10/05/08 — When she was a senior at Allegheny College, Berry Breene of Oil City needed a senior project. When asked by art professor Amara Geffen if she would be interested in painting a mural, Breene responded quickly. She was.
That was two years ago and her project became a reality Saturday as the “Streams Converging: Meadville at the Crossroads,” mural — which dons the Park Avenue side of the Hovis Interiors Annex on Chestnut Street — was formally dedicated.
“I’ve always had an interest in public activities,” she said of one reason she decided to proceed with the project. Before she decided just what to put in the mural, met with community members and got pictures from the Crawford County Historical Society to ensure the end result captured what she had in mind.
The bright colors of the mural were reflective of Breene’s personality. Dressed in a rust-colored sweater, she laughed, “I like bright colors.”
The mural depicts much of Meadville’s history — and by extension some of Crawford County’s. A farmer walks behind a team of horses plowing the field. A red barn has an advertisement for “Dad’s Dog Meal” and another scene pictures a water wheel as the water flows into Mill Run. The Meadville Market House, Diamond Park and others are also easily recognizable.
To those with non-artistic talents, it is a work of art that can’t be duplicated. For want of a better term, large “3-D type” portraits highlight the mural. One is a cow; another a girl sitting on an overturned basket along side a basket of bright red apples; still another is a large dog. The dog represents “Ember,” the name of a special friend’s dog.
The mural was painted on 27 panels throughout the year in an building owned by the Meadville Area Redevelopment Authority and then were erected one at a time to complete the 12-foot by 73-foot mural.
“It’s still a little surreal,” said Breene, about the mural and the experience. She quickly pointed out that it was a community project and could not have been done without a lot of help from community members.
“I could not have done it without Pete Maruska’s help,” she said of the retired art teacher, noting he really came to her rescue when more skills were needed.
The mural is officially dedicated to the memory of Gwen Barboni, who was director of the Meadville Council on the Arts for 10 years before her death.
But, to the young artists, there is another personal dedication. “To me, privately, it’s in memory of them,” she said, speaking about her grandparents, the late Albert and Grace Hetrick, who lived in Saegertown.
She is hopeful visitors to Meadville will appreciate the mural and the history that is depicted in it.
Allegheny College President James Mullen presided over the dedication ceremony and said the mural project captured the spirit of the community and what Allegheny is trying to achieve. “I’m proud to be here,” he said, adding it was a big celebration.
Introducing Geffen, he called her a “most remarkable citizen in the community,” citing her work since 1982 in various artistic projects.
Geffen noted that none of what she has done would have been possible “without the entire community support.”
She paid tribute to Barboni’s family for their financial support which made the project possible as well as that of contributions from Dad’s Pet Foods, the William Grassinger Family, which owns Hovis’; Associated Contractors and ACE Contractor Center. Also cited for their assistance were John Taylor and Jonathan Miller.
Linda Richards, sister of the late Barboni, expressed appreciation on behalf of the family for the memorial to her sister and noted her sister introduced them to all “different types of art.”
Geffen said she spoke with Breene about wanting to do something community based and “Berry ran with the project.”
“I’m proud to be part of it,” said Breene.
However, Breene isn’t ready to rest on her laurels. She is already planning another mural for downtown Meadville.
It will be on the side of the @thebank building and will feature scenes of theater-goers from over the years when they attended events at the former Park Theatre, once housed in that building.
She is looking forward to starting to design that mural.
