Debra’s Next Door

 

Heaven is…

The mural on the left, Heaven is… takes its title from the quote that appears in the sky: “Heaven is beneath our feet, as well as over our heads.”

– Henry David Thoreau

 

A word from the founder of Art for All:

Debra Stark supported my art and community building efforts for many years, when I first began selling greeting cards at her store and arranging art activities for the village festivals, and she was one of my first and most enthusiastic supporters four years ago when I began to form plans for Art for All. I was honored when she commissioned me, back in the spring of 2021, to paint two murals for the new store she would be opening next to Debra’s Natural Gourmet, in what had been the West Concord 5 and 10.

The Banquet

The Banquet takes its title after the quote by Rebecca Harding Davis: “The sun, the earth, love, friends, our very breath are parts of the banquet.”

In the mural, Debra appears on a giant carrot floating in the sky. She is handing a cookie to her mother Beatrice Stark who she credits with inspiring her to open her store. I painted Beatrice from a photo Debra lent me of her mother holding her as a

In the mural, Debra appears on a giant carrot floating in the sky. She is handing a cookie to her mother Beatrice Stark who she credits with inspiring her to open her store. I painted Beatrice from a photo Debra lent me of her mother holding her as a three-week-old baby.

Also in the sky is Debra’s son Adam with his daughter, in a fanciful garden basket tied to a balloon. Adam shares his mother’s vision of a better world through better production and distribution of food, and his mother’s love of art and community – a

Also in the sky is Debra’s son Adam with his daughter, in a fanciful garden basket tied to a balloon. Adam shares his mother’s vision of a better world through better production and distribution of food, and his mother’s love of art and community – and good humor!

 

Another local legend…

…who appears in The Banquet, holding the rope that is tied to the carrot, is Maynard Forbes. The Forbes family owned and operated the West Concord 5 and 10 for 75 years. Maynard has and continues to contribute to the community of West Concord in countless ways.

Just three other people in The Banquet are specific, known people. Standing behind the table, holding a tray of cookies is Roxanne, the manager of the wonderful kitchen, now at Debra’s Next Door. To Roxanne’s right, in a pink shirt, is Meherwan Irani, an Iranian chef. On the left in a purple dress is Krista Erickson, an excellent artist and very enjoyable assistant. She painted many individual elements in the two paintings, and helped with the design of Heaven is…