Refreshing our history: Louisiana artist restores Livingston Parish historical markers
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LIVINGSTON PARISH, La. (BRPROUD) – Around Livingston Parish, historical markers are being brought back to life. Ariane Trammell, the artist behind the new makeovers, said she is honored to do the job.
Trammell originally was hired by the Livingston Parish Tourism Commission to paint a concrete sign in their parking lot. She said they were so pleased with her work that the executive director hired her to restore the historical markers.
“It might be the site of a once-thriving plantation that provided crops to feed a community. Maybe it’s a battlefield where someone’s ancestors fought and died for what they believed in,” Trammell said. “Maybe it was the place where their families first broke ground and started a settlement in this country. I want to use my talents for good, and I feel that these markers looking their best make people happy. They’re important to people.”
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One sign can take up to eight hours. She’s already redone markers for the Hungarian Settlement and the French Settlement.
“Before painting the markers, I have to remove as much of the old paint as possible so that I have a surface to which the new paint will anchor well. I complete that step with a wire brush then scrub the monument clean with an industrial strength cleaner and degreaser called Simple Green. After it’s cleaned thoroughly and dry, the new paint is applied. It’s Sherwin Williams direct-to-metal paint,” Trammell said.
Photos courtesy of Ariane Trammell.
“It’s an honor to paint these because they mean so much to people in our community. Everyone represents something that makes Louisiana what we are today,” she said.
She also paints window signs for businesses in between her work on the historical signs.
“I paint them year-round for any holiday or event. Most of the time, the business has a design idea in mind. I do find that they give me more creative freedom when I’ve been painting for them for a while,” Trammell said.
She’ll work in the heat and the cold.
“Sometimes there are challenges in lower temperatures or higher humidity,” she said. “The paint doesn’t dry as quickly between layers.”
She has 10 more historical markers left in Livingston Parish but hopes to expand her work to other parishes.
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