New mural to greet fair-goers
AUGUSTA. Marvin LiTrenta, a recent High Point graduate, designed the mural based on concept sketches made by him, Maddie Crowell, Maria Fe Altamirano and Cadence Strehl.
Augusta /
| 01 Aug 2024 | 11:53
The new mural at the main ticket office of the New Jersey State Fair-Sussex County Farm and Horse Show.
High Point Regional High School graduate Marvin LiTrenta works on the mural.
High Point students Cadence Strehl, Maddie Crowell and Maria Fe Altamirano work on the mural.
Tessa Cope, Kelsey Birchenough, Emily Morgan and Sue-Ni DeStefano work on the Selfie Benches Project in Branchville.
Erin Meyers, left, and Lisa Hodgins in front of the new mural. They taught art together at High Point before Hodgins retired.
Sketches for the mural made by art students at High Point Regional High School.
Front row, from left, are Emily Morgan and Tessa Cope. Back row, from left, are Erin Meyers and Kelsey Birchenough at one of the Selfie Benches in Branchville.
This plaster casting of a person eating an ice cream cone was a collaboration of students in the Honors Sculpture class taught by Erin Meyers.
A papier-mâché bug made by Cade Martress.
Fair-goers who stop at the main ticket office of the New Jersey State Fair-Sussex County Farm and Horse Show will be greeted by a new mural created by students at High Point Regional High School.
The fair runs Aug. 2-10 at the Sussex County fairgrounds, 37 Plains Road, Augusta.
Students in the Advanced Placement (AP) and Fine Art 3 Portfolio classes taught by Erin Meyers started working on the mural near the end of the school year.
It was requested by Nora Lanie Swanson, head gardener of the fairgrounds.
AP student artist and recent graduate Marvin LiTrenta designed the mural based on separate concept sketches made by him, Maddie Crowell, Maria Fe Altamirano and Cadence Strehl.
After a 4-foot-by-8-foot sheet of plywood was primed, the sketch was chalked in and the students began to paint using acrylics to showcase the August sky and many aspects of the fair.
Fine Art 3 Portfolio students Jayden Kim, Deborah Todd, Kaela Brunner and Hayden Vreeland also contributed to the mural.
The school year ended before the project was completed, so the mural was moved to the fairgrounds greenhouse, where many artists had a hand in it, Meyers said.
LiTrenta continued to work on it during the summer along with Lisa Hodgins, who taught art at High Point for 27 years before her retirement.
“It was a wonderful opportunity for us to spend time together again and partake in another collaborative project, as we have done so many times in the past,” said Meyers, who worked with Hodgins at the high school.
“The mural continued to evolve as others jumped in to help, including the fairgrounds gardening crew.
“There are many diverse styles in the work, which is something I find to be quite beautiful.”
Meyers, who has been teaching visual arts at High Point since 1999, said one of her main goals is to teach students “that art extends beyond the walls of the school art rooms.”
She often is contacted by people in the community to oversee collaborative projects.
“It is so fun to roll out these ideas to my students and see where they take them. Nothing is too ambitious and they love the challenge.”
During the spring, her students kicked off Branchville’s Selfie Benches Project, a vision of Sue-Ni DeStefano, owner of Broad Street Books.
“The students’ sculpturally decorated benches, which stayed up for over a month in the heart of Branchville, were the subject of numerous selfies and photos of people of all ages - and pets!” Meyers said.
“It is an honor to be a teacher and a member of this community where I grew up and to help teens make connections and appreciate where they live. ... There is a great sense of satisfaction when we see how many smiles our work brings.”
CORRECTION: Maria Fe Altamirano’s name was misspelled in an earlier version of this article. The number of years that Lisa Hodgins taught art at High Point Regional High School also was incorrect in the earlier version.