“NJ FRESH”: The Arts Council of Princeton recently unveiled a new Spring Street mural by Sofia Schreiber in collaboration with LiLLiPiES Bakery. It is the Arts Council’s 13th mural at that location. (Photo Courtesy of Arts Council of Princeton)

Arts Council of Princeton (ACP) recently unveiled a new community mural in downtown Princeton titled NJ Fresh. Designed and painted by artist Sofia Schreiber, the illustration-style public art piece can be found on Spring Street on the side of Village Silver.

For her mural, Schreiber was inspired by the vibrancy and variety of fresh fruit abundant in New Jersey in the summertime. She said she was also thinking about Wayne Thiebaud’s delicious looking paintings and Eric Carle’s equally scrumptious illustrations in one of her favorite children’s books, The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Schreiber grew up in Princeton and is an aspiring illustrator and writer studying at Rhode Island School of Design. Her work often documents the natural world through a whimsical and imaginative lens. Last summer, she collaborated with Jen Carson of LiLLiPiES Bakery to illustrate her first children’s book, Pie for My Birthday, which is available for purchase at LiLLiPiES and Labyrinth Books.

“We’ve known Sofia for ages as an amazing talent, and many community members would recognize her from behind the counter at LiLLiPiES,” said Maria Evans, ACP artistic director. “So when we approached Sofia for a mural and her idea was ‘pie,’ we said ‘yes!’”

To support this endeavor, LiLLiPiES will contribute proceeds from sales of their Pie of the Month to ACP community programs.

NJ Fresh is the Arts Council’s 13th Spring Street mural and the latest of ACP’s growing public art presence in and around Princeton. Also on view are Continuum by Illia Barger at Terra Momo Bread Company, Journey by Marlon “7oveChild” Davila on the corner of John Street and Leigh Avenue, asphalt murals at the ACP and Lawrenceville Elementary School, and the Bring on the Joy, LOVE, and Kindness murals at Princeton Shopping Center.

Schreiber’s work will be on view on Spring Street until this fall, when a new mural will take its place. Interested artists can propose a mural concept on the Arts Council’s website.

Learn more about the Arts Council’s public art projects and free community programming at artscouncilofprinceton.org.