By Allison Perrine
At a time when things seem to be so gray in this country, artists in the Two River area are bringing splashes of color to their towns.
Since the beginning of the pandemic in March, colorful window front designs and murals have popped up in municipalities including Highlands and the Lincroft section of Middletown – and there could be more coming, artists told The Two River Times.
“Musicians have certain notes and certain sounds that evoke moods…that’s what artists do with color,” said Michelle Sciria, a Highlands resident and artist. Her latest project sits along Waterwitch and Bay avenues. In the windows adjacent to Kranky’s Cycles passersby can now find vibrant fun paintings of sunshine, water, boats, flowers, a tree of life, birds, fish and more. Her goal was to paint a peaceful image that could be enjoyed by everyone of all ages.
Sciria said she approached the landlord of the building during the pandemic near its peak in April, when the neighborhood felt as if it needed some uplifting, she said. The first step was to paint a ribbon with the word “Hope” on it on the windows. But it didn’t look as bright and cheerful as she wanted. Then, with the additional approval from the landlord, Sciria picked out vibrant, happy colors and the mural came to life.
She wasn’t alone on this journey. Joined by two friends, Megan Tardio and
Krista Phair, both local art teachers, the three dipped their brushes in paint and each created designs that work together. Sciria de- scribed the colors as “happy,” “uplifting” and “thankful.”
“We all kind of collabo- rated and it was really nice because after spending a whole couple of months like teaching virtually, we were just burned out,” she said. “It’s amazing what art can do to transform and just help uplift a community.”
And the work doesn’t end there. According to Kim Gonzales, borough administrator, the town is hoping to have other vacant building owners allow Sciria and her artist group to paint murals on the windows of their buildings. Sciria also said they will be making prints of the mural, and some lucky individuals could win them. Using the #VibeTribe, Sciria invites individuals to take photos in front of the mural and post them online on Instagram and Facebook. An entry will be drawn this fall and the lucky winner will receive prints of the mural. Any donations raised will help the team make more murals going forward.
Overall, Sciria said the response from the community has been wonderful, with many car horn beeps and cheers as they painted, she said. Some people also stopped by to thank them personally, including an elderly woman who visited each morning to share her appreciation for the women and their work.
“I would paint the whole friggin’ town. I would paint the whole state if I could,” Sciria said.
Farther from the water, in Lincroft along Newman Springs Road, messages of peace have been painted on a wall of an unlikely place: a gas station. Owner Scott Brownfeld decided now would be a better time than ever to spread a message of positivity with passersby of the property he has owned for over 20 years.
The song “Imagine” by John Lennon was his inspiration. Not only is it his favorite song, but he felt it would be a great time to spread a message of coming together during a divided time in the country. The next step was to find an artist to do the work. After some searching, he found the Staten Island-based nonprofit Projectivity Group which has created public art pieces for businesses, schools and other organizations.
From there, local artist Jay Mack was assigned to design the 1,000-square-foot mural, which includes an image of John Lennon, a globe being held by hands of different genders and ethnicities, COEXIST imagery painted by Projectivity director Christian Penn, and a message of “come together in peace.” Funding for the project came from Brownfeld and local donors; a GoFundMe page has also been established to support the costs under “SpreadtheLoveLincroft.”
Overall, the response has been very positive and residents have expressed their appreciation for the art. People were honking their horns, stopping to take pictures and posting positive responses on social media. However, there were some complaints filed with the township.
According to Brownfeld, someone complained that he was trying to turn the neighborhood into an urban city with graffiti on the walls. He has since been asked by the township to take the mural down, as it is allegedly considered to be a sign under township code, but he hopes to first have a conversation with officials about it.
This article was originally published in the Sept. 10-16 issue of The Two River Times.
