Visitors who come to the Heritage Park and visit the Nolan House, Woodland and Historic Gardens will see a very colorful mural painted on the back wall of the bathroom facility. This beautiful and vibrant artwork at The Gardens at Nolan House has been a dream for those master gardeners who diligently work in the various gardens surrounding the Nolan House, and it was quite an addition to the statewide Open Garden Days Event held in the month of June. This event, celebrating the 45th Anniversary of the Georgia Master Gardener Extension Volunteer Program, highlighted 12 statewide counties’ demonstration gardens with guided tours, speakers, and workshops. Henry County was one of the counties that participated in this endeavor.
Interest in having a mural painted in The Gardens at Nolan House area was sparked after a master gardener picked up a Visit Henry County Magazine at a Georgia rest stop while returning home from a trip in Florida. After reading an article about Henry County local artist Steph Calvert and her work, the idea of allowing this illustrator to work on a mural project on a park building was presented to Henry County Parks and Recreation for approval. It is to be noted that Parks and Recreation not only approved the task, but they also graciously consented to finance the project’s cost!
With this approval, Calvert was contacted for her interest in drawing a mural on the back wall of the bathroom facility in the Nolan House gardens. She began designing the 9’ x 29’ mural and chalked the drawing on the textured concrete wall. With her guidance and helpfulness, various Henry County Master Gardeners worked with the illustrator to fill in the drawing. Through frugal use of only nine quarts of different color paints, the mural was completed in March, an amazing three days of work, making this artwork the first public art in Heritage Park.
Living in Henry County with her husband and two children, Steph Calvert is quite a recognized illustrator. In her 24 years of experience as a creative professional, she has designed cards for Trader Joe’s, illustrated children’s books for Capstone Publishing, along with illustrating paint with water kits for the California-based art supply company Ooly. She has also created fabric repeat patterns and apparel graphics for the classic kid’s clothing company OshKosh B’Gosh. She is currently querying her first picture book titles as an author/illustrator with literary agents and recently completed painting traffic boxes in Stockbridge. Bi-monthly newsletters are emailed to Facebook and Instagram clients, and Calvert can be accessed through StephCalvertArt.com. It is hoped that this mural adds aesthetic appeal to The Gardens at Nolan House and will entice visitors to stroll through the garden pathways and learn about the floral plantings via the designated signage. Through the serenity of the surrounding sounds and sights of nature this “green space” provides, it is also hoped that visitors experience relaxation and beneficial alleviation from stress and anxiety. Gratitude is expressed to Steph Calvert for her graciousness and generosity in sharing her talent and also to those who had a part in helping to make this sparked interest become a reality; the community and The Gardens at Nolan House are the better for this endeavor.
By Arolue Flemmen Prater
“It sounds like it could be a super crazymaking experience–wrangling a bunch of novice painters in slinging paint on a 9′ tall by 29′ long wall… But it was such a positive and fun experience for everyone involved,” wrote Steph Calvert in her blog at StephCalvertArt.com.
