Hometown pride inspires Steampunk murals

Two Steampunk-themed murals by artist Jamie Townsend were painted on some plywood covering broken windows in the Woolson Block building in Springfield.

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This video was created by Mike Dion for the SAPA TV Steampunk Video Contest in conjunction with the Springfield VT Steampunk Festival.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20150901/NEWS02/709019916

Two Steampunk-themed murals by artist Jamie Townsend were painted on some plywood covering broken windows in the Woolson Block building in Springfield. Photo: Photo by Len EmeryPublished September 1, 2015 in the Rutland Herald Hometown pride inspires Steampunk murals By SUSAN SMALLHEER Staff Writer SPRINGFIELD — Jamie Townsend got a call last week out of the blue. Would he be willing to paint two pieces of plywood over the broken windows in the Woolson Block in downtown Springfield? The downtown business block was sold at a tax sale last week, its owner about $23,000 in debt to the town for taxes and water and sewer fees. Many thought the two boarded-up plate glass windows were another black eye for the downtown area. Both windows had been broken by vandals. So Melody Reed and Sabrina Smith, who also happen to be two of the main organizers of the upcoming Springfield Steampunk Festival, called the Springfield artist and asked him if he would be willing to paint the ugly plywood boards. “It was Jamie’s idea to do Steampunk,” said Smith on Monday afternoon, after Townsend put the finishing touches on the two paintings. The festival runs three days, Sept. 11-13 in downtown Springfield. “Melody and I just wanted that plywood painted in time for this weekend’s Market Madness and Steampunk,” said Smith. Townsend said he started painting the two panels Sunday and planned on putting on the finishing touches, as well as his distinctive signature, later Monday. One mural features a giant closeup of a man with aviator goggles, and the other features a woman with a top hat and flower. Townsend has been painting large colorful public art murals all over Springfield for a couple of years now. There’s an exhibit of his paintings currently in the Jenny Wren Cafe. Townsend has also carved and painted a wren for the cafe’s outdoor sign. Some of his downtown murals include a giant pink peony, a fox reading a book, a historic Springfield stagecoach and team of horses, and a reading boy, with his heels kicked up in delight. “His first thought was Steampunk,” she said. Steampunk is a mix of Victorian art, science fiction and fantasy, and 19th century industrial steam-powered machinery. Smith said she and Reed were worried that no one would replace the broken plate glass windows in the Jenny Wren Cafe and a vacant storefront next door, given the lack of action by the Woolson Block’s owner in recent years, including the tax sale. But Smith said she has since learned that Housing Vermont and the Springfield Housing Authority, which bought the building at the tax sale, plan on replacing the plate glass this Wednesday after all. The legal owner of the building has a year to redeem the building from the tax sale, and the two housing groups cannot take physical possession of the building, but they can do minor maintenance, she said. The two groups hope to eventually buy the building and renovate it. Enter Townsend, a Springfield native. “We paid him a modest amount. We can’t afford to pay thousands,” said Smith. Now, she said, the group and the artist have to figure out where to put the murals, since they have to be moved by Wednesday. Neither Townsend nor the Steampunk people were able to get ahold of the Woolson Block owner, E.J. Cully of Bridgewater, to get permission to paint the plywood, Smith said. Smith said Springfield On The Move was planning to help financially. “It’s guerilla art. He just did it and everybody loves it,” she said. “It’s all about Springfield. It really is. It’s fun to have the Steampunk Festival, but it’s all for Springfield.”