Depression hit artist Jeremy Miller hard during the first shutdown in 2020. As a way of coping, he focused his paintbrush on an uplifting subject: sunflowers.

"Every year, I do a collection. The way I keep myself motivated as an artist is to come up with an idea and work with it all year long," Miller explained. He had initially planned to feature pottery, with the theme of service, but 2019's collection, "Meet Me in the Garden," had made a lasting impression. "When I was working on that show, the flower that showed up more than any other was the sunflower. As someone with depression, the yellow just makes you happy."

Eventually, several of Miller's more than 100 pieces of sunflower artwork made their way to the Strasburg-Heisler Library, 143 Precision Ave., Strasburg, and into the hands of executive director Kristin Fernitz. Miller has served as a teaching artist at the library for the past three years, and since the shutdown, he has filmed art projects youngsters can do at home. At the request of children's programs coordinator Wendy Jones, Miller made a video on sunflowers and talked about sadness and dealing with emotions.

After seeing the sunflower art lesson and Miller's artwork, Fernitz knew she had found the answer to a question that had been plaguing her: how could the library draw visitors' attention to the back room where the library's junior and young adult fiction collection is housed? She asked Miller to paint sunflowers on a closet door at the end of the hallway and make the background bright blue.

Miller prepped the door at the end of 2020 and finished the painting in January. Using heavy-bodied acrylic paint, he applied ultramarine blue before adding two giant sunflowers that incorporate five shades of yellow.

"It's gorgeous. You can't miss it," Fernitz said. "You walk in the front door, and it just grabs you."

"It creates a point of light in what could be a darker color," Miller added, noting that he appreciates the metaphor for life. "During COVID, a lot of people were faced with 'What's my purpose?' I'm not a nurse, not a doctor, not an essential worker. I'm an artist. But this is one way I can help. (This artwork) reminds us there are still reasons to hope and to invest in one another."

Visitors are encouraged to stop by the library, take selfies with the sunflowers, upload them to social media, and tag #StrasburgSunflowers, @sbglibrary, and @minisunflowersmiles.

"Even if you need to cover up your beautiful smile (with a mask), you can still show others that you shine," Miller said. "By tagging your photo, you also heighten awareness of the great things the library is doing in this remarkable little town."

For curbside hours and more information about the library, readers may visit http://www.strasburglibrary.org or call 717-687-8969.