Cooperative Touch

by MICHELLE FLOYD

Take a look around Newton County, and you are bound to see collaboration. It ranges from concerts in the middle of downtown Covington’s bustling business district to teenagers volunteering to carry food donations to the elderly, and churches giving away school supplies to children throughout the year. Suppose you find yourself on the ever-expanding Cricket Frog Trail at the trailhead along Elm Street, just off The Square near First Baptist Church of Covington. In that case, you will find another source of collaboration, perhaps unexpectedly. You will see student art displayed on a large mural along a trail used by locals and visitors from all over the world for walking and biking.

“The students have delivered in a big way. It’s a source of interest and of pride. It’s certainly a beautiful part of the trail,” said Duane Ford, chair of the Newton Trails board of directors. “It draws attention to the trail and highlights the work of local artists and students. It’s a win-win all around.”

Some seven years ago, lifelong Newton County resident Melissa Parker reached out to Newton Trails to see if her art club students at the Newton County Theme School could create a mural for the trail. Parker had graduated from Newton High School, earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Georgia State University and worked in the design industry before becoming an art teacher.

“I thought it would be good community outreach and a fun opportunity for the students,” Parker said. “We worked it out with First Baptist Church on the placement and got to work. It was a simple mural of bright, large flowers.”

Although the initial project was special and enjoyed by many for years, Parker began to notice how weathering had left the mural in need of some TLC. Now at Eastside High School, she contacted Newton Trails again to ask if her students there could work on a revised project in the same spot.

“I’m actually teaching students I had in elementary school again in high school,” Parker said. “It’s an opportunity to showcase the work of my art students, as well as an opportunity for them to paint a large-scale project.” Parker started to plan and had her art students come up with ideas and sketches for a new project. “One really stood out,” she said. “Hannah Lockerman, a junior here at Eastside, really followed through with her design. It incorporates symbols of why people use the trail: a bike for physical activity, direction via a compass, nature and the trail’s namesake, the cricket frog.”

Lockerman admits she wants people to see that a high school student’s artwork can be just as good as a professional artist.

“I hope the public sees that art is needed in this world, whether it’s abstract and unreadable or if it’s just a mural on a trail,” she said. “The colors and shape of art define society, as it’s the backbone.”

Parker hopes she can continue to partner with Newton Trails, the City of Covington, her students and other local artists to organize art installations along the trail. Newton Trails seems to be on track with that idea, too.

“The board of directors’ position is that we are glad to support the arts and have works of art along the trail,” said Ford, who encouraged anyone interested in participating to contact the board for permission. While “there are certainly places along the trail for it,” he concedes that space will eventually become an issue.

Ford revealed that some artists have proposed sculptures in the past that have yet to come to fruition, and the board remains interested in hosting a variety of art, pocket parks and garden installation projects along the trail. A local scout troop even built trail kiosks along the way for one of its projects. The Cricket Frog Trail is a once-traveled rail line that was paved in sections over the years for public use from Covington to Mansfield. There are plans to extend it even further throughout the county to host at least nearly 20 miles of paths.

“It’s quite lovely,” Ford said when asked about the trail. “We’re open to a variety of things, so we hope people will ask.”

For information about Newton Trails, visit www.newtontrails.org.

Art Speaks

by MARGARET WARFIELD - ARTIST

Artistic Journey – It is fascinating to discover the evolution of an artist’s artistic journey. This “beginning” often changes because of life experiences, shifts in thought, subject matter, and choice of materials that are used to create their art form.

Laura Zierl began her journey in 2003, built on the foundation of the creative women in her life. Her mother, a prolific seamstress, and grandmothers that were excellent cooks, knitters, and crocheters, planted the creative seed of vision into her thought patterns. Laura always liked sparkly things and the unusual. Desiring to create a cord for a pair of sunglasses, she began researching beads and discovered an array of fascinating shapes, colors, and kinds of beads, and soon, LiLi Designs, the name of her business, was born. Her designs – jewelry and crocheted accessories, are available at WildArt Gallery.

Laura says, “We need to focus on creating when we are the LEAST inclined to create, those times of stress or busy-ness, that impede our ability to visualize, because creating ignites energy and helps us cope with the stresses in our modern-day lives.”

Wildart

404-455-1594 thewildart.com

1105 Washington St.

Covington, GA 30014