarch Lake:

This lake is sort of hard to get to since there isn’t an exact trail. It would be good to know how the mules carrying all those sacks of cement got there!

This is the other JB at Franklin Lake. We were there in late August, and by then, I knew this would probably be the best candidate for a mural that could meet the specifications. It has a trail leading directly to the dam and there was a great photo available of the building process in 1904.

Exeter murals Mineral King

NEW MURAL!

Finally, I can tell you about my upcoming big project! It is Exeter’s next mural and will be located directly across from my other mural. This one is about 1/3 of the length of the other. The subject is Franklin Lake and the Mount Whitney Power Company, which was the precursor to Southern California Edison and had an office in Exeter. (It is now the Exeter History Museum.) Our projected projection date (tee hee hee) is Thursday, June 3. Stay tuned for further details. . .

Mount Whitney Power Company dam under construction at Franklin Lake, Mineral King, California, 1904. Thousands of pounds of cement, sand, rock, wood forms and construction supplies were hauled by mules to early 1900s power company dam projects. (from The Mule Men by Louise Jackson)

Exeter murals Mineral King