Some really big art is going up in Jeffersonville this month. Muralist Sarah Rutherford is painting two concrete silos on public land along Route 15, at the former site of Bell-Gates Lumber.Justin Marsh, of the Cambridge Arts Council, says the clock is ticking on the project, which started in June. The unveiling is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Friday, August 12, the eve of Cambridge's eighth annual Festival of the Arts.
The silos are remnants of the old Bell-Gates Lumber operation, located along Route 15 until the late 1990s. The property has since been purchased by the Village of Jeffersonville – one of two villages in the town of Cambridge.
The Cambridge Arts Council received a grant for the public art project from the Vermont Arts Council last year.
The project came together in May, when artist Sarah Rutherford submitted her final designs, which were unanimously approved by voters at Jeffersonville's Village Meeting that same day.
Elements of the murals represent the town's future and the past, as well as the seasons, according to an article on the Cambridge Art Council's website.
"The North Silo represents the summer and autumn seasons," the article states. "The male farmer represents the current or past generation looking towards the future generation (on the South Silo)."
The article goes on:
"The covered bridge, horses, church clock tower/steeple, and drawn logs represent Cambridge history and imagery. On the South Silo, the bandstand that once sat at the head of Main Street is featured. A child represents the future generation. Both silos feature cohesive elements such as the thrush and red clover, state symbols. Winter and spring are depicted on the South Silo."
Muralist Sarah Rutherford is a graduate of the University of Vermont and resides in Rochester, New York.
