Navigators ask teens to create Fraser Field mural

LYNN – Raw Art Works artist John Plunkett said when North Shore Navigators General Manager Bill Terlecky invited RAW to create a mural for Fraser Field, it would have been easy to go cliche.”Show happy people out at a baseball game, but I thought, ?no,'” said Plunkett, 19. “We’ll get creative and make baseball creatures and baseball birds.”The result is a sprawling mural designed by Plunkett, Dustin Hornblower, 18, and Deondre Rivera, 17, and painted by a half dozen other artists, like Kadeem Dalley, who stood atop a tall ladder painting a sky blue border around a giant robot that’s tearing up a hot dog stand. Dalley said the project has been fun.”We started painting legitimately last week, and we have so much done already,” he said. “We’ll finish soon.”RAW Art Therapist Bruce Orr said the project came about when Terlecky approached RAW about doing a mural along the wall at the Locust Street entrance to Fraser Field. As head of the public art program for the Central Square organization, Orr tapped the Good 2 Go Crew to design the mural.Orr said Terlecky gave no specifics, so the crew visited the site, because they always visit a site before to get a feel for the place, then went to work.For his part, Terlecky said, “Bruce is the artist, I sell baseball tickets. Wouldn’t the idea be not to take away from the creativity?”Orr may be the artist, but he was only consulting on this project and he proved that Tuesday morning when Plunkett took a look at the yellow paint Orr had mixed and said he thought it should be lighter.”Now, I could just say, ?Take this yellow paint that I gave you and put it on that wall,'” Orr said, raising his voice in mock indignation. “But I want them in on as much of the decision-making process as possible ? so if he says the (yellow) is too bright, then it’s too bright.”After months of planning, the crew began painting three weeks ago, but they only paint three days a week and lost several days to bad weather. Still, they have made amazing progress. Tuesday Plunkett added translucent purple paint to the red T-shirt of one character, giving it depth, while Hornblower worked on a quirky robot that stands at bat.Orr said he loves that while the mural was sketched out completely before they started painting, there have been pieces that have developed organically as the teens go along, like the color variations. On paper everything was done with simple but bright colors and outlines, but once the artists started painting, subtle layers of browns, pinks, grays and even translucent purple were added.”It’s not just a flat, graphic, cartoony image anymore,” Orr said. “It’s pretty sophisticated, and they did that. They’ve done a great job.”Hornblower said the hardest part has been working in the intense sun and heat.”I got really sunburned last week,” he said, adding, “This is the biggest (mural) I’ve done, and I feel like it’s going really good. We’re all putting effort into it, and it doesn’t look half-assed.”Orr said he loves the way the mural reflects baseball as well as each artist’s personality.”Something magical happens with the arts ? if everything is working right, if everyone is on the same wavelength, the energy everyone is feeling makes it look like it’s all done by the same hand and that’s what’s happening here,” Orr said.”It’s pretty cool, isn’t it?” Terlecky said, watching the teens work. “For us, the Navigators, being involved in the community is a big thing, working with these guys and other organizations, it’s kind of what we’re supposed to be doing.”