Oregon Mural with Walterville Elementary

My last few posts have been full of lessons and projects from my lastest residency at Walterville Elementary.  But we also had a main attraction at the Corie-art-room-takeover: an 8'x20' mural!!  Here's how it worked:

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This mural project was created with all 190 students, grades K-5 at Walterville Elementary School in Walterville, OR.  The process was typical of a mural residency with me and went as follows:

• Initial planning meeting with staff to discuss their ideas for the residency and mural theme.  They decided on an "Oregon" theme. 

• Teachers had every student make drawings depicting their ideas of Oregon, and sent them all to me!

• I took all student's drawings and took inventory of the images and incorporated their ideas into an overall mural design. 

• We completed the mural in a little over 2 weeks.  Each classroom got to have about 8 sessions with me, and most children painted on the mural multiple times.  I taught grade level appropriate lessons for each class to work on, focusing on the techniques of master artists throughout history.  While students were all working on these projects, I rotated small groups of children to paint the mural. 

Here it is, in a few pictures.  I can't wait until the panels are installed onto their wall so I can show you the whole thing, put together!  Keep an eye out for that in the next few weeks ;)

Showing the kiddos how to lay paint down

Putting apples in the apple orchard!

Stayin' busy making Jim Dine-style Valentines while a couple painters are going in the background.

Making a starry starry night (heh, art teacher pun for the win!)

Cutest ever.

So many trees!!

Adding architectural details to the city

Done! But not yet installed. This is only about 3.5 of the 5 panels we made.

From Left to Right:  Oregon Coast--> River--> Rural Oregon--> Forest-y Mountains--> Cityscape

Good news!

I haven't updated this since I was in Philly?! Oops.

First of all, the idea I talked about in my last post is beginning to come together.  I wanted to do a mural on fabric with my students here, ship it over to Madagascar, and have a Peace Corps Volunteer finish it up and install it in their village with their students and/or villagers.  Part International art project collaboration, Part a way to get word out about important topics. (The murals would have to do with Malaria prevention and be mostly visual communication for those who can't read). 

So the update is, I've gotten the "go ahead" from both my old supervisor from Peace Corps Madagascar AND the arts council I work for here.  People have responded really well to the whole thing, so that's exciting!  I've got a few 4th grade classrooms that are interested in being the pilot project!!! AND, a current Peace Corps Volunteer who wants a mural in their village! A perfect match!! Only thing is, the time that the 4th grade staff has available is in early December. That's like, a month away.  And I still have some questions and specifics to work out with the volunteer getting the mural....but they have  sketchy phone service and no internet.  They are relaying messages to and from me, bush-style, by relaying messages to people who know other volunteers who DO have those modern conveniences.  I definitely know what that feels like, and am sympathetic to that.  It's just that I don't have a ton of time to plan this thing.  I want my first project to be PERFECT and GORGEOUS and WORK SMOOTHLY so that it will bring many more murals for Madagascar....or Africa....or even more of the world!!!! ...Someday.

What I think is the strange part is this:

#1: This idea first hit me like a lightning bolt in the middle of the night and energized me like no other.

#2: The perfect match of having a classroom AND a volunteer be ready for it came at about the same time.

#3: The idea for the project logo came to me and got sketched in about 5 minutes. Unusually easy.

#4: I ordered the fabric that we will paint the mural on, experimented with it, and liked it.  But I needed some more.  Without my account being charged, I found another box of the fabric on my doorstep today. Shipped for free, by mistake. 

I think that something out there wants this project to happen and is using me to channel all the creativity and good luck that it can provide.  The universe seems to be on my side.  All good signs that I should pursue it. Cool.

Here is the logo I designed for the project (someday, organization?).  I painted this on some of the fabric we'll paint the murals on. I want to make sure it can adhere to a wall using glue made out of just rice.  Rice is something that Madagascar has PLENTY of, so it would be great to have a glue recipe that's super easy and affordable for people to help them install their murals. We shall see... I'll be making a trip to Eugene's graffiti wall this week with this puppy.  :)

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In other news, I'm getting my calendar filled out pretty good for teaching this year.  I was hired to teach art lessons for 3rd, 2nd and 1st grades this year at Holt Elementary.  And I have a few school mural residencies booked throughout the Winter and Spring.  While teaching my last lessons with my 3rd graders, something hit me: I get the same "high", happy, fulfilled, joyful feeling from teaching kids art, as I get from painting murals by myself.  Discovering...or rather acknowledging this to myself was really special.  This means, if I can just figure out how to combine BOTH a freelance mural painting business AND being a teaching artist into a full-time gig, I could probably be happy career-wise for my whole life.  That's pretty cool to figure out.  I've struggled so much with trying to find a direction.  It's been stressful and hard.  To just "do art as a career" seems like a direction, but it was too broad and I was scattered and not getting anywhere.  I toyed with trying to become a tattoo artist, an illustrator, a graphic designer, etc etc.  Now, I feel like I know where to put my energy and my motivation and feel that it's right in my heart.  I have a SPECIFIC goal, and it's cleared up my mind a lot and leaving space and energy that I'll need to make it all happen. 

Ok, rambling.... just wanted to share the good news for those of you who were so encouraging about my last post!  Thanks you all for your support.  It means so much, you don't even know!!

Corie

Picture Post!!

So this is what I've been doing with most of my time here in Philly.  The "Murder Project" as it's been aptly nicknamed (The 94 Effect - I wrote about this creepy project in a previous post), is now basically finished and my muralist mentor and I are out of her studio and spending 100% of our working days here at the pool mural project in North Philly.  This is what it looks like so far....

This wall is the first and only to be finished so far. 

Pretty, right?

This wall isn't quite finished yet. Still needs the text. The whole mural will eventually have the text of a poem wrapping around 3 sides of the building. 

The assistant muralist (left) and the men hired from the work-release facility as a part of the Mural Arts Program's Restorative Justice program.

Workin' away!

 Hands getting steadier with every day that goes by!

 Another intern and I are working on the wall facing the pool. NO DUNKING! NO RUNNING!

 So many brushes....

 We mix all the colors beforehand to match the master design, assign each color to a number, and do the whole thing like a giant paint-by-number. 

 It takes a LOT of paint......

So there you go, a visual post, finally!! 

Not your average internship

This is not your average coffee-making, paper-copying internship.  I have been through about a week and a half of my internship with the Mural Arts Program, and so far, I am loving it!!! Here's what I've been up to:

Project #1:  

On Monday, Thursday and Friday, I am working on a mural at a neighborhood pool in North Philly.  Not until my first day of work, did I realize that this project was under the "Restorative Justice" branch of the Mural Arts Program.  So, when I showed up and met my Muralist that I'll be working under, Andrea, (names changed to protect the innocent!), I was surprised to see her with a team of 5 men.  I didn't really know anything about either of my 2 projects before I arrived or even before I started, only that one of them was at a pool.  I guess I should have expected that a project that big would probably have assistants hired.  So, still not knowing what was going on, I'm making conversation with one of the men and ask, "So, what part of Philly are you from?"  He answered, "I'm coming from 600."  Me: "Oh, ok.." (assuming that was a street? or something?)  Later after talking with Andrea a bit, I learned that all of the guys are a part of an apprenticeship program that helps inmates in work-release facilities (like "600"), or people that were just released from prison.  So these guys are going to jobs classes where they're learning about resume-making and interviewing, and then 3 days a week, they're out learning skills like painting with us at the mural, carpentry, tile working, etc.   It's pretty cool.  Most of these guys were hand-picked out of their prison art classes, for good behavior and showing promise and interest. 

The mural we're doing is going to be around all 4 sides of the pool building. On the inside wall, we're doing a big design that incorporates the "Pool Rules".  It's a geometric design with a daring, bright color palette.  It's a lot of triangles.  Ok, it's basically all triangles.  It's really nice looking, though.  It's also going to incorporate some tile mosaic, and a poem about believing in yourself. 

I'm really learning a LOT.  I'm learning all kids of stuff about materials and process and what it's like making community murals.  Won't get too specific, but there's really just nothing like the information you get from doing something like this hands-on.  Andrea is amazing at answering all my questions thoroughly.  That was another reason I really wanted this internship, too...because trying to be a Muralist, can be lonely.  You can't get a master's degree in mural-making, as far as I know at least.  Muralists I've reached out to online have been unresponsive, and the other muralist I met in Eugene wouldn't help me because I was her competition.  I don't want to re-invent the wheel, here.  I want to learn how to do this job, and do it well.  But not all that many people do this for a living.  I have a lot of what I need already, but there are a lot of things specifically relating to the business and process of being a public artist/muralist, that they just don't teach you in art school.  And Andrea is here, an experienced muralist and wealth of information.  I get along with her great and feel really lucky to have been placed here.  I'm getting along good with the men at the site, too, while still keeping my guard up. I'm really excited to be on this project - it's a gorgeous design that's stretching my art comfort zone (ME  with a ruler, templates and a level? Not too common in my artwork) and it's also stretching my social comfort zone (not used to working with inmates, either).  I like the "make an ugly building much, much prettier" aspect, combined with the "do-gooder" aspect.  That's essentially what the MAP strives for - both of those, in some capacity, for each project. 

Tune in next time for the GHOST STORY that is Project #2! (No, really, it is.) That's a long story I will tell another day!

Stay cool out there, East Coast! (We hit 100 today!)

Corie

Tree Murals

Well, I know I haven't been posting lately, but it's Summertime and the kiddos are off and climbing trees and swimming in lakes (who am I kidding....they're playing their Wii's and Xbox. It's Oregon, and it's raining.).

I've been trying to stay busy during this slow and unemployed time, with my own mural business. Here's what I've been up to, professionally:

- Creating a brand new website that's completely centered on my mural career. Now that I've decided that's really the direction I want to go most in my life career-wise, I'm completely re-designing the whole thing with this focus.  If you need a website, have good computer skills (but no, you don't need to know html or any other coding for this), go to the wix website and make a site for yourself.  They have templates available for free or you can buy a package without advertising. It's AMAZINGLY awesome.  Really, try it before you spend tons of money on someone to build your site or time learning other programs yourself.

- Created a custom mural for a local non-profit.  I have been involved with Nearby Nature since I was in Middle school back in the 90's. They are an incredible, inspiring environmental and educational organization in my community. And they needed some visual magic at their headquarters.  They just re-painted their Park Host House (the house for the guardians of the wilderness park where they work)  a beautifully bright sky blue. The house looked gorgeous, except for their beaten down, scratched up door. I painted the Nearby Nature logo and a forest pathway on their door and entryway to pull everything together for them.

- Painted a custom Oak Tree mural for a client. The woman who commissioned this mural felt very connected to a local mountain, covered in Oak trees. She told me she felt a spiritual connection and peace about the trees, and wanted to bring that feeling into her home. We decided on a simple sihouette design. The challenge for this project, was pinpointing exactly what it was that would give my client this feeling from my artwork. In this case, it was really an example of the artist as a communicator, and a middle man between a client's vision and what can be manifested in real paint. It was difficult for my client to tell me exactly what she wanted because I couldn't feel what was in her heart - a feeling that was difficult for her to explain. Would longer branches do it? A shorter trunk? A wider canopy? All of these small details come together and give off a certain feeling -  one that I am trying to match to my client. In the end, after visiting the trees that inspired the project, and one round of changes, she was very happy with her bedroom mural. Another lesson in very careful and active listening, patience, and trusting instincts. A fun project that provided growth for both sides.

So that's what I've been up to! Next time you hear from me, I will be in Philadelphia, working on my mural internship with the Mural Arts Program! Can't wait! I'll keep this updated from time to time so you can see what I'm working on.

Philly-bound,

Corie

EXCITING NEWS!!... And making big decisions.

OMG. I have some EXTREMELY EXCITING NEWS!!! I am going to be an intern for the Mural Arts Program in Philadelphia this July and August!!!!

A mural made by the Mural Arts Program in Philadelphia

So I guess on this blog I haven't gone through this whole story of my Career Crisis and this Happy Event following the Crisis.

Well.  Since awhile now, I have been considering as many career options as I have considered places I would like to travel in the world.  That is a lot.  Things I have considered doing range from tattoo artist to animator to illustrator, but I knew I at least wanted to be an artist to make my living. I was doing the Artist in Residence thing and totally loving it.  But I knew that someday I will move out of Eugene, and try to have another Big Art Career to do along side with being an Artist in Residence.  I guess I was at sort of a crossroads and not sure which way to focus, so I emailed an old professor and asked for advice. Which career direction did he think my art was best suited for? Well, he didn't answer that question, but pushed the notion that I really should probably narrow it down. A lot. So I gave myself a deadline. A few weeks down the road, I will have thought long and hard about this decision. It's a really scary notion, making this big of a decision. What if I am limiting myself and closing doors by picking just one area of focus for my art career?! I worried but then thought, no, this is just for NOW. I will pick one focus for RIGHT NOW and if at some point I have given it an honest shot, I will pick something else later. So I wrote pro and con list after pro and con list for each career option.  It's a funny thing, trying to make a decision this big, by being this systematic.  Once all the lists were made, it was like I didn't REALLY need to look over and consider them that closely.  Just the act of making these lists was enough to hear what my heart had been whispering to me all along. Now that voice was louder, with the facts all written down instead of floating around chaotically in my brain. A Muralist, that was IT.  With murals, I can work with people.  I can help people brighten their spaces, get more business in their places of business, work with kids sometimes, and paint REALLY REALLY BIG.  Murals are so BOLD! I love almost everything about this whole business of making them.  The answer was in my heart, it just took some focus and some dedication to trying to hear my inner voice, for me to come to the right decision for myself.

So after I had come to that, I felt, for lack of a better cliche, like a huge weight had been lifted. I felt happier and lighter, knowing I only had to try as hard as I can to succeed in this ONE area, rather than continue to dabble in and spread myself too thinly in so many others.

Not even 2 weeks after, I received a call from the Mural Arts Program, letting me know that there was now another intern spot open and would  like to have it?  (I had previously been rejected after making it to be a finalist). YES I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE IT! I screamed in my mind but calmly spoke over the phone. I applied to this last year and didn't get it. Then I applied this year, made it to the finalists, but no cigar. NOW, I was being offered this AMAZING opportunity. It is something I want SO BAD. It's just so funny to me that once I decided this is really what I want to do whole-heartedly, the Universe turned around and gave me this gift, almost seeming to back up my decision, telling me I'd made a good one.

So turns out that sometimes maybe we have to choose a path, and choose it with clear purpose. I heard somewhere that "we can do ANYTHING we want, but we can't do EVERYTHING we want." It sounds scary, like again, maybe we're limiting ourselves.  This has been a good lesson for me though, that choosing something and trying to put all the "what ifs?" and the other roads you DIDN'T take out of your mind, can be a really powerful thing. It's like I've given myself permission to just put ALL my career-starting energy into this one area. Greater things will probably happen this way, than if I just try everything. Sort of like being able to spin one plate better than 7.

I know this is long and preachy so I'll wrap this up. Just wanted to share this bit of good news and a lesson learned recently, with you guys....whoever is out there reading this. :)

One plate for now,

Corie