The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Local artist wins contest to brew up more artwork
Steph Burr receives mural contract at brewery
TORRINGTON — Steph Burr, a professional artist and graphic designer, was among three winners of a statewide art contest sponsored by Two Roads Brewing Co., and was the artist selected to receive a contract to create more murals for the brewery.
Two Roads, the largest craft brewery in the state, is located in Stratford.
Burr grew up in Thomaston. She graduated from Thomaston High School in 2006 and earned her bachelor of arts degree in Studio Art and Filmmaking from Fairfield University. She is a manager at the NWCT Arts Council and the founder of Sidewinder Studio, a creative services agency based in Torrington.
For Burr, winning the contest is a step forward in her art career. She began painting as a teenager, finding comfort in painting after her mother’s death from cancer when she was 13.
“I did it for self-therapy,” she said. “I’ve always experimented with painting on walls, but I really started as an acrylic painter.”
While attending Fairfield University, Burr met the famous graffiti artist John Matos, known professionally as “Crash” who had a show on campus. Matos, a Bronx, N.Y. native, was discovered in the 1980s as a public artist and now has a successful career, partnering with companies including Absolut Vodka, Fender Guitars, SoBella Handbags and most recently Tumi Luggage and Morphik, according to his website. He continues to work and show locally and internationally.
Eventually, the artist hired Burr to help paint a mural in New York City. Since then, he has been her mentor. Learn more about Crash at https:// www.crashone.com.
“Crash really helped me understand how to do (mural) work,” Burr said. “I worked with him in New York and Miami, and his gallery, Wallworks N.Y. in the Bronx, represents me.”
But finding her place in her home state of Connecticut has been a challenge. When she learned about the statewide call for artists from Two Roads, she entered.
The Two Roads mural contest began with a call to artists from all over Connecticut to submit a portfolio of work for the chance to paint a mural at Christy’s Irish Pub in New Haven. Burr was chosen as one of the five finalists, who were all asked to paint a wood pallet as a sample submission.
At an event at Christy’s on May 12, the pallets were displayed and three finalists were chosen to paint murals on the walls of the patio. Burr was among them, along with Marisa Copley of Willimantic and Eric Mikita of New Haven. The artists completed the murals, which were each about 30’ wide, and the work was unveiled at an event on June 16.
After the event, Two Roads offered Burr a contract to do a series of murals at the Space Ballroom, a music venue in Hamden. Burr was also contracted to create two live murals at Ok2berfest, an annual festival at the brewery taking place the weekend of Sept. 15-16, which typically draws more than 5000 visitors, according to Two Roads.
People are invited to attend the mural unveiling event at The Space Ballroom in Hamden, which will take place Sept. 13. The event will feature a Tap Takeover from Two Roads and an artist meet-andgreet, and will take place in conjunction with a performance by Perpetual Groove.
Burr is encouraged by the opportunities provided by the contest.
“It will definitely open new doors for me,” she said. “I’ve never had anything like this kind of exposure before in my career. I’ve had success in New York and Florida, but I’ve been struggling to get a foothold in Connecticut. So it’s a really big deal for me to have local support like this.”
Burr is an advocate of public art, wherever it may appear. Torrington’s efforts to bring more artists and creative businesses into the city makes her very happy, she said.
“I really love Torrington, and I love Connecticut,” she said. “Public art is absolutely wonderful. It’s been proven over and over again that public art can make cities more productive, more vibrant.
“In Torrington, I think they’re taking a wise approach by encouraging artists,” she said. “There are so many amazing artists in the community.”
Locally, her work with the Northwest Connecticut Arts Council has included painting a dog statue for the ‘Tails of Northwest Connecticut” public art project; hers can be seen at the Chamber of Commerce office on Kennedy Drive.
“I’m a huge advocate of public art,” she said. “It’s wonderful to see it everywhere.”
Learn more about Burr’s work at www.stephburr.com. For information on Two Roads, visit tworoadsbrewing.com