RED BANK: NEW LIBRARY MURAL SHINES

The mural on the side of the Red Bank Public Library was installed in February. (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)

By BRIAN DONOHUE

While we were all hunkered down amid the brutal cold, a new mural emerged in late winter on the side of the Red Bank Public Library featuring themes of literature, local fauna and landscapes, and the personal story of one Red Bank child’s bond with an orphaned bird.

It was designed by Red Bank Middle School art teacher (and current teacher of the year) Diana Archila and painted by several dozen students and two alumni in recent years. It was painted at the school and installed on the wall in mid-February.

It is the first in a series of murals designed for the library, based on books with animals named in the title, as the main protagonists or supporting characters, according to the original 2020 design proposal. Animals native or common to the local area and local scenery – in this case, the sunset over the Navesink River – are incorporated.

Adito, the Cedar Waxwing sings on in the mural on the side of the Red Bank Public Library. (Photo by Brian Donohue)

The mural depicts an American Red Fox, a species common to Red Bank, and also the protagonist of “Pax,” the 2016 New York Times Bestseller about a young boy and his fox.

A bird in a cage sits atop a copy of Maya Angelou’s 1969 autobiography, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.“

The bird, a Cedar Waxwing, was chosen because Yaneliss Gutierrez Perez, an RBMS alumnus who worked on the mural, had rescued an injured waxwing as a young child and kept it for several years before it died two years ago.

“My mom had a strong bond with Adito,” Gutierrez Perez said in a text message, referring to the name of the bird (pictured below). “They were together 24/7 and she had so much trust in us, she would just fly around on us, land on our heads, hands, arms, and shoulders. We saw her more as a person than just a bird, a little animal that loved us as much as we loved her. It’ll be almost two years since she’s passed, so I keep painting her to keep her life going.”

Gutierrez Perez is now a senior at Red Bank Regional High School Art Academy. She and fellow RBR Art Academy and RBMS alumnus Sophia Lopez worked on the mural as a volunteer project to fulfill RBR community service requirements. Three classes of RBMS eighth graders also painted the mural.

“We are thrilled to see this stunning mural, created by Red Bank Middle School art teacher Diana Archila and her talented students, showcased so prominently in our community,” Red Bank Borough Board of Education Superintendent Jared Rumage said in an email to redbankgreen. “Ms. Archila is an advocate for the arts and an active community member; it is inspiring to watch her share her passion on such a grand scale. Projects like this do more than beautify a wall; they anchor a neighborhood’s identity and give students a profound sense of ownership over their environment.”

Archila has also led student-painted mural projects behind Coffee Corral and other locations around town.

redbankgreen editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331.

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