As local artist and teacher Jennifer Bowles puts the finishing touches on a new mural celebrating Crofton’s past, many residents are hoping another of her works will remain part of the community’s future.
Bowles’ first Crofton mural, painted several years ago on a building near Gordon Park, is now at the center of local concern after the property changed ownership. The building itself has largely been demolished, leaving only the wall containing the mural standing.
No decision has been announced regarding the mural’s future.
The mural tells a story familiar to many western Kentucky families. It features imagery tied to the region’s coal mining heritage, tobacco farming traditions, Mennonite community and rural landscapes. Among the most recognizable elements is a depiction of a coal miner based on a photograph provided by Crofton resident Johnny Barnett.
Barnett said residents have repeatedly expressed hope that the mural can be preserved.
“Hopefully it won’t be torn down,” he said. “A lot of the residents have said something to me and not wanting it to be tore down, but we’ll have to see about how that goes.”
The emotional connection residents have developed with the mural is exactly what Bowles hoped to create.
For Bowles, art has always been about storytelling.
A Muhlenberg County native, Bowles spent years developing her artistic skills before becoming an educator. She credits artist Nancy Counselor as an important mentor early in her career, helping open doors to commissioned artwork and larger projects.
Instead of working traditional part-time jobs as a young artist, Bowles earned money painting custom pieces, designing mailboxes and creating artwork for local residents.
Her love of horses, rural landscapes and family history continues to influence her work today. Her great-grandfather’s barn, for example, has appeared in multiple paintings and was incorporated into the first Crofton mural.
The artist’s experience with large-scale public artwork began at Drakesboro Elementary School, where her mother taught.
School officials wanted a more permanent alternative to seasonal door decorations, so Bowles worked alongside then-principal James Stewart to transform classroom doors into scenes representing a small community. The project eventually expanded into educational murals depicting subjects such as the solar system, the water cycle and the life cycles of butterflies and frogs.
From there, opportunities continued to grow.
Over the years, Bowles has completed murals for schools, medical facilities, businesses and private clients throughout western Kentucky. She has also illustrated children’s books, created tombstone etchings and worked in pottery.
Her teaching career developed alongside her artistic work.
When Kentucky schools began placing greater emphasis on arts and humanities education, Bowles was invited to teach art at Drakesboro Elementary. She later returned to college while raising her children and earned her art education degree from Western Kentucky University in 2013.
Today, Bowles divides her time between creating artwork, teaching and working through Brushy Fork Creek Gallery near Crofton.
Her latest project, commissioned by the City of Crofton, captures snapshots of the town’s history.
The mural features longtime landmarks, the town’s founder, J.E. Croft, the final passenger train to pass through the community, and several recognizable local residents.
“Today for the City of Crofton, we’re kind of capturing snapshots through time of Crofton and kind of how it became what it is today,” Bowles said. “It’s kind of looking back through time.”
The project reflects what Bowles says has become her favorite aspect of mural work: preserving stories that might otherwise be forgotten.
“Time changes things,” she said. “But everybody remembers.”
That connection to local history is one reason community members have embraced the new mural and rallied around the old one.
“It adds some local color to our community,” Barnett said.
Whether the first mural ultimately remains standing is a decision that rests with the property’s current owners. For now, the painted wall remains intact while the rest of the structure is gone.
As for Bowles, she hopes the positive response to both murals encourages future public art projects in Crofton.
Bowles said she plans to continue painting, creating pottery and pursuing new projects wherever they may lead.
“I’m just going to keep working, doing what I do,” she said, “and just have fun with it.”
