Inside the art studio of Jennifer Brown’s Crapaud home, a passion project is at work.

 

            The sides of the studio are crammed with shelves of books, brushes and papers. A wooden, paint-stained table sits in the middle.

 

            On one shelf sits two large canvases the size of a whiteboard put together. Several illustrations of roads, buildings, and other objects are present, with pink sticky notes sprinkled throughout.

 

            “This went from being the idea of just a picture on the wall, to being a map of the area, which evolved to being two maps,” Brown said.

 

            Brown, 73, a retired art teacher from Montreal, is designing a two-panel mural for Crapaud. It will provide a visual representation of the community’s past and present.

 

            The mural will be 16 feet x 16 feet and feature pictures of roads, buildings, and animals contemporary to both time periods. It will be installed on the outside wall of the local convenience store.

 

            It began in the 1980s during a summer vacation. Brown was drawn to the people and culture of the province and would visit it often over the years.

 

            After an autoimmune disease forced her to retire from teaching in the early 2000s, she decided to move to the Island. She chose Crapaud as her home during a visit where she accidentally discovered her future house.

 

            “I went for a walk, saw this house, saw that it was for sale, loved it, and bought it.”

 

            Though she didn’t know anything about Crapaud, she felt welcomed by its people, and looked for ways to stay involved.

 

            In late 2019, the mayor at the time pitched to Brown the concept of a crossroads mural that welcomed visitors, and instilled pride in citizens.

 

Brown had always wanted to do a community project but career and family commitments in Montreal prevented her. She liked the mayor’s idea and decided to do it.

 

            “I’ve come to love this community, so it was some way I could give to the community using what talents I have.”

 

            The COVID-19 pandemic stalled plans until 2023, after which Brown began work on the mural in September.

 

            She started by researching the history of Crapaud. She read historical books and hosted afternoon teas with local seniors, who spoke of its former lumber and shipbuilding industries.

 

            She said she was inspired by how people in the area made their living.

 

           “Doing the research for this mural has made me come to respect this place more than I already did.”

 

            Next, Brown began making the maps for the mural’s time periods. She laid out roads, fields and waterways using collage papers while reviewing existing maps.

           

            Afterward, she created and added original content, from former Mi’kmaq and Acadian communities, to various animals such as bears and caribou that no longer exist in the province.

 

            Both maps remain a work in progress, made clear from the sticky notes dotting them, which stand in for images to be added. Brown says there will be about 200 of them and she enjoys seeing her work come together.

 

“It always feels so good to whip off a note and glue on the image.”

 

            Brown works with another artist on the project. Connie Wilson contributes images to the modern map using artificial intelligence.

 

            While Brown enjoys the process, it’s not without challenges.

 

            She teaches private art classes three days a week, so she can only work on the mural when she isn’t teaching.

 

            The project will cost $6,000, half of which will be paid by the South Shore Chamber of Commerce, but community fundraising has reached just $1,300 of its $3,000 goal.

 

            Brown says the mural will likely be the last project of this scale she will work on.

 

            But with years of experience in other large-scale art projects, she is confident she will fulfill her goal.

 

            “I’m going to do it, no matter what.”

 

            The mural is planned to be completed by the end of summer, after which an unveiling and celebration event will be held.

 

            Though she will always identify as a Montrealer who has chosen to live on the Island, her work has deepened her love and respect for the place she now calls home. She hopes the mural does the same for her fellow community members.

 

        “It will be happy and informative and cheerful, and I hope it increases the already existing pride in the community.”