Making Green Spaces Greener

During the week of the ‘23 Autumnal Equinox, I installed my largest mural yet! The 36 foot by 20 foot scene is in a courtyard surrounded by plants and trees. Via contract through Urban Artworks, who also provided me with 8 amazing volunteers (aka Dream Team), to rock it out in five days. I designed this work for Bellwether Housing to be enjoyed by residents for years to come. Many of them, and their super-friendly dogs, visited us during our progress over the course of the week.

Earlier this summer, I visited the courtyard to meet the client and see the wall in person. I’ll admit it was begging for art. It was kind of a vibe-killer.

The courtyard has lush bushes, seasonal flowers and trees that have hand-made birdhouses hanging from the branches. Many residents spend hours in this green space so I decided to simply expand it. I took photos of the plants and trees already there and designed a landscape that would transport the imagination. I drew a path leading into the background with an evergreen forest on the horizon. I also added a waterfall for tranquility. Who doesn’t love waterfalls?

The shape of the courtyard is rectangular so anyone who exits the main building can see the waterfall from the far end of the opposite side as soon as they enter the courtyard. I also wanted the design to compliment the tall trees on the left, which hang over the art so their leaves blend with my painted trunks. I used a sponge to add texture throughout; adding moss on the rocks, leaves on the path and of course mist on the water hitting the rocks at the base of the waterfall.

Dream team member in this photo: Katy Basnaw. Progress photos above: 1. outline using paint pens 2. blocking the solid colors in the middle and background 3. adding the ferns in the foreground 4. final work

Enjoy more content, including videos, on Insta. I’m so grateful for the amazing volunteers, Bellwether staff and Urban Artworks for support! I was there from 9am til 6pm most days and while my body was tired, my heart was soaring.

Jellyfish

Ten years ago when I rented my first stand-up paddle board at Seattle’s Alki Beach, with a friend who was also a SUP first-timer, we bravely took to the water after a comprehensive [but brief] orientation. It seemed simple enough: feet about a foot apart, middle of the board, paddle into the wake not parallel to it, ok got it. We lucked out on the weather, it was a sunny, clear warm day and although Puget Sound is hella cold, it was warm enough that we would dry fast.

Falling into the water wasn’t an issue for several reasons: all of them jellyfish. There were so many beautiful jellies swimming inches under the surface that, while we were happy to see them in all their beauty, they were the biggest reasons we stayed on our boards. It didn’t matter how prepared we felt in the car driving over, or how informative the orientation about how to SUP was, every one of those jellyfish coached us into using our core, staying up and paddling in a rhythmic fashion.

When we got back to the beach bone dry, the instructor complimented our stamina and how in control we looked. We assured her it was because of all the jellyfish.

I think about them every time I stand up on my own SUP that I purchased later that same year a decade ago. Words and instructions are one thing, but there’s no better incentive to stay dry than a group of jellyfish with their 6-foot tentacle trains.

May 2023 was inspired by those jellyfish and I dedicated my U-District Street Fair chalk mural, Fremont fence mural and micron pen drawings to them as I drove around Seattle with my SUP strapped to my car’s racks looking forward to getting back on the water and paddling.

Amazon's Nitro Campus mural

I was just about to catch a flight to Alaska (for my first time) when I got an invitation to create a large chalk mural on the sidewalk outside Amazon’s Nitro location. The mural design was going to celebrate Amazon’s Global Month of Volunteering.

Photo credit: Rachael Sage

As I completed the sidewalk mural, I chatted with people nearby and found out there’s a Mary’s Place on the same block. Two young residents, who are brothers, watched me carve my colorful brush around the cement so intently that I invited them to paint. They looked to be 8 and 11 and as we painted the green continents together I found out they both like to draw. I told them to keep creating and thanked them for helping me.

The Nitro sidewalk mural’s last day is September 5, 2022.

South Lake Union Chalk Mural at Amazon Headquarters

The brief was “Urban Oasis” so immediately I thought, PLANTS and COLOR and SUNSHINE. The gig was perfect and the location was ideal. It was to be the steps outside the Amazon Day 1 Spheres, which is quite a bustling area. The night we traced the outline there was a new swing installation by Creos for the public to enjoy. My design included blue waves in the foreground, two shades of green in the middle ground and a blend of red, orange and yellow in the background. They were contrasted with a series of plants in white lines as well as a few birds, clouds and a radiating sun. Below is my mock-up.

So, I hadn’t worked with chalk paste before (chalk paste is crushed chalk mixed with water) but let me tell you something…. if I had known about chalk paste as a kid my life as a professional artist would have started at age 9. I would have painted my entire neighborhood! I would have found my love for murals long before I found my love for anything else. But, i’s ok, I digress.

I was provided chalk supplies by Urban Artworks, the amazing org that hooked me up with this gig, and while I mixed a lot of the chalk at their studio I did more fine tuning of colors at home outside on the patio.

Once the sun set on the first day, we knocked out the outline of the color blocks and the white detailed lines. One of our amazing volunteers, Natalia, almost completed filling in the orange that night! She saved us so much time. On the second day, Taeheon, Duffy and Bella painted the red and greens while Lis knocked out the yellow. I focused on the blue because as a Sagittarius (fire sign) I need to be close to water... any other Sags with me on that?

By the time 6pm rolled around, we were putting the final touches on the white lines and cleaning up the residual chalk dust so pedestrians wouldn’t track it into the buildings. I was elated every time I stepped back to inspect the design and see it come to life. It was an incredible day with lots of chats with friendly people and kids.