Case Studies
Public art helps communities to visualize new archetypes. Ritual storytelling is cultural glue - we yearn for shared experience.
My work helps experts tell new stories on large public platforms. I’m interested in climate change, community identity, mutual aid, affordable housing, interdependence, stability, equitable infrastructure, local legends, direct action, stewardship, intergenerational empathy, radical cohabitation.
I’m seeking mural projects that are conceptually driven with strong narrative elements that call for an illustrative approach. I will get involved in your vision. Let’s go DEEP.
Past, Present, You
MuralFest Kosova brought me to Ferizaj to contribute to their public art program by creating a mural at The University of Applied Sciences in Ferizaj. I completed a series of plein air studies of the city and countryside to inform my mural design.
I paint while traveling to help me settle into a place. It gives me time to appreciate the great space around me, and sharpens my attention to details. While wandering, observing, and participating in workshops, I found that the city streets are busy and close, but between the buildings you can always see the backdrop of mountains. Eager new construction drops away quickly to the persistent rolling countryside, and it’s easy even for a visitor to sense the past’s upheaval haunting the present’s progress.
Kosova is a young country with a long history, and its identity is in the hands of today's youth. My hope is that my mural can symbolize a progression from the past to the burgeoning optimism of the present. The blank wall is a message of possibility that is in the hands of young students and artists today. You build the future of your home.
Starting Space: A Love Letter to the Creative Process
To me, the special qualities of Scott’s Addition are found in the forgotten spaces. Before the rise of the current “adult playground” and after the emptying of the warehouses, an in-between community took hold of the area. They are my community - people that have shaped this neighborhood and the city of Richmond with their own hands. It includes makers, artists, craftworkers, DIY groups, grassroots organizers, non-profits… this group is broader and more textured than any one of those words. So this mural is my attempt at creating an image to identify and recognize this kind of person.
This group operates in transition - we visualize what the world could look like, how it could change, and what it would take to make that happen. Then we grab the world as it is with both hands and wrench, guide, encourage it into a new shape. Our impact on our surroundings are strong enough that we can’t stay in the same place - any place we’re in will never stay the same.
Virago: gender transgression
In the same way the idea of the female has been historically limited, but key figures have pushed beyond the restrictive roles, this mural celebrates people in all walks of life who rebel against their circumstances and societal expectations to fulfill their highest potential.
Painted for the Virago Spirits tasting room, this 360° mural features three imagined archetypal Virago figures. They are surrounded by a background of the fruits, herbs, spices, winds, and waves that have produced incredible spirits throughout history.
Individuality, Vitality, Community, Service, Respect, and Family
A 20th Anniversary commemoration of Patriot’s Colony at Williamsburg, a retirement community dedicated to those who shared the common bond of service to country.
Over 25 hours of interviews with around 30 residents and staff informed a series of 6 paintings that reflect the strongest values of this remarkable group of elders.
Kosovo is a young country with a long history, and its identity is in the hands of today's young people.
The locations depicted are scenes from my introduction to Ferizaj, where the city streets are busy and close, and the consistent background of the mountains is revealed between buildings. The blank wall at the center is a message of possibility to the students in the university who will see this in class.
This is the first indoor wall to be part of this program, located at the University of Applied Sciences in Ferizaj. I was blown away by the amazing program of MuralFest Kosova and how much this team has positively impacted their city, not just during a summer art festival but year-round, for seven years. My hope is that this mural can symbolize the impact they have had, and hold it up as an example for how to involve oneself in the work being done to build the future of your home.