Above. The mural has been successfully installed in the Domestic Violence Center of Chester County’s children’s care unit.

This modern facility is home to up to 100 victims and their dependent children while they face a traumatic period of adjustment and relocation. The agency performs a multitude of services including (but not limited to): a 24-hour toll-free hotline, adult crisis counseling, emergency and transitional housing, relocation assistance, childcare educational and counseling services, legal counseling, advocacy and representation by staff lawyers, rapid on-site assistance, community education and training, and a volunteer and intern program.

From their Annual report:
The shelter in the past year housed 96 new and continuing adults and 81 of their children for 4,927 nights. 30 families were provided with transitional housing. 13 families received relocation assistance. 226 clients received protection from abuse orders, 59 clients were assisted with custody or other legal matters. 1,837 hotline calls were answered. 417 new and continuing children were provided with 1,209 counseling service hours and 16,295 childcare/social recreational hours. 33 children were enrolled in our daycare program. 81 community education programs were provided to groups reaching 6,757 persons. 44 new volunteers participated in state required 45 hour training program to provide domestic violence services. In total, volunteers provided 3,672 hours of children, legal, housing and counseling services.

Yesterday was the Trattoria San Nicola opening night of my May art show. I was glad to see so many long time supporters of my work there, so many family and friends. Thanks to Chef Vito and Cristina for hosting us a wonderful party, and for the servers and waiters who did a lovely job with the service. Thanks also to my talented cousin Katie Leva, who photographed the event for me in candid shots, and Mimi & Emily Rafferty and Mark DeLuca for helping me haul, setup, and prepare for the event.

I had a wonderful time! Here’s some of the best shots. Contact me for the full version of any photograph.

Above. Click for larger. For the newspaper; photo by Claire Costello. From left to right: Kim Cooley, Emily Rafferty, Laura Rafferty, Mark DeLuca, Cristina Conti

Above. The hor d’oeuvres were fantastic! Photo by Katie Leva.

Above. The space was light and beautiful, and it was a nice hot spring day. Photo by Katie Leva.

Above. Famous motorcyclist Larry Forstall peruses through my prints portfolio. Photo by Katie Leva.

Above. It was nice to see new and familiar faces. Photograph by Katie Leva.

Above. My coworker Jenna and her boyfriend Marc look through my originals folio. Photograph by Katie Leva.

Above. Liz and Colin Rafferty chat with Claire and her friend. Joe and his sister look on in the background. Photograph by Katie Leva.

Above. Radiantly pregnant Marisa pages through my prints folio. Photograph by Katie Leva.

Above. My cousin Jenna Leva looks at my prints folio in the foreground, while Larry, Elaine, Linda, and Lauren chat in the background. A stranger pops in the doorway for a look around. Photograph by Katie Leva.

Above. Carol and my mother, seated, giggle along with Sean, myself and Jenna. Photograph by Katie Leva.

Above. I talk about medium techniques with my coworker Denniss and his roommate Regina. Frank looks at the restaurant menu in the background. Photograph by Katie Leva.

Above. Elaine Forstall chats with Linda and Lauren DeLuca. Photograph by Katie Leva.

Above. Giggling and having fun with Marc, Jenna, Rosemary, Ed, and Emily. Photograph by Katie Leva.

Above. An acquaintance samples the food while Carly talks with Kathryn (hidden). Frank, Denniss and Regina chat to the right. I walk out of the camera view (left), and Mike walks out of the camera view (right). Photograph by Katie Leva.

Above. Marisa daydreams. Mark chats with his back to us in the background, and my mother talks with Liz in the foreground. Photograph by Katie Leva.

Above. Everyone had a fun time chatting and talking. Photograph by Katie Leva.

Above. Local artist Kiki Ross samples the fare. Kathryn chats with myself and her sister Carly (hidden). Photograph by Katie Leva.

Above. The restaurant itself is beautifully decorated with faux textures and permanent murals by co-owner Cristina Conti. It was a pleasure to see my work in such an artistic locale. Photograph by Katie Leva.

Above. The volunteer mural was on display in the front entrance of the restaurant for all the patrons to look at as they wait to be seated. Photograph by Katie Leva.

The Two Above. Click for larger views. After the show, the small paintings and drawings were moved from the table displays to the other rooms of the restaurant to hang there until May 31st. Photographs by myself.

With the help of 11 other individuals, the mural for the Care and Protection of Children is completed. I am due to deliver it tomorrow with the help of Cristina Conti (of the Trattoria San Nicola), Mark DeLuca and my sister Emily Rafferty.

Here’s the completed overall design:

Above. 8 foot by 8 foot, acrylic, house paint, and gesso on unstretched canvas. Over 80 hours of work total.

Credits: (in no particular order) Kim Sklar, Jennifer Smith, Ozzie Di Sciullo, Maureen Wexler, Lacey Wexler, Jane Simon, Cristina Conti, Ardyth Sobyak, Laura Rafferty, Emily Rafferty, Mark DeLuca, Kim Cooley.

I worked in layers and glazes of acrylic paint to conserve the canvas texture and the paint quantities. The result is a watercolor-like approach to layering, including texturing and wet-in-wet and dry brushwork.

Enough babble, here’s some more shots of this large scale project. Warning: lots of images to follow! Read the rest of this entry »

Remember that volunteer mural? Well, I put it away for the holidays, and now it is out and back in progress. It’s going quite fast, especially thanks to the help of Emily and Mark, who have also been putting in a few additional hours and doing some of the detail and finishing work.

There were a lot of problems with the dotted areas and the ribbon of hearts that ran through the mural, so while I was painting the faces and figures, they have been helping me with those problematic areas. This freed me up for the more difficult stuff. Thanks guys!

Above. My sister Emily did the hearts, Mark did the striping of the borders, and I did the vines. Hand is for scale. Read the rest of this entry »

Hi there folks!

I figured I’d post an update on the mural project from this post. I went to the volunteer mural day, and among many others, I painted for 8 hours nonstop, enjoying the company of so many other local art students and artisans. Cristina, the owner of the restaurant, designed the mural herself, and the comp was approved by the Friends Association. Then she laid out the basic pencilwork for everyone to follow, along with providing references for us. There were many easy spots to paint, and many faces. It ended up that it was a good thing I showed- as I was the only one confident about faces besides Cristina.

So we did not finish the large mural in 8 hours (not enough people showed up to complete it that quickly).. and I could see the piece needed some major care and love before it would be finished….

So I offered, and she accepted, and the mural is now in my studio! She seems like a busy lady, as it took its time to reach me, but fear not, friends, as busy as I am, I want to see this piece finished and hung. I will complete the rest of the piece and touch up the areas that need work, and when I’m done, it will be installed in the shelter for homeless women and children.

The mural as it is right now, without any additional work from me so far…

Above. The Trattoria San Nicola volunteer mural for the Friends Association for the Care and Protection of Children, in West Chester, PA. 8 hours, approximately 12 people (names and credits will come later when I get them). Acrylic house paint on primed, unstretched canvas.

I’ll post more updates later as I work on it, but for the moment, I’m resting up my poor banged-up knee and enjoying some small watercolors. I’ll post some of my better ones soon.

Cheers!

Laura Grace