Lebanon-based artist Katie Trainer unveiled a 70-foot mural at the Blue Mountain Service Plaza in Newburg on Jan. 8.
The 17th and final in the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts’ Art Sparks series, the mural was made with panels by students at Shippensburg Area High School, guided by Trainer.
Trainer’s favorite part of teaching young students, she said, is watching kids come out of their shells.
“The whole thing I do is say, ‘there’s no way to mess up.’ If we don’t like something we do, we can just wait for it to dry and cover it up,” Trainer explained. “Most of them were brand new at painting, so it was really cool to watch the transition from timid to really getting into it at the end.”
Trainer has worked with kids before, but this was her first time at a school with block scheduling. The longer class periods gave her more time with each class, which she said was conducive to creativity and less stress.
For the project, students were asked to think about what makes their town unique and design and paint panels based on that. That meant researching the culture, wildlife, and attractions in the area.
“I feel very sincerely that they appreciate their hometown way more,” explained Trainer. “Every kid kinda hates their hometown, but they really got into it and spent weeks working on this imagery that they’ve assembled.
“They see the world in a bigger scale than they did before.”
The panels were then installed by Trainer, who worked tirelessly leading up to the new year to get the panels ready and install them in the service plaza.
The students were bussed out to the plaza Jan. 8 to see the unveiling. Trainer said the students were excited to see their art displayed, not missing a beat despite just coming up from two snow days and a two-hour delay that week.
With 250,000 people visiting the rest stop annually, Trainer said, students realized how many people would see their art.
“In four years, that’s a million people that are gonna see that,” Trainer said. “I feel like they were really excited, and their eyes kept circling around and around.”
The Art Sparks series, which began in 2017, has put large scale public art pieces at all PA Turnpike service plazas.
Trainer, who has completed murals both in and outside of Lebanon County and worked with artists of all ages in workshops and classes, said she also felt a personal connection to Art Sparks.
Read More:
- Muralist Katie Trainer finishes unity mural in downtown Lebanon (2019)
- New “Sun Pizza” by Katie Trainer serves as welcome sign for Campbelltown (2020)
- Local artist paints mural to provide inspiration during COVID-19 crisis (2020)
- Snitz Creek & Katie Trainer partner to sparkle up busy downtown intersection (2021)
- Overcoming adversity: Katie Trainer’s journey from injury to art exhibition (2023)
Her muralist mentor Mike Miller completed the 16th leg of the project at Bowmansville Service Plaza.
“It’s such an honor to be involved with such a large project,” said Trainer. “And to be the final, culminating project? I feel so honored.”
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