Artists expressing creativity at Metra station

Two Lake Villa artists are bringing their creativity to bear on the town's Metra station in the coming weeks.

Photographer Marsha Cairo and mural artist Julie Adriansen have started work on the interior of the depot just off Cedar Avenue.

They hope to capture the history and character of the nearly 110-year-old village in photographs and paintings.

Using acrylics, Adriansen is composing street scenes from Lake Villa's early days, and Cairo is hanging framed photographs of folks enjoying the village's myriad annual events.

"We're trying to generate some interest and excitement and draw people into the station," Adriansen said. "We have a great little town and we want people to know that."

Chairwoman of Lake Villa's Architectural Review Board, Adriansen received an $800 grant from the village to help pay for materials. She hopes to be done before the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade on Saturday, March 13.

Working from historic photographs, Adriansen is painting pictures of the Lehmann Mansion, Cedar Avenue street scenes and the depot itself.

The current 2,000-square-foot station is an exact replica the original that was built in the early 1900s.

The brown-toned images intentionally lack detail in order to create artistic interest, she said.

Some of the photographs that will be displayed are historic and decades old, but others are original shots taken by Cairo. She focused on community events as a theme.

"We have a lot of fun in this little town," Cairo said. "We're trying to highlight our major events like the Christmas, St. Patrick's Day and Memorial Day parades, Civil War Days, the Celebration of Summer, our cardboard boat races and the fireworks. We have the absolutely best fireworks in the county."

"This has been a tough economy," Adriansen said. "We want people to take some time out and come in and enjoy what this village has to offer."