By Marjorie Preston
By now, most monarch butterflies have passed through New Jersey on their annual journey to Mexico. But some will be sticking around indefinitely, thanks to a mural project commissioned by the city of Brigantine and the Brigantine Garden Club.
When the project launched last year, local artist Priscilla Bello was the first to volunteer her time and talent. The muralist spent several weeks sanding, priming and painting a utility box along Brigantine Avenue near 31st Street. In the process, she transformed a purely functional electrical enclosure into a work of art.
“I wanted a painting that was bright, colorful, and big enough to see from across the street,” says Bello. She certainly achieved that goal: in her painting, dozens of vivid monarchs seem to burst from the center of a brilliant sunflower surrounding the metal box. They are especially vibrant against a deep blue backdrop.
The public was enthusiastic, says Bello, and often paused to thank her for her work.
“That was really fun—the city bus that beeped, and all the people that stopped and said, ‘Good job.’ I enjoyed meeting so many people and artists.”
Taking wing
The project was the brainchild of Brigantine Public Works Superintendent John Doring. Inspired by murals in nearby shore towns, he envisioned the public art as a way to beautify utility boxes that were installed after Hurricane Sandy.
Master gardener and Brigantine Garden Club member Linda Mantello added to the concept. She proposed a “butterfly trail” depicting species native to New Jersey.
“It fit in with our emerging focus on growing native plants to support pollinators and butterflies,” says Garden Club board member Laurel Leigh, who supervised the project. “The effort was to make the species as diverse as possible.”
So far, the list includes red-spotted purple admiral, orange sulphur butterflies and great purple hairstreaks. There’s also a whole group of swallowtails: spicebush and Eastern tiger varieties, as well as blue swallowtails.
Of course, the eastern black swallowtail also enjoys pride of place. In 2016, the indigenous Papilio polyxenes was designated the state butterfly by then governor Chris Christie.
Ultimately, the mural project will be educational as well as beautiful, notes Leigh. “Once the boxes are all done, the plan is to create QR codes that allow people to scan and link to information about each of the butterflies,” and why they are important to the ecosystem.
Local color
Deb Savo is a onetime second homeowner who now lives in Brigantine full time. A graduate of Philadelphia’s Moore College of Art, she spent 20 years as a graphic designer and art director.
Savo spent two weeks on her intricate mural, on the northern end of Brigantine Avenue. It features dazzling painted lady and common buckeye butterflies fluttering above a garden of purple coneflowers.
Like Bello, she enjoyed “a lot of positive feedback” from passersby. “It was nice,” says Savo. “A lot of people came by to say hello. They thanked the artists for beautifying something that was not so beautiful.”
Three murals were completed in 2023. An additional five were added this year. Look for more to come in 2025.
“I was very excited when everybody started painting,” recalls Bello, who may be interested in painting another mural. “It was fun to ride to work and see everything coming together. The murals really make Brigantine more beautiful.”
Marjorie Preston is a business writer, editor, ghostwriter and compulsive reader, who gobbles up books like potato chips. For more information (and more book reviews), visit marjorieprestonwriting.com.
