Wheatpaste
2020
Lead artist, with contributions from: Sophy Tuttle, Danielle Jacques, Maria Servellon, Nate, Steph Marando-Blanck,Sergio, Eva Gonzales, Nikki Descoteaux, Michael Gasper, Khizra Syeda, Karla Collins Eck, Elizmary Marrero Bey, Lisa Santagate, Jenna A Feldman, Marianne Ramos, Frances Hamilton, Max Pro, Kyle Browne, and Bebe Muskopf. Painting support from Amanda Hill and technical support from Colorbox Industries.

This project was part of a larger series of wheatpaste and painted murals presented by Chelsea Prospers, the City of Chelsea’s downtown initiative for neighborhood vitality and public art, and supported by Award No.2017-AJ-BX-0004 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Department of Justice.

Members of the community sent in photographs, drawings, paintings, pictures of bird sculptures and responses to the question “What do you learn from watching birds?” I took their quotes and imagery and integrated them into a tree inspired by the Maquilishuat, the national tree of El Salvador.  This tree was chosen because the City of Chelsea has a large population of residents from El Salvador. The wall became a collage of the imagery and written observations that people shared, and I added grass to make it more cohesive

I also worked with Chelsea Prospers to support artists and youth from the Chelsea Collaborative to create original work for this project. Check out the Copia y Pega page on the Chelsea Prospers website to learn more about all the projects!