Open to Blank Walls: Making the Most of Moving Outdoors
By Julie Horner, August 2, 2020
Even on the dark days, the sun always rises. Evan Borthwick, owner of Redwood Pizzeria in downtown Felton admitted, “This is a significant bottoming out.” But you can’t thread the needle during a pandemic. “Some people take risks; others are more cautious. We need to eat, and we miss our music.”
It’s a trick of the light as eateries and music venues shadow box around evolving rules during the health crisis, thinking creatively to keep doors open to maintain at least a trickle of income and a modicum of normal. Investing in your outdoor space, if you’re fortunate enough to have some, is the hot option. And if you’re in the right place at the right time, you might become an extra in a music livestream.
Evan’s idea was to provide a sense of place where neighbors could check their stress at the gate and enjoy a moment of peace with their pizza. Maybe even add a splash of instrumental joie de vivre. The back parking lot takeover included a new fence to frame the space, twinkling lights for atmosphere, and spectacular wall art for an inviting feel.
Evan found local mural artist, Erika Louise Rosendale of Mysterikal Arts, on the internet. “He was so great,” she said. “He told me, ‘just go for it’ and trusted me the whole way, which was fantastic. It was a great collaboration.”
Originally from the Santa Cruz Mountains, Erika is used to working big. Part of the Made Fresh Crew, a Santa Cruz artist collective that painted the side of Days Market in Seabright, she was also a co-designer on the Fresh Walls Project, which painted the Clean Oceans Mural, a 500-foot long artwork along Mission Street at Bay View Elementary, Santa Cruz County’s largest mural.
Erika is open to blank walls.
She studied art and set design at Boston University, so she painted on expansive canvases fairly regularly, she said. “I went on to work in theater and did set work and backdrops, stuff that was large and had to be done super fast.” She learned quickly how to incorporate natural elements in her painting. “Often when you’re doing scenic work you have a lot of walls to cover, so rocks are part of the repertoire.”
Picture a captivating background for music, outdoors in a mountain setting. “When Evan reached out, I knew I was going to be doing two walls, so I went to the idea of creeks and redwoods, that kind of familiar vibe” for the first project. The wall had started out a muddy brown. “I wanted that immersive feeling, like you’re in the forest, so I got to pull out the forest from the brown background.” Erika uses spray paints for texture and layers on finer details with a brush.
The theme of the second mural—which will cover the entire back wall of the pizzeria, incorporate and disguise some of the mundane back-of-the-building elements, and wrap around the side to spill out into the street—is decidedly “cosmic and spacey” and intended to capture Felton’s “out there” appeal. Further details are top secret. The project begins in August.
Scale changes with perspective. “I loved being able to attack this wall and step back 30 feet and go, ‘this looks really good.’ There was some liberation in that. And I actually had a conversation with a little kid who was skateboarding in the parking lot. He suggested some animals and bugs to add, so it morphed a little bit. Great to get youthful feedback.”
It’s a tough time for those who thrive on being social, and it seems like there could be even more outdoor spaces open. It’s working. “Hey, you know what, we live in a great area, people aren’t going to want to go back inside, if we do this right. I’m stoked to have a piece of my art be part of it. Evan is creating an outlet.”
Visit Erika Louise Rosendale at Mysterikal Arts:
facebook.com/mysterikalarts | instagram.com/mysterikal.arts
Redwood Pizzeria, 6205 Highway 9, Felton (831) 335-1500
redwoodpizza.com | facebook.com/RedwoodPizzeria
Live music outdoors on Sundays.
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