The mural was hit on the lower left corner by a forklift, splintering the stretcher bars and ripping a two-foot long tear through the apple. It hung like this for 10 years before destiny brought us together. After the wooden frame had been repaired and the canvas patched and stitched, the damaged areas were ready for gesso. Re-stretching the fragile canvas over the frame proved to be a delicate operation. It was difficult to pull the 31-year-old canvas tight enough without tearing it again.

This is what a bit of careful color matching can accomplish. Note how the spot of dripped white paint just under the airplane tail has also been made to disappear. The restored mural, though showing a bit of a scar, will continue to delight visitors to the Second Harvest Food Bank for many years to come.

How often do we get a chance to work on something that we are uniquely suited for, even passionate about, and get paid for it? I recently was blessed with just such an opportunity, and the experience was every bit as satisfying as you might expect. 

The seed was planted in 1979 when a group of Latino artists calling themselves the Tortuga Patrol began actively spreading their talent around the Santa Cruz County area as part of the California Chicano movement. One of their members, Ralph D’Oliviera, who also happens to be a sign maker, painted an 8' x 12' triptych canvas mural depicting farm workers among a bounty of fresh fruit and vegetables spilling out of a cornucopia. 

 

The mural has been displayed in several locations, eventually finding a home at the Second Harvest Food Bank, where many visitors have appreciated it over the past 15 years. Tragedy struck 10 years ago when a forklift accidentally smashed into a corner of the mural, breaking the stretcher bars and causing several holes and one long tear in the canvas fabric. 

 

Though the folks at Second Harvest were dismayed by the damage, it was difficult to find an artist capable not only of repairing the damaged wood and canvas but of restoring the painting to its former beauty; matching the colors and blending the new work into the style of the original. So the mural hung on the wall, torn and broken, waiting to be reborn.

 

The moment came when Sheree Storm of Second Harvest called Richard Wells of Real Color in Santa Cruz to order a set of digitally printed banners. When she related the mural’s sad tale and expressed their desire to have it repaired, Richard replied that he might know someone who could handle the job. He snapped some photos of the damage and a few hours later they popped up in my e-mail inbox. I was immediately intrigued.

 

I have been making signs for 26 years, but rarely have had the opportunity to use my fine art training to create illustrations or original artwork for sign clients. I envy the sign artists I know, like Ralph D’Oliviera, who have made a name for themselves with murals and public sculpture beautifying our community alongside their commercial signs.

 

I have found my creative outlet through recreating fine art masterpieces and album covers in hand-embroidery, creating 12 pieces over the last 22 years. They can be viewed at www.mardeenart.com. In the last five years, I have been designing and building sets for several theater productions that my son has performed in, and I have discovered how much fun it is to create temporary environments of canvas and plywood with all sorts of faux textures and paint techniques. Photos of some sets can be seen at www.allabouttheatre.org.

 

It was easy to picture myself using all of my skills in construction, hand sewing, color matching and illustration to bring the artwork back to life. In fact, I couldn’t imagine anyone else having the unique combination of experience necessary to confidently tackle the job. I didn’t expect a nonprofit organization such as Second Harvest to have a huge budget for a project like this, and I wholeheartedly support the work they do, so I was happy to donate a portion of my labor to the cause. Not only will I benefit from the tax deduction, I know that all who receive meals because of the money that can be put to that end will appreciate my contribution as well.

 

The three mural panels were waiting for me in a large conference room when I arrived on a rainy Thursday morning, and I started with the most damaged panel, cutting patches of fabric to fit behind the holes and tears and removing the splintered wooden frame from the corner. Once the patches had been sewn securely in place, I cut new wood pieces with a mitered corner and secured them with metal straps and brackets to the existing frame. The fabric then had to be stretched and stapled over the rebuilt corner, which proved to be quite difficult, considering that the canvas was 31 years old and very fragile. 

 

With the corner restored, I patched and stitched the rest of the holes and smaller tears, enjoying visits from various staff members curious about the process and overjoyed that it was finally happening. A reporter from the Register-Pajaronian stopped by to shoot a few photos and interview Executive Director Willy Elliott-McCrea and me for a brief but informative article in the April 3 issue of the local paper.

 

Once the stitching was done, I trimmed any loose threads, cleaned the surface around the damaged areas with mild soap and water, dried it with lint-free rags and coated the exposed canvas with gesso to prepare it for painting. The color matching and painting actually took the least amount of time, and the images are so bright and bold that it reminded me of some of the theater backdrops I have worked on.

 

I enjoyed every step of the process, explaining the techniques to visitors, as well as working for hours in relative solitude. In the end, everyone is happy with the results and I am proud that my contribution will be appreciated by so many for years to come.