PITTSTON — Jason Kresock has always wanted to contribute art to the city, His wish came true.
The Scranton native recently completed a new mural located on North Main Street at the old 5 R Spring Water Warehouse building, across the street from Our Lady of the Eucharist Parish.
The new piece of art took six weeks to complete and consists of a blue hummingbird, a passiflora, bamboo sticks and a dragonfly.
“I wanted to do something unseen in Pittston so far,” Kresock said. “Something uplifting and something very colorful, but also peaceful.”
The process for the new mural began back in February when Ken Churchill, who owns the property, constructed a rental house in front of the warehouse on which the mural is painted.
Churchill and Main Street Manager Rose Randazzo wanted to add something else to the area by having the mural put on the 5 R Spring Water Warehouse behind the newly constructed house, located at 526 N. Main St.
“(Randazzo) was working with (Churchill) on this house,” said Kresock. “So, they put a call out to artists. There was about five of us that applied, and I got the job.”
Churchill funded the mural, but Kresock would not say for how much.
Kresock said the mural is just called the Pittston Mural, and the inspiration for it came from combining his passion for art and gardening.
“I’m a classically trained artist and I’m also a garden designer,” he said. “So, I marry those two. A lot of my work has to do with a garden or people in the garden.”
The dragonfly, however, was a last-minute detail due to a frequent visitor to the mural site.
“There was a dragonfly that comes here every single day,” he said. “It’s a big green one… and he comes daily — only he’s green, not blue.”
The Pittston Mural is the beginning for what former city mayor Mike Lombardo calls the North Main Street Initiative which will come into full swing next spring
“The next phase of streetscape, which would be the fifth or sixth, starts from Curry Street, which is the last street in the city, all the way to New Street,” he said. “This gets captured in this and clearly this house is a clear demonstration of the neighborhood housing initiative. So, this sight is one of the coolest sights in the city because it does a bunch of things.”
The Pittston Mural is the first, but won’t be the last new addition to the city of art as Lombardo is hopeful more will be done throughout the new initiative.
“I think we’ve got some anchors already,” he said. “I’d like to see some sculptural art down here, more murals, and I’d like to see something play off the junction name. The junction is called the junction because of the river and the trains that come through, so there’s opportunity there.”
When asked if Krescock foresees himself contributing more art to the Pittston he said, “Ideally.”
