Instead of pushing through furs hanging in a wardrobe to discover a winter wonderland, artist Michelle Noe pulls back the plastic covering the doorway and flips on her jerry-rigged lighting system to reveal a magical fantasy world.
When Homearama opens next Saturday, the plastic sheeting will be gone and the electrical wiring completed for lighting and air conditioning.
It hasn’t been so for the two months Noe spent painting scenes from the popular movie “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” over about 1,000 square feet in the upstairs playroom of the house being built by Mickey Corcoran.
She worked for Corcoran and with designer Wendy Gonzalez of Hikes Point Paint and Wallpaper three years ago on Homearama, when she did a “Finding Nemo” mural.
In between, Noe, who graduated from Sacred Heart Academy and the University of Kentucky with a degree in studio art, moved to Portland, Ore.
About three months ago, she moved back.
“There was no lack of work there,” she said. “It’s just a long way away. I have a lot of family here.”
When Corcoran offered her the chance to do the mural, she saw it as a way to re-establish herself here. Though most of her work is mural painting, faux finishes and other types of decorative painting — plus pet portraits — her goal is to set up a studio where she also can work on sculpture and painting canvases.
Corcoran said he gave Noe and Gonzalez complete freedom on the mural. Noe said she also helped Corcoran design an elaborate tray ceiling in the master suite.
“Because I had worked with Michelle before, I knew her work and her work ethic,” he said. “I knew I’d be lucky to get her.”
Noe said she and Gonzalez went to a bookstore to look for ideas for a slightly older audience than the “Nemo” theme.
“We saw all this stuff on ‘Narnia,’ ” she said. “We had both loved it as kids. The movie is really beautiful, with all the landscapes and animals. It’s just a really inspiring movie.”
Entering the playroom, the opposite wall bears the colorful scene of the tent encampment before the big battle.
