Sep 29, 2010 By Rebekah Sungala 7 min read

Painting a 30-by-20 mural can be a daunting task, but one local artist was able to accomplish the work in about two months by taking it one brush stroke at a time. Jenna Boyles, a 2008 graduate of Frazier High School, completed the Perryopolis mural while on break this past summer from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Md.

“I’m probably going to come back home and be amazed that I actually did it all in one summer, but when I was working on it, it didn’t seem like that big of a project,” she said. “I didn’t approach it in any different way than I would have had I was painting a 3-by-2-foot canvas. I mixed my paints the same way. I painted with similar brushes. The brush I used most was probably about 1 1/2 inches wide.”

Boyles will return to her hometown for the annual Perryopolis Pioneer Days this weekend and will participate in the mural’s dedication ceremony on Saturday immediately following the Pioneer Days parade.

The mural, which has been titled “Historic Perryopolis,” is located on the side of the Karolcik Building on South Liberty Street closet to Washington Diamond at the town circle.

Boyles said designing the mural took the most time and was the hardest part of the project.

Design work began in mid-May following a four-year hiatus. Boyles was still a student at Frazier High School in 2006 when the Perryopolis Heritage Mural Project ad hoc committee acquired grant funding to help pay for the project.

Boyles completed the first design drafts in 2007, but finding a suitable location to paint the mural was difficult and the project seemed to fizzle.

However, the project picked up steam again this year and Boyles, who was home for the summer while serving an internship in Pittsburgh, agreed to get back on board.

“As soon as I got started on it this time I knew I was going to finish it,” she said, explaining that the mural went through a series of changes before the final design was ironed out.

“It’s been through a lot of changes. The basic elements have remained the same, but there’s been a lot of changes with the composition, just moving things around,” she said. “Some things have been eliminated, some things added. Community members always wanted George Washington and the Commodore to definitely be part of the mural. They also wanted to make sure Mary Fuller Frazier was part of it.”

Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, who Perryopolis was named after, is depicted in the mural standing in front of a present-day American flag. He served in the War of 1812 against Britain and earned the title “Hero of Lake Erie” for leading American naval forces to victory during the Battle of Lake Erie. Frazier School District took the Commodores as their mascot to honor Perry.

Washington, who built a grist mill on land that would eventually become Perryopolis, and Frazier, who was born in Perryopolis and left more than $1 million to her hometown following her death, also are main features of the mural.

Also included are coke workers, a coal miner and a row of coke ovens that signify when Perryopolis, and most of Fayette County, was known worldwide as the site for baking coal into coke, which is a necessary ingredient in the production of steel.

The lower edge of the mural simulates the borough’s brick town circle, which was restored for Perryopolis’ centennial celebration in 1914.

Perryopolis will celebrate its bicentennial in 2014, and event organizers are already beginning to plan the celebration.

Borough resident Norene Halvonik, who served on the Perryopolis Heritage Mural Project ad hoc committee, said Boyle’s mural will be the centerpiece for the borough’s 200th anniversary.

Perryopolis area families who wish to have their surname painted on a brick of the mural can purchase a spot for $100 by calling Halvonik at 724-736-2133.

“We’ve sold about 25 so far, and we can sell up to 60,” Halvonik said. “I think the rest of the spaces will go quick once some of the names get painted on the mural and people see it.”

Halvonik, who worked with Lenora Polander, Elma Sokol and Pam Newmeyer on the ad hoc committee, said she’s heard nothing but great comments about Boyles’ mural.

“People are thrilled with it,” she said.

Boyles said she previously painted a mural on an exterior wall of the Loyal Order of Moose Lodge 92 on Route 51 in Perryopolis, but said the size of it paled in comparison to the heritage mural.

“I’ve worked on large paintings before, and painted the mural on the Moose Lodge, but this is by far the largest piece I’ve worked on. I remember the first time I actually went up to look at the wall where the mural would be painted and thinking it was a huge wall,” Boyles said, adding that she had help from her parents, Mike and Sandra Boyles of Jefferson Township.

Boyles said her mother, a high school art teacher, helped by giving her a ground perspective while she was up close to the mural on a scissor lift doing the painting.

“It looks a lot different when you’re up that close to it,” Boyles said. “Sometimes I knew something was off, but I couldn’t tell what from where I was. If my mom was there while I was painting, she’d be able to tell me what needed fixed. Sometimes I couldn’t put my finger on the problem, and she was able to help. She helped paint some areas, too.”

Boyles said her father primed the wall before the mural was painted and help seal it afterwards.

When it came time to begin painting the mural, Boyles first used chalk lines to form a grid and then drew the mural on the wall with chalk before outlining it in paint. She then began painting, filling in faces and layering paint.

The most difficult part, Boyles said, was getting the right angle of the commodore’s arm and hand, which sits on his hip.

The 20-year-old college junior, who is majoring in painting with a minor in creative writing, received college credits for completing the “Historic Perryopolis” mural, and said she is considering doing more community murals in the future.

“Art will always be a part of my life,” Boyles said, noting that she also is interested in other forms such as fiber art, video art and sculptural work.

“I do it all. I find it difficult to fit what I do into a category, so when I tell people I’m a painting major I usually find myself explaining what I’m interested in. My portfolio of work spans different areas,” she said.

In addition to art, Boyles said she has taken a recent interesting in farming and may like to try her hand in that someday.

Halvonik said the mural received funding from 84 Lumber Co., the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts through the Fayette County Community Foundation, PNC Bank, PPG Industries and community donors. The Perry Township Volunteer Fire Department also assisted by washing the wall before it was primed.

As more funding is acquired, the Perryopolis Heritage Mural Project ad hoc committee would like to have a narrative placed near the mural explaining the significance of the objects depicted.

Boyles documented her work on the mural in an online blog that is available by visiting www.perrymural.blogspot.com.