File:Lee Craigie-Marshall Paint Downtown Mural from the Frederick News-Post, August 5, 2021.jpg

Summary

Brunswick artist working on massive downtown mural By Jillian Atelsek From The Frederick News-Post, August 5, 2021 Photo by Teresa Schaeffer

Once a bustling railroad town, Brunswick has quieted over the years. Lea Craigie-Marshall likes it that way.

Craigie-Marshall, born and raised near Washington, D.C., has called Brunswick home for about a decade. And now, she’s working on a 2,500-square-foot mural that she hopes will add some color — and inspiration — to the city’s historic downtown. “It’s amazing what a mural can do,” she said. The mural will adorn the former Citizen Newspaper building on West Potomac Street. Craigie-Marshall hopes to finish it by September. It’s called “Walk Through Brunswick,” and when complete, it will serve as a brightly colored ode to the history of the small riverside community, featuring landmarks like its local pizza shop, brewery, library and bowling alley. Craigie-Marshall’s artwork is inspired by the artist Mary Blair, she said, who worked for Walt Disney and created concept art for films like “Alice in Wonderland,” “Peter Pan” and “Cinderella.” Blair’s affinity for bold colors and semi-abstract graphics lend themselves well to a cityscape, Craigie-Marshall said. “I wanted this mural to not be a typical historic mural,” she said. Like Blair, she’s opting for a less realistic approach, aiming to capture the city’s atmosphere and emotion, rather than its exact form. Art runs in Craigie-Marshall’s family: Both of her grandmothers and her mother were artists, too. She spent much of her childhood in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, attending art workshops and classes meant for adults. Craigie-Marshall laughed as she recalled the grown-ups in the room becoming miffed when, at 6 years old, she’d upstage them in painting or stained-glass crafting. Now, she works alongside her best friend and assistant, Seanna Cookus. Craigie-Marshall is responsible for the composition of her pieces and for all of the finer details, but Cookus fills in to help prime walls and paint large swaths of background. “We go on art adventures together,” Craigie-Marshall said. Toward the beginning of her current undertaking, the pair would visit the mural site about twice per week. But as Craigie-Marshall marches toward the finish line, she anticipates being there about five days per week. Conveniently, she lives three minutes away. The Brunswick mural was commissioned by the Frederick Arts Council as part of its Public Arts Master Plan. That plan, drafted in 2018, aims to “make Frederick a model for creativity, showcasing how public art can drive economic prosperity and a sense of belonging,” according to its cover page. The 108-page document identifies best practices for implementing public art projects across the county. It walks through opportunities in each town and makes the case for public art as a driver of economic growth and community connection. For Brunswick, the plan encourages “gateway art” that could “visually mark the connections between river, trail and town,” weaving together the three key components of the region. It identifies a handful of locations, including the MARC train station, that could serve the purpose well. That concept excites Craigie-Marshall. She could see her adopted hometown becoming a “small Portland,” she said. She envisions it “becoming a real mural town,” and she’s been working with the mayor to develop a sort of scavenger hunt for art pieces around the city. “I really feel like Brunswick could be something really amazing,” Craigie-Marshall said. “A lot of towns, when they go to revitalize, the first thing they do is add art.” In a downtown that’s seen challenges since the decline of the railway industry, Craigie-Marshall added, public art could be a key comeback ingredient. “It gives people hope,” she said. “It makes them feel positive about where they live and excited about the future.”