A really BIG announcement about a really BIG public art commission!

Over the past few months I've been talking behind the scenes with a local private school about the possibility of creating an outdoor mural for their playground space. Jessie Martin, member of the SJRS Enrichment Committee, contacted me back in the beginning of April to inquire if I might be interested in coordinating a collaborative mural to fill the exterior walls of St. Joseph's Regional School in Newton, just up the street from my studio. To say the walls of the school are drab is an understatement. This mural project is part of a playground redevelopment initiative that will occur in phases, mural being Phase 1. Eventually they anticipate ripping up the macadam and replacing it with a brightly colored synthetic rubbery material, with hopscotch game grids, as well as potted plants.

View of the right side of the SJRS courtyard, playground area

View of the short wall on the left side of the larger wall of the SJRS courtyard

Of course, my answer first and foremost was yes. I'm generally one to see an opportunity and snag it; when it comes to my art and career that is. Plus, I've had a secret interest in painting a mural ever since I interned at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1999 and learned about the city's amazing Mural Arts Program. In 2004, I had the honor of designing and painting sets for a New York City modern dance company, ACFD, no longer in operation, which was a great stepping stone to working on a mural. So while I haven't worked at a scale of 40' x 15' (the rough dimensions of the walls at SJRS), I do feel equipped with my background of large scale painting, as well as my experience working with children. The only aspect I'm not been prepared for is climbing up on scaffolding, which I imagine, due to insurance, will be restricted to me, little Jennie. It's a little nerve wracking knowing that I have to ascend to reach heights of 15', when you're only 5' that's pretty high. But, I'm looking forward to experiencing a project which takes me higher and bigger than I'm used to working; I'm reminded of a recent PBS movie on Georgia O'Keeffe which depicted her painting a mural on scaffolding in NYC. I was amazed at that feat and know this commission will stretch me in more ways than just my muscles!

It's taken several months of planning, emailing, putting together a contract, meeting with selected students who spent two sessions brainstorming ideas and sketching with me, and as of today, it is final! I will be working with student and parent volunteers over the course of the summer, in the mornings, when weather permits, to paint a mural that will incorporate, as per Father Brian Sullivan's request, Noah's Ark, The Ascension and The Resurrection, and tie in the students' experiences at school, including, but not limited to, technology, the school mascot, its mission, and more.

Schemata for the SJRS mural, ©2011 Jennie Traill Schaeffer

My intent over the next few days is to design a final sketch of the overall mural that includes some of the students' actual sketches, as well as my own ideas. This will be presented to the school and upon approval, I can begin projecting and outlining the image on the exterior walls. The structure of the mural has been set using the visual armature of stained glass windows to break up the huge walls. This was suggested by Jessie as a way to simplify the space and incorporate references to their stained glass windows in the school. And then when I went to see the courtyard, I noticed the view of neighboring, St. Joseph's Church's bell tower peaking over the short wall. After researching a little bit about Italian architecture from the Middle Ages, I believe, though am not certain, that the design of the church stems from the Lombard Romanesque style and I wanted to tie that into the feel of the school's mural. The design will encompass the schemata of windows, and may in the future, break out of the windows in some areas.

A portion of one of the stained glass windows in the school's art room.

We're working on the possibility of recording the progress of the mural creation, maybe in video. So hopefully along the way, you'll be able to check in and see its development.

I'm looking forward to embarking on this creative endeavor and would like to extend a special thank you to Jessie Martin for thinking of me, reaching out, and pursuing this project with much passion. I'm honored to help St. Joseph's Regional School with such a large-scale and transformative project.

If you're in the Newton area and wish to contribute in any way to this project, we are looking for donations or discounted paint, brushes, lidded plastic containers for paint storage, rags, tarps, and scaffolding. You can contact me at TraillWorks via email or phone, 973-383-1307.email

Wedding Cake Portrait Painting

Detail of Wedding Cake Portrait in Progress by Jennie Traill Schaeffer

I had the good fortune to attend the lovely wedding reception of Mr. and Mrs. Craig and Tracey Ryan on October 2, 2010 at the Primavera Regency in Stirling, NJ. My husband, Lee, works with Tracey at a very small company where everyone is like family. Tracey invited the entire office and it was a chance for me to meet her, as well as spend the evening with Lee's colleagues. Not only was it a beautiful wedding, but we had a terrific time celebrating Tracey and Craig's special day.

In lieu of a registry gift, Lee and I decided, well mostly me since I would be the one spending my time, to present Tracey and Craig with a Wedding Cake Portrait of their cake. Since I am doing this on top of my other obligations, I've only just started it this month. Fortunately, wedding etiquette says I have a year, and Tracey and Craig told me to take my time. My goal is to complete this prior to their first anniversary (I think I can make that deadline)! 

Tracey and Craig's Wedding Cake made by Bovella's Pastry Shoppe

The cake was designed and baked by Bovella's Pastry Shoppe of Westfield. Tracey jogged my taste bud memory with this description: "it was white cake with cannoli cream filling, vanilla butter cream icing, and white and red fondant on the outside with decorative red piping." Doesn't that sound yummy? In many of my Wedding Cake Portraits, I've included textural or ornament details from the bride's wedding gown, and I'm awaiting pictures from Tracey to incorporate some aspects of her dress. 

Wedding Cake Portrait in Progress, 9" x 12", Oil on Canvas Panel, by Jennie Traill Schaeffer

Here's the painting in full view as of today. There's quite a lot of work to go, and some troubles with the structure, which I will correct. The whites will get brightened with more layers and I'll determine how to finish the background, probably with something from Tracey's dress. The last touches will be the arabesque piping, just as they would be on the cake. 

I look forward to sharing the finished painting with you, in the meantime, follow it's progress on Wedding Cake Portrait's Facebook Page. Next blog post coming soon - recent TraillWorks' commissions, gifts, and charitable donation work!

Back in the Studio: Week of March 6th

 

Painting #2 of 68

Ringo, Oil on Matboard, 5.25" x 5.25", 
©2011 Jennie Traill Schaeffer

completed 3/6/11

Ringo is my 3 1/2 year old exuberant pup that joins me every so often at the studio, on days he's been sufficiently exercised! Last Sunday I was under the weather and walked the dog to the studio to work on the commission at the bottom of the post. After a few hours of painting, I wanted to work on a small piece towards my goal of painting two works / week.

Ringo was in the studio and actually posed for me, well, between intermittent treat doling. He'd walk away, come back, look up at me, lie down, sit, leave, come back. This is the end result! It was a great painting exercise in speed and immediacy. I would have liked to resolve Ringo's paw, but once I completed his head, Ringo decided he was done, and therefore so was the painting.

Painting #3 of 68 

Sugar Bowl, Oil on Matboard, 5.25" x 5.25", 
©2011 Jennie Traill Schaeffer

completed 3/11/11

Sugar Bowl features the same bowl that's featured in the commission I'm working on below. It's vintage, glass, and reflective; all things I love. I didn't spend much time planning the composition, but I did intentionally place the bowl in the upper left. Many of my recent paintings place the focal point near the center, so I wanted to explore other structures.  
The main colors used in the painting are oriental yellow, cadmium yellow, viridian green, quinacridone magenta, and pthalo blue. The painting is completed on a primed archival matboard, the inner panel left from cutting a window mat. 
 

Current Commission (in progress as of 3/12/11), 
Oil on Stretched Linen,
18" x 30", ©2011 Jennie Traill Schaeffer

During the week, I've made quite a bit of progress on my current commission featuring the sugar bowl, a percolator, Hoosier cabinet, and a vintage Cosco kitchen stepstool. Check back in soon for this week's paintings.
 

Taking Advice from Richard Diebenkorn and David Ohlerking

Current State of Commission after changes, 12/22/10

I'm currently working til the bitter deadline to finish a Christmas commission. Painting commissions first of all are challenging just in the fact that you are trying to please someone else. This one is also trying because it's all from photo reference and I'm trying to pull a lot of different ideas together into one piece.

My mission: to commemorate a client's culinary food tour in Italy, from photos supplied, and some key points mentioned by the client, and to work within the scale / dimensions agreed upon.

Page from my sketchbook featuring the selected sketch (top)

Ok, so the aspects gleaned from my conversation with the client were the factors of Mt. Vesuvius always being in view throughout their trip, the amazing pizza, and all the fresh produce and fish. So I went to work on the composition my client selected, but as I've been working in actual scale with paint and color, I'm not happy about how the lower portion is working out. The scale just wasn't working for me; all the produce appearing much smaller than the pizza itself just didn't seem right to me.

In Progress Painting, 12/21/10

So, after feeling a few moments of frustration, I looked at some of the work by TraillWorks' exhibiting artist, David Ohlerking, then went and read the notes on starting a painting by Richard Diebenkorn reminding me about the importance of moving past pretty, destroying things, and starting again. This brought me back to the point of the process of painting, making the painting work. I returned to my easel, scraped away most of the bottom portion and started again, changing scale, painting directly over the streaked remaining paint. Already I'm happier with the direction.The first image in the post is the current state, as of this evening. This must be done by Friday, my plan is to finish tomorrow.