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West Orange Illustrator Creates Mural for Hazel Elementary School
WEST ORANGE, NJ – On June 20, Hazel Elementary School proudly debuted its gift from the Fifth Grade graduating class, an original mural created by West Orange Illustrator Adam Gustavson and painted by Hazel students, parents and staff.
Superintendent Jeffrey Rutzky, Mayor Rob Parisi and Hazel Principal Dr. Ed Acevedo were on hand for the unveiling of the mural, entitled “Animals of the Valley,” representing indigenous wildlife seen in and around Hazel School. Also present were Gustavson, his wife Denise, sons David (14) and Ian (11), Hazel fifth graders and their parents.
Gustavson discussed the evolution of the project. “As Ian finished up his final year at Hazel, we really wanted to find a way to thank the school for all the years we spent there and the support we’ve received, but even more than that to leave something within our abilities for the children that will be coming through.”
In conversations with Hazel parent Lisa Boymann, the idea of the mural was developed. “It was important that the subject not be dated; pictures of people get locked in time by their fashion, trademarked characters come and go. A fox, a raccoon, a squirrel? They can be just as relevant years from now," Gustavson continued.
“Actually, during the course of designing the image, a coyote and a bear so thoughtfully romped into town that we had to add them,” he laughed.
Gustavson created a painting about 40 inches wide, based on the 50’ x 10’ proportions of the retaining wall. A core group of 5th grade parents (the Gustavsons, Lisa and Tommie Boymann, and Mike and Sandra Eder) used a grid drawn onto the wall and redrew the design, laid out in blocks of 22 individual paint colors. Over the course of the next several weeks, fifth grade students helped to paint in the interior of the mural with all non-toxic exterior paints, provided by Chris Murphy of Non Toxic Paints in Roseland.
The paints are the only kind used in the West Orange School district, one of the first school districts in New Jersey to make a switch to all non-toxic materials when doing any painting projects, indoor or outdoor. The move was initiated by district Buildings and Grounds supervisor Bob Csigi.
Gustavson feels strongly about the arts, which made the mural project even more important to him. “If art is important, the people who do it need to advocate for it, and that doesn’t mean lecturing people on its importance. It means being visible, and in whatever way they can making their art visible. For art to have value in our broader community, that value needs to be experienced. And if it can balance on a delicate line of by good without coming across as elite, all the better.”
Be sure to stop by Hazel School, located at 45 Hazel Avenue, to view the mural, taking the opportunity to appreciate the West Orange community and its wildlife.
About Adam Gustavson
Adam and Denise Gustavson moved to West Orange in 2001. “I love it here,” Gustavson began.
“I love the variety that exists here. I wanted my children to grow up around people of various nationalities, ethnicities, and religions, and around people who did a variety of things for a living, with varied passions and interests. I like that there’s music to be found a stone’s throw in any direction, even as Manhattan shutters more and more places that used to offer entertainment.”
With a child heading to Edison Middle School and another to West Orange High School in September, Gustavson noted, “I love the dedication I’ve found in our schools, the genuine love with which almost every teacher and administrator I’ve had to deal with approaches their job and mission.”
Gustavson has illustrated over 30 children’s books since 1996; illustrated for magazines, ad campaigns, and book covers. His favorite book illustration projects were Bill Harley’s “Lost and Found” and Leslie Kimmelman’s “Mind Your Manners, Alice Roosevelt!”
Recent projects include imagery for a biography of Hillary Clinton by author Shana Corey for Random House, an ongoing year-long project creating over 200 images for an English as a Second Language retelling of Jack London’s White Fang for publication in South Korea, and a non-fiction out this Spring from Charlesbridge, “Dirty Rats?” by Darrin Lunde. Gustavson was “very excited about a children’s biography of the Beatles I illustrated, “Fab Four Friends,” by Susanna Reich, and “Rock and Roll Highway,” written about The Band’s Robbie Robertson by his son Sebastian.”
Supervisor, with Fifth grade students.