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THE MAGIC
BEHIND THE MURAL
February 9, 2017
 
 
 
 
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Last summer, Darlene and Bryon Skarupski, owners of The Market at Cedar Key, had decided it was time to redo the historic Native Indian mural that had been welcoming visitors there for over 15 years.  
 
 
They hired Travis Parks, who had done a number of recent murals in Cedar Key (in addition to being one of the artists that painted the existing mural), and prep-work began.  Unfortunately Mother Nature had another plan and when Hurricane Hermine hit in September, causing extensive damage not only to The Market, but also to their home and Bryon’s Big Deck Raw Bar on the dock the dream of a new mural was washed away.
 
 
 
 
As the Cedar Key community banded together to help each other after the storm, local residents, Nancy and Jerry Salamon, learned of the beached plans for the mural and decided to do something about it.  Along with Bev Ringenberg, who had been involved in fundraising for the murals at the Arts Center and the Gas Station Jiffy, they put out the call for support.  As Bev said later, “this was the easiest fundraiser I’ve ever been part of because everyone we asked wanted to help.”   Within a week the funds were raised and work could began again. 
 
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Darlene’s desire was to create something “bright and different” and Travis wanted to incorporate a touch of history.  When Travis suggested the theme, Darlene said “I love it!”   The mural, which was completed last week, features one of Cedar Key’s priceless sunsets and reveals the secretive activities of pirates of the past.  You need to look closely to find the hidden treasures in the mural and you just might want to keep an eye on it to make sure nothing new gets stashed away in the mural.
 
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Thanks to the generosity of the Cedar Key Arts Center, Nature Coast Realty, Old Fenimore Mill and numerous local residents for making this magic happen.   Thanks to Travis Parks, our magical muralist, for his creativity and the many hours he put into bringing this large mural to life.   More of his work can be found at http://totembrushmagic.blogspot.com/.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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