Dreamscape: Southeast student creates mural to help draw patrons to Jackson library

Recent Southeast Missouri State University graduate Terry Davis is painting up a storm on the front of Riverside Regional Library's main branch in Jackson, creating a mural he designed.

Library director Jeff Trinkle said the idea came about a few months ago.

"This is our main branch, and we're in a strip-mall situation, so we wanted something to increase our visibility -- creatively, if we could," Trinkle said.

Trinkle said the solution came in art student Terry Davis, who came recommended to the library board from Southeast's art department.

"In the beginning, we talked about what we'd like to see," Trinkle said.

A mural is being painted by Terry Davis on Saturday at Riverside Regional Library in Jackson.Fred Lynch

Davis said the design evolved through back-and-forth conversation.

"They were very easy to work with," Davis said of the library board.

Davis created a line drawing of his idea for the mural, Trinkle said, and created a rendering in full color that would become the plan.

"His mockups were great," Trinkle said. "You could tell he's a great talent."

Davis worked on a mural in October, he said, but this is his first solo mural project.

Terry Davis makes progress on a mural Saturday at Riverside Regional Library in Jackson.Fred Lynch

"He's working with 900 square feet," Trinkle said. "That's a lot bigger than your standard 11-by-16 canvas, but he's doing great."

Trinkle said he's glad to have a creative mind working on this project, since his own thought was to have shelves with books painted on them.

"But he has a kid having a daydream, moves into a seascape, books flying off a shelf, a cardinal in flight, a view of the town square looking toward it from High Street," Trinkle said, adding, "It's telling a story, trying to bring you to the front door."

Davis said he wanted to bring a lot of Jackson references into the mural to give people points to identify with and show story elements to give ideas about what a library can do for the imagination.

Davis said he started at the far end with a boy on a bicycle emerging from a forest toward the Jackson courthouse, then moved toward a girl with a glimpse of Hubble Creek behind her.

"She's reading," Davis said, gesturing toward the more fantastical elements, the seascape, the books flying from the shelves.

The mural tells a story, Davis said, which he thought was important.

Also important was downplaying ethnicity and gender of the mural's human figures.

"We wanted to be inclusive," Davis said, but the mural's focus was what the library can do for the imagination.

"The mural is great for us. I think it shows we're proud of what we have, and what we offer. A lot of libraries are going to a big box floor plan, which is more accessible, easier for patrons and staff to get around, and we're always looking to improve. With the outside, all we can really do is paint."

"It's an effort to make sure everyone knows we're here," Trinkle said.

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address: 1997 E. Jackson Boulevard, Jackson, Mo.