The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
‘I COULDN’T SAY NO’
Artist seizes chance to create postcard welcome mural
WINSTED — It’s much more than the typical “welcome” sign. A turquoise-colored postcard mural, on the rockface on Rowley Street near the entrance to the recreation department’s skate park, recently was completed by artist Ash Royer.
Each letter of the word “Winchester” contains miniportraits and details of the town, including historical buildings and other wellknown sites.
Winchester Recreation Department head Tanya Risucci and Western Distrist Tourism Council member Lara GreenKazlauskas wanted to find an affordable project artist for the mural. “Ash did a beautiful job,” Risucci said. “She came back multiple times, and added the details that we asked for. She was absolutely wonderful to work with.
“I think it’s great,” she said. “It welcomes people to the area.”
The mural marks the town’s 250th anniversary this year, and was a collaboration between the Winsted Elks Club, the Winchester 250 Committee, Friends of Main Street and the Winchester Recreation Department, for a total cost of $1,700.
Royer has expanded her portfolio of work to include murals during the last few years. Last year, she did a piece for Lake Compounce in Bristol. Her work is on her Facebook page.
“I’ve always had an interest in art; the whole thing has always come naturally to me,” said Royer, who is a Thom
aston resident. “It wasn’t until after I graduated from high school that I really started to focus on it.”
She was first approached by Green-Kazlauskas.
“When Lara first approached me, I had a lot going on, and I was really busy, but it was such an honor to be chosen to do this,” Royer said. “I couldn’t say no.”
The mural took her about a month from start to finish, she said. “Lara has been an incredible ally through this whole project, and so has Tanya Risucci, the recreation director,” Royer said. “Most of the feedback I’ve received has been very positive. People love it.”
Royer painted the mural in her spare time.
“I have a nine-to-five job, so I had to work on it in between,” Royer said. “I went there after work every day that I could, usually for three or four hours.”
Mayor Candy Perez, who is leading the 250th anniversary committee, credited Kazlauskas for bringing the mural idea to Winsted.
“She’s really the one who spearheaded this,” the mayor said. “She works hard to bring people into town through the tourism council, because she knows how much tourism helps our community.”
The town’s 250th anniversary celebration has been rescheduled a number of times this year, Perez said, and now is scheduled for Nov. 13 with a ceremony and a play that will be staged by the Soldier’s Monument Commission at the Gilbert School. Details will be provided on the town’s website, townofwinchester.org.
“If you’re familiar with our annual cemetery walks, it will be kind of like that,” Perez said. “There will be people dressed in costumes talking about a particular person. The event’s being sponsored by Northwest Community Bank.”
Candace Bouchard, a member of Friends of Main Street, said the mural is a great addition to the town.
“Lara’s our representative on the tourism board, and she really liked what the Friends of Main Street did last year, decorating Main Street with snowflakes, and she said, ‘Why not do a mural?’ It was just a plain wall, and now it’s celebrating our anniversary. We totally supported the efforts to do this.”
Royer has a solo art show opening at the Connecticut Art Gallery at 157 E. Main St., Thomaston, on Sept. 18, “Personal Identities.” For information, go to theconnecticutartgallery.com.