LOCAL

From homeless to Henderson: Artist Loralea Landrum finds community with completion of town's newest mural

A mural depicting a map of Chester County now welcomes drivers into Downtown Henderson as they travel past the Bramblett Group office on Main Street in Henderson, Tenn. on Sept. 19, 2019.

A group gathering on Main Street in Downtown Henderson had a cause for celebration Thursday: a massive mural depicting Chester County's best offerings now offers a warm welcome to the heart of the city.

"When people drive over the bridge right here, the first thing they see is a Welcome to Henderson sign, basically," Bramblett Group art director Emily Ervin said. "It's just welcoming people, inviting them to the community and giving them something cool to look at."

But the mural is more than a painting on the side of a building. To those in the community, it represents the city's kindred spirit and progress.

Each of the painting's features — from ears of corn to scattered tractors and small but expressive cows — was painstakingly brought to life by the brush of Loralea Landrum, a West Tennessee artist responsible for several murals and pieces of sign work in Jackson and other areas.

Jason and Dawn Bramblett, commissioners of the mural and owners of local marketing company The Bramblett Group, knew they wanted to work with someone special to bring their idea to fruition. Ervin and co-art director Courtnee Williams created the mural's design based on a map they designed for a community publication. All they needed was an artist.

'Like a Hallmark story'

Henderson is a community that thrives on the connections between its neighbors, according to Heather Griffin, director of coordinated school health for Chester County Schools.

Griffin said there is an optimistic feeling that seems to be spreading throughout the town as more buildings go up and people look for opportunities to help each other. 

A case in point, Griffin said, is Landrum's mural.

Area Relief Ministries Executive Director Mike Roby hugs mural artist Loralea Landrum in front of her latest mural depicting Chester County on Main Street in downtown Henderson, Tenn. on Sept. 19, 2019.

Jason Bramblett knew just who to go to when trying to find the right artist for the job. His friend Mike Roby, executive director at Area Relief Ministries in Jackson, "has a gift for connecting people."

Bramblett said he has a soft spot for the people ARM serves: those who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. He called Roby asking for an artist, and a short time later, Roby introduced him to Landrum.

Landrum said she's loved art ever since she can remember. Pieces of her artwork still decorate some walls in Jackson, though others have been painted over.

"My 'All About Me' book in kindergarten said I was an artist, but it also said my favorite food was liver, so I don't know what I was thinking," Landrum said with a laugh.

Her previous projects include one that she calls "Evolution of a Tarp." It's a tree house she built for herself to live in when she found herself without a home.

"I was painting a mural in Jackson and a series of unfortunate events wound me up in a parking lot with a paint brush in my hand and nowhere to go," she explained. She lived in the house for a year, outfitting it with a tin roof, windows, solar power and a wood stove.

Mural artist Loralea Landrum stands in front of her latest work, which depicts a map of Chester County on the Bramblett Group building on Main Street in downtown Henderson, Tenn., on Sept. 19, 2019.

She has since passed the house on to new owners and looks forward to creating many more murals in the Henderson area. After her work for the Bramblett Group, several other businesses expressed interest in having her create large-scale art to adorn their buildings.

"The good thing about Loralea is not the stuff she does with a paint brush, though that's amazing," Jason Bramblett said. "It's the stuff she does in your heart."

"It's like a Hallmark story, it really is," he added.

Landrum said this project "is the coolest thing yet," and she is enthusiastic about creating more art in the town.

"The people here are just beautiful, and I'm grateful and blessed to be a part of what's going on here," she said. "I'm a small piece of something huge and beautiful that's bringing people together on a soul level."

Reach Cassandra Stephenson at ckstephens@jacksonsun.com or at (731) 694-7261. Follow Cassandra on Twitter at @CStephenson731.