This isn’t exactly about designing the mural, but perhaps you’d like to see where the next mural will be. It is the 100 block of North E, but it is in an alley/parking lot and I don’t have an exact address. So, a picture or 3 might help:
It is on the north facing wall of the same alley where my previous mural is!
The last time I did a large mural, I learned a boatload of information about the process, particularly about projecting it onto the wall. It was so exciting to be projecting, and it was overwhelming to have so much eager help, that last time I didn’t really think through. This time, I thought I had it all figured out. My plan was to mark the wall in the same number of increments as I have transparencies.
Yesterday I visited the wall, which has been both plastered (very smoothly – wow, excellent!) and primed. Since I planned for a 40′ length of wall, it seemed right to just mark it off in 10′ sections. Then, my more cautious self decided to measure the length just to be sure. Good thing – it is 45′! I have 4 transparencies, so I divided 45 by 4 and marked the wall in 11′-3″ segments. Then, I thought I’d better check the height, since I planned for 14′. At its highest, it is 15′-6″! This brings me to my next big lesson – MEASURE IT YOURSELF NEXT TIME BEFORE DESIGNING AND BIDDING! Today my plan is to test my overhead projector and to mess around with the math to see if my transparencies can be adjusted to fit the actual wall size.
After I recovered from the enormous overload of photographic input, I sorted the photos by lake. Then, I realized the only historical photo of a dam that I had readily available (thanks, Louise!) was of Franklin. That caused the decision to be easy. The mural team requested the addition of mules, so I had to chase down an old photo from which to paint. I know many resourceful people with lots of history in Mineral King, so finding a photo wasn’t too hard. (thanks, Cathy!)
Here is a saxophone player:
I don’t know what this guy is doing, but he certainly is peculiar.
Ever seen a poppy this color?
Do you remember my posting about the fat girl inside screaming to be left alone? Now I have the solution to those flimsy chairs:
These redwood chairs are made locally by Bob Kellogg of Three Rivers and when I sit in this, my legs stick out like Alice in Wonderland! It is my throne, and sometimes I am the Red Queen.
For eleven years I have been walking around Three Rivers. The spring is the best time, and this is the best spring I remember, ever! No hot spells, regular rain, tons of flowers in both quantity and variety. . . who could ask for more? Each year, there is a wonderful fragrance that arrives in May, something akin to orange blossoms. Diana and I couldn’t figure it out; Robin and I finally decided it was an orange tree that we just couldn’t always spot. I was not satisfied with either solution, and this year while eating dinner al fresco, I noticed it again. The next day Michael and I both noticed it on a walk, and this time we both discovered the answer.
The most important information I needed before beginning the design was the wall dimensions. Those numbers showed me the proportions of the design, and allowed me to see how big the picture needed to be in order to have a human look the right size while standing in front of the mural. I decided 5′-6″ was the average height and found that spot on the scaled down version of the wall. Then I spread out all my photos. After I saw how many there were, I might have had to go into the house for a knitting break and a bit of chocolate. (But I can quit any time I want.)
There were many more than this, but you probably get the idea without having to see them all.
The new mural has been in the planning phase for over a year. It was requested that a mural be painted to the correct scale so that a person can stand in front of it and appear to be at the actual scene. To do that, I had to have people with me each time I visited a lake with a dam. There are 4 lakes with dams out of Mineral King. I knew that Eagle Lake most likely would not make a good candidate, so I only visited the other 3. My friends and family know that I am always working – thinking, planning and designing – so they have become accustomed to participating in rather unorthodox ways upon request. Here is Phoebe at Crystal Lake:
It is a fabulously beautiful place, and it might have worked for a mural. The dam is on the lower of the 2 lakes, and we all (Michael, Phoebe and I) prefer upper Crystal.
Here is Michael on upper Monarch Lake:
This lake is sort of hard to get to since there isn’t an exact trail. It would be good to know how the mules carrying all those sacks of cement got there!
This is the other JB at Franklin Lake. We were there in late August, and by then, I knew this would probably be the best candidate for a mural that could meet the specifications. It has a trail leading directly to the dam and there was a great photo available of the building process in 1904.
Finally, I can tell you about my upcoming big project! It is Exeter’s next mural and will be located directly across from my other mural. This one is about 1/3 of the length of the other. The subject is Franklin Lake and the Mount Whitney Power Company, which was the precursor to Southern California Edison and had an office in Exeter. (It is now the Exeter History Museum.) Our projected projection date (tee hee hee) is Thursday, June 3. Stay tuned for further details. . .
Mount Whitney Power Company dam under construction at Franklin Lake, Mineral King, California, 1904. Thousands of pounds of cement, sand, rock, wood forms and construction supplies were hauled by mules to early 1900s power company dam projects. (from The Mule Men by Louise Jackson)
