Monday, February 29, 2016


Hi Everyone!
 
This week's mural had me travellin'! I got to paint this little ocean wall for a couple in Seattle. Conveniently, my best friend also happens to live there. Business trip meets weekend getaway! A day and a half of painting + the cutest neighborhood pub + the cutest neighborhood brunch place + the cutest neighborhood ice cream hot spot (for you Portlanders, think Seattle's version of Salt and Straw, but without the insane line) + catching up and late night talks over tea + cooking delicious dinner together = weekend success! (Can you tell I ate well?) I'm happy with how this little ocean scene turned out, and hoping that it brings many relaxing tub soaks, far into the future for my clients. Can you hear the waves? I love the Pacific Northwest and it's coastline.
 
In about 10 days, I will be headed wayyyyyy down the coast to paint an entirely different landscape of the Pacific: San Diego! I'll be working in another Memory Care facility that is being built there. I'm SO EXCITED to fill it with murals. Stay tuned, that will be a mural marathon for sure. paint paint paint. :)
 
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Mirror-selfie of paint clothes/gear, and the wall only a couple hours in. And yes I stood in that bathtub all day!
 
kalaloch beach, kalaloch lodge, ocean mural, pacific ocean mural, oregon coast mural, washington coast mural, pacific northwest mural
 
kalaloch beach, kalaloch lodge, ocean mural, pacific ocean mural, oregon coast mural, washington coast mural, pacific northwest mural
 
kalaloch beach, kalaloch lodge, ocean mural, pacific ocean mural, oregon coast mural, washington coast mural, pacific northwest mural
 
kalaloch beach, kalaloch lodge, ocean mural, pacific ocean mural, oregon coast mural, washington coast mural, pacific northwest mural

Saturday, February 13, 2016

Project MAHITA Comes to Life (Again!)

Hi Everyone!
This week has been a very special one. My mom has been here visiting to help me with a pet project that is near to my heart. To learn more about it, check out this website that I built to explain the project. But overall, it's this:

PROJECT M.A.H.I.T.A. (Murals Aiding Health Information To All):
"MAHITA (verb) means "to see" in the Malagasy language, spoken on the island nation of Madagascar. American students (grades 3+) can help people in Madagascar by creating a mural on cloth, with an important health message. The mural they create will be shipped to Madagascar, and installed by Malagasy health educators in a rural village. Murals convey information visually, which is important where literacy rates are low. The American students gain a global perspective, while making a meaningful connection and artistic and helpful contribution to a rural community in Madagascar."

The idea for this project came to me in 2012, after I had returned from the Peace Corps in Madagascar, and was working as an intern at the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program. I learned a technique in Philly, that allows you to paint a mural on special cloth, and then install it. My "aha" moment was when I realized this meant you could paint a mural anywhere in the world, and then install it anywhere ELSE in the world. Murals can teach things because they are PUBLIC and pictures can teach as well as written words. The idea for MAHITA solidified.

I made the first "pilot" Project MAHITA in 2012 with a group of 4th graders in Eugene. It was written up in the local paper! The kids had a blast and learned a lot about Madagascar. They created a mural about Malaria prevention - specifically, the care and use of mosquito nets. The mural was sent to a Peace Corps Volunteer serving in a rural village, who installed it on the wall of a local clinic where mothers could see it while waiting in line to get their babies vaccinated. That was all well and good, but the new model of MAHITA will have us sending murals to the director of a branch of Population Services International, in Madagascar (instead of to Peace Corps Volunteers). The PSI Director will have the Malagasy PSI Health Workers bring the mural along when they go out to rural villages to teach about Malaria, family planning, and other health topics. After the mural is explained, it will be installed, and left permanently somewhere in the village, as a reminder of what they taught. This model feels better because it's just an add-on to something that is already happening, Malagasy to Malagasy. 

So this week, was MAHITA project #2! My mom and I worked with an afterschool group at the school where I work. Overall, it went well and I think the kids enjoyed painting and learning. 

This coming week, my mom and I are teaching a seminar about Project MAHITA, to a group of about 40 teachers. We are hoping to gain some interest from teachers who may want to do this project in their classrooms. It's maybe a tough sell, in the current climate in education. BUT, we are hoping they see the value in, and find the time for, cultural exchange, community service projects, visual art practice, and instilling a global perspective in their students. Wish us luck! We are hoping to grow this project to the point where neither I, nor my mom, will need to be present for anyone to do this project. We are working on developing all the materials so that this can happen. 

It moves me so much that people I love are helping me on this project, in all different wonderful ways - sharing their knowledge and skills, to sharing their dollars. My good friend from Peace Corps, who is studying international development, will be researching the impact that murals have on impoverished communities abroad where literacy rates are low. My mom is making this her retirement project. My good family friend/mentor person is donating the money needed to buy a ton of the specialized mural fabric that we can provide to teachers doing the project. I truly have an incredibly supportive, caring, and smarty-pants network of friends and family. 

I am so happy to see my idea actually happening!! Here are some pics of the kids in action this week:

murals for development, international development art, murals portland, portland muralist

murals for development, international development art, murals portland, portland muralist

murals for development, international development art, murals portland, portland muralist

murals for development, international development art, murals portland, portland muralist


murals for development, international development art, murals portland, portland muralist

Sunday, February 7, 2016

The WALLS in my future...

Hey Everyone!

Here's a sneak-peek into what's coming up for me both this month (scheduled) and further into the future (requires crossed fingers). 

The first couple images show photoshopped ideas of a couple possible directions to go with a GIANT GIANT WALL that I am trying to make mine. Well, not MINE, but I hope to have the honor of painting it. There's a committee I am applying to, so that's where crossed fingers come in.... along with some essay-writing, image/resume-providing, and sketch-making. It would be for a college of natural medicine, hence, the medicinal plants and healing vibes and such. That one wouldn't happen until Summertime. I will of course, keep you updated ;)

Third image down, is for the wall behind a reception area for a company that, from what I can tell, makes the plastic molded parts for four-wheeler type recreation vehicles. EXTREME!

Last image is of a special place on the coast, to go on the wall of a calming, peaceful bathtub retreat. Cue blissful sigh. 

Excited for these to come to life. :) 

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Portland muralist, portland mural, portland street art, portland mural artist, mural design, portland artist

Portland muralist, portland mural, portland street art, portland mural artist, mural design, portland artist

Portland muralist, portland mural, portland street art, portland mural artist, mural design, portland artist