Life in Napa can sometimes be described like a piece of art — whether it is a mural, sculpture or architecture.

And all three can be found around town as part of the answers to “Where In The Napa Valley...?”

Napa Valley College, near the entrance to the library, St. John the Baptist Catholic School and Church Street provide the artistic embellishments to this month’s contest.

“The Family” sculpture

Connie Butler created the sculpture titled “The Family,” which is at the entrance of the library at Napa Valley College. The plaque reads: “In Loving Memory of Mae and Edward Fordham.” It was dedicated in the early 1990s, according to Betty Malmgren, NVC community relations officer.

Malmgren recalls that originally the work of art was displayed at the Child Development Center at the college. However, so it could be enjoyed by more people, it was moved to the entrance of the library.

And because the sculpture is wood, it can’t be displayed outdoors, so the entrance to the library proved to be a suitable home.

“The Family” was sculpted from a black walnut tree, which was originally at the corner of Highway 12 and Warm Springs Road in  Kenwood. The tree was 6-feet in diameter.

“Black walnut is a magnificent carving wood,” Butler said.

Butler spent about a total of one year’s time over a three-year period to complete the work in 1986.

The sculpture has been displayed previously at the Hop Kiln Winery in Headldsburg, the Fountaingrove Country Club in Santa Rosa and the J. Noblett Gallery in Sonoma, before arriving at NVC on March 30, 1990.

According to Butler, the sculpture reflects the apprehension of the world’s family in our nuclear age. It also conveys the sense that we as a species are as much a part of nature as the great trees.

The Fordhams have no direct connection to Napa or the college. They were relatives of Butler. “They were like second parents to me ... very dear people. I thought I would like to have a memorial to them. It was just something I wanted to do,” Butler said.

The Fordhams lived in Glendale.

Butler, a graduate of UCLA, had been taking classes at NVC and is a believer in community colleges.

“Community colleges and family are so important,” she said.

More of Butler’s work can be viewed at her Web site www.conniebutlersculptures.com.

Today Butler lives in Westhaven, north of Eureka in Humboldt County, where she continues crafting her sculptural skills.

St. John the Baptist School

In the heart of downtown Napa is St. John the Baptist Catholic School where youngsters have been going to classes from kindergarden through the eighth grade since the 1920s. The first graduating class from its current location was in 1928.

Previously the school was on Franklin Street.

School principal Nancy Jordan suggested talking with St. John’s alum Richard “Dick” Lonergan who graduated in 1950s. He proved to be a walking encyclopedia about the downtown Catholic school. He also recalled some of the mischievous activities of his fellow classmates. Lonergan said when he graduated there were about 100 students attending St. John’s. Today, there are 213 youngsters at the school. Lonergan said the school has been added onto once along Napa Street. It is nearly impossible to see where the addition is. During Lonergan’s tenure there were two grades per classroom.

But when the addition was completed, each grade was able to have its own classroom.

In the early 1950s, the school was added onto along Napa Street. Construction was completed in one summer, recalled Lonergan.

The addition allowed each grade to have its own classroom — no more sharing and adding to class pride, recalled Lonergan.

Lonergan comes from a long line of St. John graduates — his dad, two uncles and brother are also alums of the school.

After graduating from the eighth grade, all students then went on to Napa High, which was the only high school in Napa at that time, he recalled.

The elementary school has been at its current location for 97 years, while  St. John the Baptist Catholic Church is celebrating its 150th anniversary.

The school originally opened its doors on Franklin Street.

In its early days, the classrooms were downstairs and the upstairs facing Napa Street was where the school’s teaching nuns lived. Students were forbidden from going upstairs, recalls Lonergan.

Another enterprising source of information on the school was St. John’s third-grader Thomas Klein, who went to the trouble to write this section editor about his school.

Klein in his hand-printed letter wrote: “The balcony in the photo is over the main entrance to the school on Napa Street. The nuns who once ran the school lived in the quarters on the second floor. The school however, has been updated and the upstairs now house classrooms, a computer lab, science lab and an after school care center for students at the school.”

“This is like old home week,” Lonergan said, while taking this reporter and St. John’s Principal Nancy Jordan along on his trip down memory lane.

Fence mural

Cor Grieve was born to paint. Especially murals.

One of his examples is in Old Town, on a fence facing Church Street at the corner of Third Street.

On the fence. Grieve painted a Norman Rockwell style scene of a father, son and dog walking with their fishing poles. The public piece of art conjures up a simpler way of life.

If you peek over the fence into the back yard, there is a painting of Cor’s grandchildren standing at a bus stop.

Grieve no longer lives in the house that is a stone’s throw from ABC Bakery on Third.

Living in the house today is his daughter and son-in-law Pierann and John Walsh, who moved their family here from Southern California.

Pierann said her father and mother moved to Mexico about three years ago  — and yes, he continues to paint murals.

Cor’s murals weren’t confined to his own home.

He also painted the mural on the Salvation Army building, and he was one of the muralists involved with the painting of Napa’s heritage on the county building on First Street.

His work can also be enjoyed at Piccolino’s Restaurant in the Napa Town Center and across the street at Anette’s Chocolate Factory. And his talents can be enjoyed by the health conscious while working out at Exertec, according to his daughter.

In the 1980s during his tenure with the Napa Valley Unified School District, Grieve  did wall murals in the classrooms for teachers.

For much of his career he was also a commercial painter, according to Pierann Walsh. She said her father, who grew up in the Netherlands, was also involved in some of the restoration work at the Napa Valley Opera House.

Editor’s note: Stumped on where’s next month’s photos were taken? Look for clues each Sunday in the Real Napa section of the Napa Valley Register.