Last April I applied to a call-to-art from the City of Tukwila, Utility Box Art Program 2023. The program selects a handful of artists each year to create public art at specific locations and in June I received my acceptance letter. I’d be creating art for a vinyl wrap-around on utility box #208, which is located on Southcenter Parkway at the Old Navy shopping center entrance.

I was in the midst of creating my La Tierra collection when I got the news and had just finished “El Sol” and “Journey”. I wanted to create something bright for the box, taking into consideration the many months of moody overcast skies here in the pacific northwest. So I digitally enhanced and combined “El Sol” and “Journey” adding golds, greens, teals, purples and shades of turquoise to compliment a radiating yellow sun and glowing moon.

Each artist was provided with photos of our individual grey boxes and specific dimensions to help us plan accordingly. Below is box #208 before the vinyl wrap-around. This blank canvas really needed some color!

The week it was installed I made a trip down south to see box #208 and - whoa, talk about a makeover - it looks gorgeous! It turned out better than I expected! The colors pop so vibrantly! It happened to be cloudy on the day I took these photos and it’s easy to see the full effect of my bright palette against that moody sky. I couldn’t be happier. I walked several laps around it smiling.

I titled my work “La naturaleza es una companera” which means ‘Nature is a companion’.