Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, for The Waterbury Roundabout
WATERBURY — Tucked away behind a commercial building on Foundry Street, between overgrown vegetation and the railroad tracks, a local artist has created a little slice of paradise.
That artist goes by her first and middle name, Jillian Marie. In August, she completed a nearly 40-foot mural on the back of Argentinian restaurant Paprika Catering Company.
The hand-painted mural depicts Paprika co-owner Jen McCabe’s favorite Vermont view, the Worcester Mountain range.
McCabe and Jillian Marie have only known each other for a few years, though watching them discuss juice cleanses and PTO meetings, you would think they were lifetime friends.
The two local entrepreneurs hit it off at a flood relief event last year. Since then, they’ve met weekly at Jillian Marie’s private studio to paint and talk about life.
Their artistic partnership blossomed when McCabe asked Jillian Marie to paint something on the back of the restaurant. McCabe expressed her love for the view of the Worcester mountain range from the Waterbury Reservoir that the artist shares.
“When I drive up Route 100 and I see the Worcester range, it just makes my heart sing,” McCabe said. “It really represents this community to me.”
The mural was privately funded by the building’s owner and Paprika’s landlord, Mark Frier. The artwork covers a section of the back wall of the building where the restaurant and the adjacent brewery, The Tropic, are located. It used to be littered with graffiti, so the art proposal was a no-brainer, he said.
“It’s exciting to have it bring a little more attention to a little bit of a quieter corner of downtown,” Frier said.
Jillian Marie said she was inspired to make the space more beautiful.
“It’s nice to have a moment to bring people happiness, when you need that moment,” she said.
Creating the mural took about two weeks from start to finish, including the graffiti cover-up process. She combined traditional hand-painting technique with spray paint, something that she doesn’t often use. The mural is sprayed with a finish designed to protect from future graffiti.
The finished work adds to Waterbury’s growing number of public art installations, such as the Phoenix Rising and Madonna’s Earth murals on Stowe Street and pieces in Jack’s Alley.
“This is an art-filled community,” Jillian Marie said.
Catching a glimpse of the mural can be a little tricky given its location. In fact, one of the best views is likely from the Amtrak Vermonter train that passes by twice a day. For a close view, one could walk around the building at 40 Foundry Street. It’s also visible to pedestrians from Railroad Street.
McCabe said the project fits with Paprika’s mission to be a space to connect the community, to share art and food. “Feeding people is love. Art is love. It’s all love,” she said.
See video clips of the mural’s creation on Jillian Marie’s Instagram page @jcreations_vt.