Lebanon mural artist Katie Trainer unveils new work at PA Turnpike HQ

In a ceremony on Friday, Sept. 5, Lebanon County artist Katie Trainer unveiled two new murals in the Pennsylvania Turnpike headquarters in Middletown after a year and a half of work and collaboration with turnpike employees.

Through the Art Sparks program, the turnpike partnered with the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts to add art to service plazas. Local artists worked alongside nearby schools to install works that reflect the communities they serve.

Meredith Wenz, communications project manager with the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, said the program helped the organization establish contact with artists like Trainer. With unique artwork in each of the service plazas, the commission invited Trainer to create something in their Middletown headquarters.

“They gave me way too many images and gave me an idea of history and future,” Trainer said. “It was originally just going to be a bunch of stuff and then turnpike-related stuff, and then it became let’s keep this as the historical one, and then this is the current projects and future projects endeavor. It has the history and the future.”

Trainer used the provided reference images and other historical turnpike photos on the large piece hanging off the ground. It shows old cars, tunnels, gas stations, and an explosion.

The ground-level piece shows the present and future of the turnpike. It’s covered in bright flowers and pollinators while also showing off electric vehicle charging and solar energy.

Wenz said the turnpike is “big on sustainability” and is constantly looking to improve. They have pollinator gardens and a giving garden in front of their building to donate vegetables. They’re also installing solar grids at their Western Regional location.

“We’re always growing, always evolving,” Wenz said. “I think that’s one of the coolest things here.”

Turnpike employees and their families helped paint the murals. Trainer had a “mural map,” where she planned where different points of interest would go, but artists and non-artists alike added the color.

“Most of my projects are community-based because I created what I call color by concept, which is like color by numbers, but rather than being strict, I’m like, ‘Let’s see what happens,’ which results in cool things,” she said.

Wenz, who has to walk past the murals to get to her desk, said she’s excited to have the color in the building and was surprised by how involved she got.

“It was cool to see everybody come,” she said. “I was the first person to say I am not painting, I don’t have an artistic bone in my body, I’m not coming down and doing this. I was out here all the time. I would just sit and paint, and I think for a lot of people that work in this building, it was just a little bit of a stress relief.”

Trainer said the communal aspect of her art means people take ownership of their space. Even if she had to tweak areas they painted, they could still see where they made an impact.

“They get excited when they see something that they might have participated in, even if it’s changed a little bit,” she said.

Her projects are also shipping out throughout the state to turnpike maintenance sheds. In an effort to add more color, she said they sent out “mini murals” for maintenance workers to paint and add personality.

Trainer and Wenz both said they were surprised by the response.

“I was really excited that a lot of the maintenance sheds were able to participate,” Wenz said.

They pulled out mini murals that represented workers’ favorite sports teams, and some had cut-out photos of employees. Trainer touched up the art, put a clear sealing coat over it, and will send them back so they can hang in the maintenance sheds.

Trainer said she’s making her final edits but is excited with how the project has come along.

“I can’t believe it’s actually here,” she said. “It’s just been in my head for so long.”