Communities benefit when they create art together

BASKING RIDGE, NEW JERSEY, UNITES STATES, December 8, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Mural artist Caren Frost Olmsted is on a mission to beautify cities and towns with custom designed, community-created murals. As founder of the Olmsted Mural Group and its main mural artist, Olmsted has designed and created over 250 murals in her career, including 90 murals in schools across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Washington D.C., and over 20 murals for towns, cities, and community organizations, and over 100 murals commissioned by private patrons or businesses.

Olmsted’s murals have involved over 35,000 volunteers ranging in age from 3 to 93. Each mural project varies in size and scope, from 25 to over 200 linear feet. Each mural is uniquely designed in collaboration to suit the space and the people who will enjoy the mural for years to come. Images and testimonials from these projects and many more, can be seen online at: www.olmstedmurals.com.

"People always ask me what my favorite part of mural work is. For me, it is the process and the people. Of course, I do my best to make artwork that I am proud of and that all may enjoy, but the collaborative process is where the real heart of the mural project lies and the myriad of people who help create it,” said mural artist Caren Frost Olmsted.

Recently, Olmsted oversaw the community creation, design and completion of the Bernardsville Mount Airy Road Mural Project, with a public unveiling of a new, long-anticipated 650 total square feet mural depicting the historic borough, on Memorial Day, May 31, 2021. Olmsted involved the Bernardsville community in the creation and painting of the mural, a process that began in October 2019. Olmsted provided guidance to Bernardsville residents of all ages as they painted the mural together in carefully planned sessions in the Bernardsville Train Station over several months. Olmsted, a Bernards High graduate, is also the artist of the mural at the Greater Somerset Hills YMCA.

“Communities truly benefit from participating and collaborating in the creative process of painting a mural. Having done over 100 large scale collaborative mural projects around the state and beyond, I am always humbled by the enthusiastic contributions of the communities where I get to work. Mural projects like the one in Bernardsville, do not happen in a vacuum—they take the input, heart, and energy of hundreds of people to be successful," added Olmsted.

The mural is a permanent installation and attraction that covers both sides of the bridge on Mount Airy Road, a main thruway for downtown Bernardsville. The mural reads “Welcome to Bernardsville” on one side of the bridge, and on the other: “Small Town, Big Community”.

The Mount Airy Road Mural Project in Bernardsville was a collaborative project with the Borough of Bernardsville, the Somerset Hills School District, and Downtown Bernardsville.

“We were so thrilled to install and celebrate this beautiful mural of Bernardsville,” said Mayor of the Borough of Bernardsville, Mary Jane Canose. “Bernardsville had never done a beautification project of this scale before. We thank the community, our sponsors and especially our mural artist, Caren Frost Olmsted,” added Mayor Canose.

“The excitement and feedback from the community has been tremendous,” said Olivia Manning, executive director of Downtown Bernardsville. “Beautifying this area is inspiring the community to improve all of Bernardsville. Creative Placemaking projects like this are based on a community-led process that help revitalize downtowns,” added Manning.

Follow Caren Frost Olmsted/Olmsted Mural Group on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. For more information, please visit cfodesigns.com.

For mural inquiries for your city, school or business, please email info@cfodesign.com or call (908) 208-7516.

About Caren Frost Olmsted
Caren Frost Olmsted is the owner and principal of CFO Design, which she founded in 2006. Her projects are wide and varied, and she loves it that way - large and small scale murals, corporate, educational, project management, and art direction. Each day holds the promise of something different- new people, new art, new challenges. Her works have appeared on national television and print media, as well as numerous galleries, schools, businesses and homes across the country. Caren holds a degree in Theater Design from Bates College, and a degree in Art Education, from Appalachian State University, and holds a New Jersey State Teaching Certificate. Prior to CFO Design, she worked for several years in professional theater as a Set and Lighting Designer, and four years as an Art Educator.

Caren is a member of, and teaches through Morris Arts and The Center for Contemporary Art. She is the founding co-chair of ARTsee Open Studio Tour, and served as the Cultural Arts Chair on for the Parks and Recreation Committee of Bernards Township. Her studio is in Basking Ridge, New Jersey where she lives with her husband and two sons (whom Olmsted considers her most spectacular creations).

Amiee Watts
Amiee Watts Public Relations
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