Take a stroll down the alley between the Wood Theater and Spot Coffee and you’ll take a trip down memory lane. Mike Ferrarell and Nick Capozzoli of Chicago just finished up their incredible mural downtown (part of a public art initiative by the Arts District of Glens Falls) that celebrates the history of our city. We caught up with them to find out how they gathered inspiration, some of their favorite illustrations within the mural, and a few highlights of their experience here in Glens Falls…
Nick Capozzoli (left) and Mike Ferrarell
Tell us about yourselves!
I’m Mike Ferrarell and this is Nick Capozzoli. We’re both from Chicago. We design and paint historic murals that include a lot of nostalgia and things that are relevant and significant to the makeup of smaller towns.
The two of us linked up at a screen printing studio. We were both working out of the same studio space and we started bouncing ideas off of each other and helping one another with projects. We both have similar interests in terms of art, history, and Americana.
How did this opportunity catch your eye?
Mike: The Arts District put out a call for artists in the spring, so I applied then, but didn’t hear anything. They asked me to resubmit in August for this new opportunity that seemed like a better fit, and we got word that they wanted to move forward.
What was the inspiration gathering process like for this mural?
Mike: Typically the client [The Arts District, in this case] throws out a couple of links for us to review. From there I kind of go nuts with it and see what I can learn and find. I’ll go on Newspapers.com to review old newspaper articles, or go on Flickr and type in “Glens Falls” and go through 15,000 photos that pop up. Then we compared notes with The Arts District to find out what concepts were good and what they thought maybe wouldn’t be as well received. They also put out a call for concepts to get the community involved in submitting ideas, and we narrowed it down. A lot of lists getting combined and narrowed.
What initially jumped out at you from your research about Glens Falls that made it to the finished mural?
Nick: For me, it was the photograph that we illustrated of the men logging on the river from the 1800’s. Just thinking about the amount of trees that were cut down at the time of that photograph, and Chicago wasn’t even an established city yet!
Mike: The logging one is great because it was just this old photograph. Nick illustrated that one, and the challenge was figuring out a way to get it on the mural without having a very line heavy photo, so we came up with the idea of putting it on the newspaper to make it a bit more graphic.
I also like the bridge illustration. There’s a lot of history with bridges here, and we could probably do a whole mural just about the different bridges that have existed here over the years. I think it’s a fun image - kinda wonky - that brings the history of the bridges to life.
What are some of the challenges you encountered while painting this week?
Mike: It looks like there’s a lot of straight lines, but there isn’t a single one. There’s a lot of taping involved, a lot of finessing to make things look straight.
Also, the brick on this particular building doesn’t get any sun, so it’s been really cold this week.
Nick: Paint doesn’t like to stick to cold brick!
Mike: Right, and also the paint takes a little longer to dry.
Nick: There were some sections where the brick was really porous so we really needed to spend more time packing paint into those areas.
Mike: Some of the bricks that have more wear were almost like painting over dust. So in those areas, when we took tape of, some of that paint would come off with it, which could get frustrating.
Have you had much time to explore and experience Glens Falls?
Mike: We were able to go to the hockey game, and that was sick. We love live sports and had a great time. Really great energy there.
There’s no shortage of places to eat and drink around here! We haven’t been able to do much, but we’ve enjoyed grabbing food at The Bullpen, or right here at Spot Coffee - their sandwiches are great.
Nick: It was impressive to see the turnout from the Halloween event [Boo2You]. It was packed! It looked like a really good time.
Another thing that stands out is all of these old buildings. It’s so nice that you guys still have a lot of these. It looks like 221 [Glen Street] just had the facade redone and it’s just - wow. There’s a real sense of preservation about it.
What’s your take on murals and public art moving forward?
Mike: It’s a big part of downtown revitalization. It’s a super accessible way to experience art. And with social media to help increase the exposure, hopefully it gets more people out and about in these communities to experience it.
