Port Gibson gets a new mural|[6/23/06]

Published 12:00 am Friday, June 23, 2006

PORT GIBSON – The Mississippi Cultural Crossroads building on Market Street will soon sport a new facade, complete with elements to represent the nonprofit organization and the town.

&#8220We did drawing exercises that had to do with Port Gibson and the architecture downtown,” said David Loewenstein of Lawrence, Kan., the muralist who is leading the project.

The 100-foot painting, which is replacing one done 10 years ago, combines elements of drawings by 14 high school and junior college students employed by the Claiborne County Board of Supervisors for the organization’s summer work program.

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Crossroads executive director Patty Crosby said the original mural painted on the spot has been repainted three times.

&#8220We’ve been trying to re-do what was there and, each time, it’s lost more detail,” she said. &#8220We decided it was time to do something new.”

Mississippi Cultural Crossroads is a nonprofit arts agency for Port Gibson and Claiborne County.

Last summer, a different mural was painted over a two-week period in the courtyard of the Cultural Crossroads building under the direction of Loewenstein and assistant Kirsten Wiegmann. The mural is titled &#8220The Sacred Garden of Hidden Adventures.” Crosby invited the pair back to oversee this year’s project, which will be completed today after three weeks of constant planning and painting.

Passers-by can see a painted line of quilts that cover the wall. A Port Gibson cityscape lines the bottom of the wall and inside the colorful quilts and in other areas along the wall are hints of each artist’s personality.

For Shavonda McDaniel, 16, it’s a tiger she drew with chalk and her silhouette inside one of the painted quilts that she proudly points out as her own. While many different drawings are spread throughout, they are combined to make one flowing piece of art.

&#8220Every piece joined in to help the other,” said 16-year-old Sharena Washington, who also worked on the courtyard mural last summer.

Loewenstein, who has painted about 50 murals across the country and in Northern Ireland, heard about the mural project through friend and fellow artist Martha Ferris. Ferris, who painted Vicksburg’s first City Front mural in 2001, attended New York’s National Academy of Design with Loewenstein.

The artist said he tries to let the students take over when he leads projects like this – from the beginning through the finished project.

&#8220I try not to paint – we try to hand off all the painting duties so, by the end, they have had a hand in every step of the process,” he said. &#8220This is not paint by numbers. They come up with the ideas, and they put them on the wall.”

Crosby said she believes it’s important for the students to have a stand-out role in the process.

&#8220It’s important any time for young people to do work and be asked to think through difficult concepts,” she said.

Sixteen-year-old Kindred Harris, who helped paint the mural 10 years ago, said having a mural in her hometown is something to be proud of.

&#8220It’s not every day you get to experience something like this – especially in Port Gibson,” she said.

Shavonda agreed.

&#8220It’s important because it opens you up to a different opportunity in life,” she said.

Loewenstein said he and the other artists have not yet decided on a name for the mural. But, they may not.

&#8220It may just speak for itself,” he said.