Work Underway on Mural at Downtown Library

Local Illustrator Jim Brown has begun work on a mural at the Hocutt-Ellington Memorial Library celebrating Clayton's history, the town's second public art project in just over a year.

Residents are welcome to drop by and watch the artwork come together.

"Any individuals interested in seeing the mural in the stages of creation can stop by the library during normal operating hours on the days he's working and meet Jim and see the mural design develop," said Public Art Advisory Board Chair Gina Moreland. "His design is engaging and his realistic depiction of Clayton's history allows those that grew up here to 'remember when' and those that just arrived to learn a thing or two."

The design won the approval of the Advisory Board a few days ago.

"Public art allows a community to celebrate its values and ambitions, and that is especially true in this case," Moreland said. "The context is appropriate for its location, and I think the residents of Clayton will be proud of this addition to our public art program."

The site is a hallway adjacent to the Library's Reference Room. The hallway is part of the spine connecting the primary collection, the History Room and the south wing.

The project, which should be completed this summer, has a budget of $12,000.

Brown, a Johnston County Community College art instructor, is best known for the Carolina Hurricanes mural at Duke Children’s Hospital. He was recommended for the job by the Advisory Board, which considered several area artists but liked Brown best. In recent years, he has produced box cover art for Rules of the Game and a Scooby-Doo computer game, as well as Disney illustrations for Norwegian Cruise Lines. He has also contributed to the permanent exhibit on the Centennial Campus at NCSU.

The Library enjoys a historic setting along a tree-lined street in downtown Clayton. It includes a wing dedicated to an extensive children’s collection, public computer/internet access, special programming for children including a summer reading program and the Clayton History Room, which houses reference materials, family histories, and artifacts significant to the people and culture of Clayton. Although the Library had humble beginnings in a single room of the old "Town Hall" building, it now supports a circulation exceeding 12,000 books per month.

Town officials unveiled Clayton's first public art project, a mural by artist Dorothy Demboski of town scenes called "Clayton Patchwork," last year, a 10-foot by 10-foot painting on an upstairs wall of the Clayton Center.