PORT BYRON - No matter how many hours she has spent this summer painting a mural of historic Port Byron, Dawn Jordan wants to make sure that everyone knows it's about the history, not about her.
A decorator with Mackenzie-Childs from Weedsport, Jordan is currently putting the finishing touches on her latest masterpiece - painted on the side of the Shopping Guide and Press Inc. on Route 38 in Port Byron.
"I'm hoping that this will inspire young people to get interested in history or art and want to express art in other environments," said Jordan, who has been painting murals for 15 years.
The painting depicts a fictional scene of boats passing through the canal in Port Byron, featuring canal-oriented businesses and homes. Jordan said the boats pictured are steamboats, so her scene is dated somewhere around the turn of the century, when steam power replaced mule power.
While the mural is not based on any specific moment, Jordan pieced it together using old photographs. One of the parts she is most proud of is the different facial expressions on each of the canal boat passengers.
"I like being able to change the environment," Jordan said. "And bringing history to the average passer-by."
Jordan found the large, empty wall by standing in front of the Municipal Building on Utica Street in Port Byron and simply taking in the view. The owners of the Shopping Guide and Press Inc. were very cooperative and pleased to have the mural on their wall.
Other pieces of Jordan#'s work can be seen in the Fingerlakes Mall, as well as at the Moravia VFW. Her next project for Port Byron will require her to work out of her home and will be more of a billboard than a mural, but the details are still being worked out.
Jordan's mural and future billboard are part of a larger project by the newly formed Port Byron Revitalization Committee, started last spring by Mary Vitale-Redmond, Karen Thomas-Lillie and Stephanie Mills.
Since it formed, the committee has started a farmers' market, a historical walk, and secured the money for Jordan's murals through Finger Lakes Arts Grants and Services Inc.
"We#'re just pleased at the interest that the village has taken in our endeavors," said Vitale-Redmond, unofficial co-president. "And the mural is just fantastic."
Thomas-Lillie, a fellow artist, had seen Jordan#'s work and was very eager to bring her murals to Port Byron.
"I'm hoping that this will inspire young people to get interested in history or art and want to express art in other environments," said Jordan, who has been painting murals for 15 years.
The painting depicts a fictional scene of boats passing through the canal in Port Byron, featuring canal-oriented businesses and homes. Jordan said the boats pictured are steamboats, so her scene is dated somewhere around the turn of the century, when steam power replaced mule power.
While the mural is not based on any specific moment, Jordan pieced it together using old photographs. One of the parts she is most proud of is the different facial expressions on each of the canal boat passengers.
"I like being able to change the environment," Jordan said. "And bringing history to the average passer-by."
Jordan found the large, empty wall by standing in front of the Municipal Building on Utica Street in Port Byron and simply taking in the view. The owners of the Shopping Guide and Press Inc. were very cooperative and pleased to have the mural on their wall.
Other pieces of Jordan#'s work can be seen in the Fingerlakes Mall, as well as at the Moravia VFW. Her next project for Port Byron will require her to work out of her home and will be more of a billboard than a mural, but the details are still being worked out.
Jordan's mural and future billboard are part of a larger project by the newly formed Port Byron Revitalization Committee, started last spring by Mary Vitale-Redmond, Karen Thomas-Lillie and Stephanie Mills.
Since it formed, the committee has started a farmers' market, a historical walk, and secured the money for Jordan's murals through Finger Lakes Arts Grants and Services Inc.
"We#'re just pleased at the interest that the village has taken in our endeavors," said Vitale-Redmond, unofficial co-president. "And the mural is just fantastic."
Thomas-Lillie, a fellow artist, had seen Jordan#'s work and was very eager to bring her murals to Port Byron.
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