This is her story.
I have to admit to feeling more than a little daunted by this task – it’s not one of the usual little cabinets you see dotted about the motu but a whopping 3-door hunk of metal smack bang on the main road.
It's functional, not exactly beautiful, and extremely visible… oh dear!
I have lived in Taylorville for about 15 years and know most of the residents by name. Had I bitten off more than I could chew? What could possibly go wrong? And if it does go wrong, what will the neighbours think?
No pressure!
I have to say that I am really proud of the end result – it’s bright, cheerful, and represents an in-joke from the days when The Barber used to descend on Taylorville for most of the winter, causing not only serious wind chill but also a lot of colourful language as your face got chapped to bits while you went out to fill the coal bucket. It was distinctly NOT sunny. This was an opportunity to bring some joy and humour to our cute little village.
It took me a few days longer than I had initially planned, and my fears proved to be unfounded. It was awesome to have people come and chat with me as I painted, giving encouragement and sharing their excitement as they saw the work develop. I learned that there used to be another artist who lived in my house a long time ago—that’s how long some of my neighbors have lived in Taylorville. I also met a woman from Taylorville, Illinois (that’s in the USA and is considerably larger than our village), who stopped to take photographs of the cabinet and was offered the possibility of other mural work.
Comments that were made about the cabinet included:
“This is fantastic.”
Villager: “That looks great.”
Me: “It’s not finished...”
Villager: “Well, I think it’s great as it is, and it looks finished to me.”
A kid on a push bike stopped to watch and tell me that he thought it was “really cool.”
Another villager stopped by to consider it and commented, “About time someone did this, it was an eyesore.”
Not bad for a few days sitting in the sun, listening to music, and doing something I enjoy!
So, reasons to continue the Chorus cabinet art project are:
- Pride in our community
- Improving the street appeal of Chorus Cabinets
- Raising the profile of local artists
- Encouraging others to apply and/or create art of their own.
Thanks for the chance to brighten my village!
Jay Worling
