Find Rachel’s Butterfly mural in downtown Fuquay-Varina on the side of Original Strength Institute.
Through window painting and wall murals, Rachel Cornett infuses energy and beauty into the streets of Fuquay-Varina. She embellished her first window, at Puerto Rican restaurant The Meeting Corner, in 2016. This winter Rachel painted 27 windows with seasonal designs throughout Fuquay-Varina for the Fuquay Festive initiative.
Getting started: When covid happened, I saw how people were really needing connectivity and something to take their minds off the pandemic impact. I was fortunate to have a lot of the business owners’ numbers in my phone already and have good relationships. I started texting people, “Hey, can I come paint on your windows?”
My daughter was a 2020 grad. She was trying to figure out how to do something to celebrate. All I know to do is to paint something. We approached Kristie with Cousin Couture and Shoppes on Main and said, “We want to mount two sheets of plywood painted with this all-encompassing congratulations design and make it a place where anybody graduating from preschool up through college could go and take a picture.”
Folks came from all around, outside of the Triangle, just to take a picture; to feel like these kids were celebrated.
And then it came time to take it down and Kristie was like, “Well, can you paint something else to go up?”
Bright spot: One of my favorite murals has to be the little rainbow wings on the side of Linda Johnson’s office (Senter, Stephenson, Johnson, PA). We made it low underneath the windows so that dogs could sit there. I’ve met so many folks who’ll tag me and send it to me on Instagram. I love getting to see the puppies in my feed.
On public art: Art is so much more than paint on a canvas. It doesn’t just have to live in a museum. It can be on the side of a building. It brings an interesting element of creativity, of inspiration and interactivity. It makes a place more of a destination.
I love that art can take something that’s an eyesore and make it visually appealing. The floral mural (on Raleigh Street) was planned to leave the exposed brick, because everyone loves that aesthetic, but disguise the cinderblocks. To transform that space was a magical feeling. I heard from residents in the Q Building every day I worked on it how they opened their blinds and had a whole different start to their day.
Local love: Fuquay-Varina has always been the place that felt like home to me. I’ve loved watching the heart, soul, blood, sweat, and tears that people pour into the small businesses in downtown.
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