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Art is a part of a community

| 25 Oct 2016 | 01:50
    Stefanie Jasper, CEO of Mountain Murals and Music (MM&M), looks over the progress that artist Steph Burr is making on the mural she is creating on a garage wall.
    Stefanie Jasper, CEO of Mountain Murals and Music (MM&M), looks over the progress that artist Steph Burr is making on the mural she is creating on a garage wall.
    Last Sunday, artist Steph Burr of Torrington, Conn. began a mural on a garage wall at 40 Limekiln Road in Hamburg.
    Last Sunday, artist Steph Burr of Torrington, Conn. began a mural on a garage wall at 40 Limekiln Road in Hamburg.
    Artist Ramiro Davaro-Comas of Ramiro Studios works on a trailer-mounted mural for Mountain Murals and Music; while on the other side of the mural students from Wallkill Valley Regional High School were working on their own creation.
    Artist Ramiro Davaro-Comas of Ramiro Studios works on a trailer-mounted mural for Mountain Murals and Music; while on the other side of the mural students from Wallkill Valley Regional High School were working on their own creation.
    Stefanie Jasper, CEO of Mountain Murals and Music (MM&M), speaks about different mural projects and the upcoming MM&M festival.
    Stefanie Jasper, CEO of Mountain Murals and Music (MM&M), speaks about different mural projects and the upcoming MM&M festival.
    Artist Mathew Denton Burrows of Dripped On Productions works on a trailer-mounted mural for Mountain Murals and Music; while on the other side of the mural students from Wallkill Valley Regional High School were working on their own creation.
    Artist Mathew Denton Burrows of Dripped On Productions works on a trailer-mounted mural for Mountain Murals and Music; while on the other side of the mural students from Wallkill Valley Regional High School were working on their own creation.
    Last Wednesday, Steph Burr of Torrington, Conn. completed a mural for Mountain Murals and Music at 40 Limekiln Road in Hamburg. The painting took her 13 hours from start to finish.
    Last Wednesday, Steph Burr of Torrington, Conn. completed a mural for Mountain Murals and Music at 40 Limekiln Road in Hamburg. The painting took her 13 hours from start to finish.

HAMBURG — It is well documented that art and culture provide significant economic benefits to a community.
Besides the contributions of ideas and creativity, the arts also increase tourism, consumer purchases, jobs, and other conditions that have a positive fiscal impact on an area. This is one of the reasons why Stefanie Jasper and her husband, Robert Whitescarver, think their Mountain Murals and Music project is a good idea. Another good reason is community — a joining and expanding of a communal spirit.
Last Wednesday, Jasper and Whitescarver invited businesses and officials from Hamburg and Franklin to their home on Limekiln Road in Hamburg to see finished murals, watch murals being created, and discuss next year’s Mountain Murals and Music festival.
The annual event is scheduled to take place in August 2017, with the heart of the festival being in Franklin or Hamburg.
Inspired by mural projects in Ithaca, N.Y., Miami, Fla., and other places around the country, Jasper and Whitescarver have started Mountain Murals and Music to bring this art form to the area and to engage local businesses, officials, and all the community in its development, support, benefits, and enjoyment. With a network of mural artists from Manhattan, Brooklyn and Connecticut already engaged since the introductory festival last year, and with the completion of a number of murals including on the side of the Hamburg Plumbing Supply building, Mountain Murals and Music (MM&M) is off to a good start.
In keeping with their belief in fostering a healthy community, Jasper and Whitescarver have launched a healthy beverages and snacks business called Get Juiced. The business is the first sponsor of the Mountain Murals and Music festival and will be opening soon in Hamburg.
For more information about Mountain Murals and Music or Get Juiced, call Stefanie Jasper at 201-725-0094 or email her at stefaniejasper@aol.com. Information can also be found on the MM&M website www.mountainmuralsandmusic.com.
— Photos by Chris Wyman