Page 42 - South Mississippi Living - November, 2018

ARTS choo choo
story and photos by
Susan Ruddiman
Swamp Train Mural Adds Art to Coast Model Railroad Museum
The Mississippi Coast Model Railroad Museum (MCMRM) just got a bit more interesting with the addition of the largest Swamp Train mural in the state. The mural officially was unveiled at the end of August to much acclaim.
“We will use the mural to promote the Gulf Coast as well as the museum,” said Katherine Sutton, the museum executive director.
The museum has a 7 1/2-gauge train that can take children and adults for rides around the grounds. The museum president, Richard Mueller Jr., had the idea of building a tunnel for the train to pass through. In about a month’s time, Mueller, chief building manager Walter Johnson and museum staff Michael Martin, Seth Ike, Jake Strong and Kenny McNutt had constructed the 85-foot long tunnel. The inside is painted black with black lights so glow-in-the-dark stars and critters shine from the walls. The exterior was bare wood and not too exciting.
“We had always called it the Swamp Train. We brainstormed what we could do with the tunnel exterior, and talked about a mural,” Sutton said.
Jamie Nash, the museum’s assistant director, recruited artist Ben Prisk of Ocean Springs to paint the mural.
“Jamie had expressed an interest in having the new Swamp Train tunnel decorated, but I was really busy at the time. So Jamie went to Ben, and he came up with a design lickety-split,” said Chris Stebly, Jamie’s boyfriend.
Prisk was a creative director for
Turner Classic Movies in Atlanta, Ga., before returning to Ocean Springs
where he now works in his home studio on a number of projects for Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. He has been a long time friend of Nash and Stebly who also live in Ocean Springs.
“Fortunately, I’m proficient on the computer and I can draw. I did my initial sketch, and then tightened it up. I could scale it on the computer,” Prisk said. “Everyone was happy with the design.”
He researched the type of trees to
Ben Prisk and Chris Stebly teamed up for the MCMRM swamp train Mural
42 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • November 2018 FOR MORE REFLECTIONS OF THE GULF COAST >> www.smliving.net