Currents, 2016

This project provided me with plenty of creative freedom to decide the subject matter and theme. To find inspiration, I decided to read poetry by Iowa poets and was struck by the poem; Letters From a Father by Mona Van Duyn. In the poem, a father sends letters to his daughter complaining about medical issues and general unhappiness he is experiencing being old. To help perk up his mood, the daughter sends him a bird feeder to put out his window. At first, his letters continue to complain this time about having to fill the feeder and the mess, but slowly he becomes excited about his daily visitors, learning about them and enjoying their habits, as his medical reports become less frequent.

When ruminating about the imagery for the piece, I decided to make the color palate bright sky blue and white, kind of like looking for images in the clouds. I packed the piece with hopeful and symbolic images related to Iowa and the Cedar Rapids community. A “You Find It” so to speak, when visitors take time to look at the mural, they will always be able to find something new.

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Currents, 2016
Legion Arts/CSPS Courtyard, Cedar Rapids, IA