SWAMPSCOTT — Every day on her way home from Swampscott High School, art teacher Taylor Byrnes drives along Lynn Shore Drive, and she always marvels at the sight of the Boston skyline off in the distance.
And that sight inspired the design for the Swampscott beach sticker, which was unveiled last week at a Select Board meeting.
Select Board chair Peter Spellios came up with the idea of having a town beach sticker with its own design after seeing it on Cape Cod, Byrne said. This is the second year of designing the stickers. Last year’s decal, a depiction of the Swampscott Fish House, was drawn by Lisa Harris, the Middle School Art Teacher.
Spellios approached Byrne about doing a drawing in the middle of December, and she submitted the sketch in March, before schools were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Her drawing is a collage depicting the Boston skyline as seen from Lynn Shore Drive, the route Byrne takes every day to get to her home in Somerville. It includes a sunset behind the Boston skyline and silhouettes of sailboats.
“Actually,” she said, “living where I do in Somerville, I see that skyline a lot too. It just seemed like the natural thing to draw.”
The unveiling at last week’s meeting — which was streamed for residents of the town — was a happy occasion, she said.
“I got the feeling everyone was happy for something more positive to think about than the virus,” she said. “It was nice to see the focus back on the arts. It’s kind of ended up in the background of all the other stuff going on.
“When I began designing the sticker, I knew I wanted to create a design that captured both what I appreciate about this town and something that would feel familiar to all residents,” said Byrne. “Primarily, I hope the design calls to mind memories of warm summer nights, gazing out at a soft sunset from Fisherman’s Beach with sailboats gracefully floating in the harbor.
“I greatly appreciate the type of visibility this project gives the visual arts. How amazing that a tiny piece of art will live on cars throughout Swampscott for the summer.”
Spellios appreciated the respite from the coronavirus too.
“It was an amazing brief break from our focus on COVID-19 last week, to join with Taylor in unveiling the beautiful artwork she created for our town,” he said. “Now more than ever we need reminders of the beauty our town shares with us all every day. It is a gift that Swampscott’s public schools are filled with such talented artists like Taylor.”
The new beach sticker will appear on cars throughout town this summer. Each year more than 2,500 stickers appear on cars throughout Swampscott.
