As students moved back onto campus this past weekend, they might have noticed the vibrant tree frog outside of The Middlebury Shop at Forth N’ Goal Sports that now watches over downtown Middlebury. This past spring and summer, the 15-foot-high mural was designed, created, and installed by local artist Matthew Haywood in collaboration with Middlebury Union High School art teacher Joseph Schine ’03 and his students.
The mural was commissioned by the Better Middlebury Partnership (BMP).
“Middlebury is a very creative place, with a vibrant theater, art studio, museum and a world class college, and we want Middlebury to continue to be widely known as a town of arts and creativity,” Kathryn Torres and Kelly Flynn, co-directors of the BMP, wrote in a joint email to The Campus. “We want to tap into our incredible local artists and creatives so that spirit is reflected both locally and beyond.”
As well as existing as a unique and vibrant piece of art, the mural serves to direct its viewers towards the businesses down in Frog Hollow.
“The goal was wayfinding, but in an artistic way,” Haywood said. “The town would see people sort of hesitant at the top of Mill Street, and wondering if they should go down there. [BMP] saw an opportunity to get people down and explore that area. Nobody really wanted to do it with just a sign that said shops, or something like that, so we did it in a more creative way.”
Schine was also recruited by BMP to help bring the mural to life along with Haywood. He explained that the town’s preservation requirements posed a challenge during the planning process. Since painting directly on brick was not permitted, the team had to find creative alternatives, such as using drilled panels instead.
According to Haywood, who also founded the design company The Image Farm, the distressed look of the arrow and Frog Hollow sign is intended to evoke a sense of history, blending the new with the old. He also explained that the frog is itself a hybrid, modeled after the red-eyed tree frog of Central America, while its coloration and markings are drawn from the gray tree frog native to the Middlebury area.
“It’s a really subtle statement on how people from away can contribute to the community and become part of the fabric in a really seamless way,” Haywood said.
The artwork is made from two sheets of aluminum composite with a recycled plastic core. Haywood explained that after he produced a sketch, the pieces of the mural were cut with the help of the Hannaford Career Center and their Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machine. Schine and his students then got to work painting the frog and the branch on which it rests.
“I describe myself as a public servant, who wants to get young people involved in projects that are outside of the school,” Schine said.
Since the mural was mainly painted on panels, students could work on it within the classroom.
“This is something that I love and would love to do more of…I would like to see more possibilities where students can plug into bigger projects," Schine said.
Prior to working on the mural, students practiced in class, creating their own frog renderings. They also created mock-ups of the frog mural, and some of their color scheme ideas were transferred to the final version currently displayed on Mill Street.
The mural worked as a point of connection between various members of the Middlebury community. From the Hannaford Career Center to Middlebury Union High School students, several community members came together to create the frog mural. The Silver Maple Construction Company, a local business, volunteered their time and crew to aid with the mural’s installation.
“We see it as the start of a series of murals we’d like to commission as a town. It’s a fun and inviting way to bring the community together and serve as a talking point,” Torres and Flynn wrote.
Schine echoes this sentiment and believes that the presence of murals like this one can continue to build community connection beyond their creation.
“I hope to pose some questions, because I think there is a chance for our communities to have conversations about what to grow visually in the downtown, and what the downtown visual culture could be,” Schine said.
Katrina Schwarz '26 (she/her) is a Senior Local Editor.
Katrina has been a local editor for the three semesters, recently becoming the section's senior editor. She is a Psychology and Italian double major and was a marketing intern at Penguin Random House this past summer.
