June 5, 2002
Mural big dose of hospitality
Decorative artists group brightens up Hospitality House wall
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Members of the Northern Expressions Decorative Artists recently completed a mural for the recreation room at Munson's Hospitality House.
The large, detailed painting fills a whole wall of the rec room and depicts a northern woodland and a pond scene, complete with bears, skunks, raccoons, beavers and frogs.
In addition to the larger animals, the mural includes ladybugs, bees, birds, nests with eggs, dragonflies and butterflies sprinkled throughout.
"We didn't go whimsical because we wanted it realistic, so it would appeal to both children and adults," said Kathy Smith of Traverse City, one of the mural's painters. "We wanted to create an Up North scene. The hardest thing was making everything look realistic."
Ten members of the group put in more than 300 hours on the mural. They began in planning it in July and painting in October, completing the whole project by late March.
Joni Keskey of Lake Ann spearheaded the design, measuring the wall and planning in detail how to fill the space. She submitted a plan of action to staff at the Hospitality House for approval.
Once they got the green light, Keskey also found patterns for the animals to minimize freehand painting, something group members were concerned about. Despite this, each individual artist brought her own style to whatever part she painted.
"When you think about it, this is how the old masters taught their painting students: they had them copying a piece over and over so they would learn the techniques," Keskey said.
Except for Keskey, who had completed a mural for her granddaughter, no one in the group had ever painted one before.
"It was a big challenge for all of us because we're mostly into flowers and still life," Smith said. "But everybody was so excited about the mural and we worked together as a team."
In addition to mastering the smallest detail of a leaf, animal or background, Keskey said she really enjoys the overall process of mural painting.
"There's something very releasing about taking a large paintbrush with a dark color and going whoosh up a wall and you're not in trouble for it," she added.
The bright, vibrant painting has proven to be a hit with the residents of the Hospitality House.
"The children love it and it entertains them for hours at a time, they get a chance to pick out different things on the wall," said Connie Nelson, residential director of the Hospitality House. "The parents can relax there and that was the intent."
Area painters and artists organized Northern Expressions Decorative Artists last year to help promote decorative arts. The group is a part of a nationwide organization that has more than 27,000 members; Michigan has nine chapters.
The 57 members of Northern Expressions Decorative Artists come from around the northwestern Michigan region, some from as far away as Northport, Charlevoix and Reed City. The group meets monthly nine months of the year in Traverse City for educational seminars.
In addition to expanding their own talents, the members decided early on that they wanted to give back to the community.
Their first service project was painting 45 Christmas ornaments for display on a tree at the Grand Traverse Pavilions. They then donated these ornaments to the Pavilions' gift shop as a fund-raiser for social programs there.
The group is also planning an auction of hand-painted items on Saturday, July 27, at 10 a.m. at the Presbyterian Church. They will donate 25 percent of the profits to Child and Family Services of Northern Michigan. The remaining funds will be used for educational programs for their members.
"Everyone in the organization is really enthusiastic about doing philanthropic things," Keskey said. "It's a very enthusiastic group and I love working with them."