If you haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Connie Burnett-Ferraro then you are missing out on a local treasure! Connie has been the artist behind the creation of several murals here in town, including the latest freize on the BCHS Theater.
But now, she’s been commissioned by Elena Medo, the CEO of Medolac to create a mural for the entire side wall, of their upcoming location at the former Von’s store.
The mural will face Boulder City Parkway, and when finished will be 116 wide by 16 feet tall!
Connie has broken the project down into sections and individual panels – there will be 58 in all. Each panel is 4 feet high by 8 feet wide and are stacked 4 tall in each section, moving through a sequence of stories. So far she has completed 8 panels – only 50 more to go!
She is telling the story of Boulder City, and the country at large. She begins with the economic crash and the heart of the Depression, and how deeply that affected families. Next she tells the beginning of the Hoover Dam project and the jobs it created, injecting hope into the lives of the country. She then tells the story of Ragtown, and they way people from all over the US flocked to our area in the hope of work. And so it goes…moving all the way through the construction of the dam and the evolution of Boulder City into the town we know and love today. She says her theme will be ‘people helping people’ is these later sections.
Connie uses authentic photos from the period to inspire her artwork, and they litter her workspace.
Connie also uses different techniques in the process. She says for the Depression era she used Sepia tones to reflect those old photographs. Later on in the mural, she also plans to do a ‘Trompe-l’œil’, which is the French word for a technique of creating the optical illusion that the objects in the mural are in 3-D.
Connie says this project is so delightful and she is so honored and proud to work on it! It has taken over most of her life, and she says she starts work in her studio early each morning. Her neighbor has even gotten into the act, because she says the mural panels are so large, she can’t move them on her own. So when she needs help, she gives them a call…
We’ll keep you posted as she progresses, but this project will likely take a few more months to complete. We loved seeing her studio, inspiration drawings and can’t wait for the big reveal when it’s all done!
