Public Art: Murals & Installations
"Little Victories" wood panel mural wall (Diptych)
Title: Little Victories
Wood Panel Mural Wall (Diptych):
This circus themed graphic novel style portable art installation was created as a project for Chatham Arts Council JumpstART. It tells a story related to a broader theme of jumpstart with a twist on the corporate motivational poster showing how a support network boosts one up.
Medium:
Exterior latex and Golden mural and fluid acrylic paint.
Dimensions:
4’ * 8’ = 32 sf x 2 = 64sf
Installation Location/s:
Pittsboro and Chatham County Welcome Center. Pittsboro, NC,
November 4-17, 2021.
Chatham Arts Council office building, 118 West St., Pittsboro, NC, December 10, 2021 - present.
Inspiration
The original inspiration comes from my personal life to tell a story. The overall theme is inspired by the circus and the format style is inspired by graphic novels.
Each character's characteristics are inspired by photos I referenced of myself and family members. The main female character was originally created for an online class “Draw & Paint Your Imagination with Ten Hundred” via Monthly in October 2019. I developed her further in this piece.
Concept
Two maple plywood panels primed with gesso then painted with exterior latex, golden mural and golden liquid acrylic paint.
The theme for the twelve artists showcasing their art at the event was "JumpstART", my application for the project stated that I would showcase boosting each other up in a fun artful way.
Title
Inspiration for the title "Little Victories" comes from an Oprah quote that quote resonated with me on multiple levels. Since the mural panels would be placed at the entrance to the Pittsboro and Chatham County Welcome Center for their debut exhibition as part of the JumpstART/Chatham Experience during First Sunday it made sense that these were the "little victories" along the path.
Artist Statement
Growing up, I heard stories of my grandmother posing as my grandfather whipped cigarettes from her mouth using a bullwhip.
Normal for me was a family who juggled (some with fire), rode unicycles, and walked on stilts - sometimes in parades with painted faces which my aunt and mother helped paint.
I myself developed a love of face and body painting, creating my first full body painting complete with a costume for a CircusSPARK Fantasy Showcase in 2018.
No surprise, I chose a circus themed graphic novel styled format to represent the idea of giving others a boost in a fun way instead of a typical cliche´d motivational poster found in corporate environments.
While performers have to hone their skills and practice for peak performance at showtime, it’s support from others behind the scenes that contributes to the overall success of those performers, the individual show, and the circus as a whole.
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So too must artist hone their craft and it's the support of others from behind the scense that lends to the success of the artists and the exhibits, shows, and events their art is showcased in.
Note
Though I use a circus theme for the visual story, the underlying message applies to any individual, group, or business. I kept the conversation bubbles purposefully vague so they are open to interpretation and can connect with a much broader audience in different environments.
Essentially, life is going as planned, but goes awry and one is off track, wondering what happened? Enter an entity that no only offers support and encouragement but sets you up for success, you are now elated and realize the relationship is mutally beneficial. Everything is copacetic.