BY Timothy Alex Akimoff, Statesman Journal
January 20, 2007

The newest layer of paint covering the back wall of the Edgewater Cafe is designed to look old.

In sepia tones, a lonely canoe rests on the shore of a peaceful Willamette River. Tall oak trees shade the banks. The bumps and cracked paint under the new glaze add nuance.

For nearly 100 hours spread across many Sundays, Cheryl Clark of Salem has been bringing the 6 1/2- by 22-foot wall to life with a river-themed mural that commemorates the cafe's steady stream of regulars as much as it does its namesake, the Willamette River.

The mural came about after owner Susan Eichler mentioned wanting one in a newspaper story that was published when she and a co-owner bought the restaurant in August.

Clark, a longtime artist, decided it was time to put her passion for painting murals to the test. She offered to create one for Eichler in the hope that it would spark her career as a mural artist.

"I'm really excited I had the opportunity to do it," Clark said this week as she took a break from touching up some final details. "Murals are more of a challenge than an eight-by-ten oil painting."

Clark said murals offer the artist a bigger challenge.

"You have to have everything just right before you start," she said of the process that includes projecting an image on a wall, setting lines and fine, detail work. "You can't see anything when you get in close to work."

Clark and Eichler wanted an old-photograph look to match the feel of the Edgewater Cafe. Clark soon found a photograph of a canoe taken in Sioux Rapids, Iowa, in 1906.

"My parents were from Sioux Rapids," Clark said. "It's funny how these things come together."

Clark based the mural on five pictures of the Willamette River. She started in September and says she has just a few hours left to add a little more detail.

Clark said that she sometimes eats at the Edgewater Cafe, and customers have been receptive to the mural. "They really like to see the changes week to week," Clark said.

Melody Cox spends a lot of time pouring coffee, jotting down orders on a notepad and otherwise interacting with regulars and newcomers alike. "I do like to come in here in the morning and see what's new," Cox said. "Sometimes you have to look for it a bit."

Bob Burke, a regular customer, said he enjoys the mural. "There's a difference between art and fine art," Burke said. "With fine art you can see the quality from far away, and it's still there when you get up close. "There's always a new detail when you look at it," Burke said. "You always see something new."

Cheryl Clark specializes in murals, trompe l'oeil and stenciling for residential and commercial projects. She is the owner of Bella Diva Design and Aura Marketing in Salem. For more information about her mural and graphic design work, call her at (503) 371-1279.

A View of the Little Sioux from Oregon

Muralist Inspired by Old Photo

By Tina Donath, The Storm Lake Times, January 27, 2007

When Cheryl Clark of Salem, Ore., saw the 1906 photo of a canoe moored in the Little Sioux River, she knew her search was over.

Clark ran across the Sioux Rapids picture while trolling the Internet, looking for ideas for a river-themed mural she planned to paint on the wall of a café in West Salem, Ore.

Not only did the century-old sepia-toned photo have the nostalgic feel she was looking for, Clark says, but it had been taken in the home town of her parents, Arville and Ruth (Schweitzer) Walstrom.

The Walstroms, now 83 and 85 respectively, had left Sioux Rapids after WW II, but they have deep roots in the Sioux Rapids area. Her mother’s dad had owned a butcher shop in Sioux Rapids with his brother in the late 1900s, Clark says. Both parents have family and friends in BV (Buena Vista, Iowa) County.

Clark spent about four months of Sundays painting a 6 ½ foot by 22 foot mural at West Salem’s Edgewater Café. Focal point of the Oregon mural, painted in acrylics, is a canoe resting on the shore of Oregon’s Willamette River. Though the setting is different, the mural would give anyone who’s seen the historic Sioux Rapids photo a sense of deja vu. "All of the details are the same," Clark says.

Delving into her subject, Clark learned that the boat is a cedar strip canoe with canvas on the outside. "They're still making them today," she says.

During the work week, Clark is a marketing consultant and graphic designer in Salem, specializing in murals, trompe l'oeil and stenciling for residential and commercial projects.

"It's funny how these things come together," Clark says of the photo that returned her to her Sioux Rapids roots. "This is one of those things that really gets to your heart."