Shelburne Falls Mosaic Mural Project

Mosaic Mural Project Update

My name is Cynthia Fisher and I am a mosaic artist living in Buckland and I specialize in creating public art installations and conducting school residencies and community public art. I have done installations from Maine to Florida, and thought how wonderful it would be to offer what I do elsewhere to my own community. The idea was first proposed to the Shelburne Falls Village Partnership and received a positive response.  The Shelburne Falls Area Civic Beautification Association has graciously offered to sponsor the project,  the 501 c-3 non-profit status being necessary to apply for some of the grants funding the endeavor. To date, $19,650 has been raised, and more grants are still outstanding. Generous support has been received from the Ella Lyman Cabot Trust, the Highlands Communities Initiative, and the Massachusetts local cultural councils for the towns of Ashfield, Buckland, Charlemont, Conway, Plainfield and Shelburne. The murals will be situated on the facades and sides of buildings on both sides of the river in Shelburne Falls. (For those of you on the SFABA who are building owners, I introduced you to the project last fall…)

As for project specifics, I will be working with students and community residents to create 10 3’ x 3’ murals that depict each of the ten hilltowns of West County, and a group of murals that highlights the Deerfield River environment, including the glacial potholes, flora and fauna, Native Americans’  historical use of Salmon Falls, current power production on the river etc. Since the project’s inception I have been busy organizing all the myriad details of the project, from fundraising to generating interest and excitement by prospective participants. I have met with art and classroom teachers and in April will be generating ideas for mural content from elementary students in grade 3 (they have a curriculum unit on the local area). While the ideas for imagery to be included will come from the students, I will be doing the drawings and designing all the artwork. After sketches are done, students in grades 3-6 at the elementary schools will assemble the mosaics. The Deerfield River mosaics will be worked on with middle and high school students as well as members of the community at large in workshops at the Shelburne Senior Center. Steel frames will be constructed by students at
Franklin County Technical School in Turners Falls.

If you have any questions or comments, or are interested in participating, please don’t hesitate to contact me at 625-8204 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . You can view my work at my website, BIGBANGMOSAICS.com.