Walla Walla Murals, Part Deux!

Hey guys! 

A little late, but here's what I've been up to lately, mural-wise:

I was invited to head back up to Walla Walla, WA to add more murals to the memory care facility up there. (I went there for a week last spring for the first round of painting...those pics are here). This time, I only had 10-12 hours of painting approved according to their budget, so here's what happened in those hours:

Directional signage for one of the residential wings.

More signage for the other wing

This mural was started by the Muralist who came before me. He sadly passed away from cancer before he could finish all the murals in this facility, and I was hired on after him to finish them up. (And then, have the whole entire brand new facility in Portland to fill up with murals). This is the only piece in the building that we actually shared. He painted the signs, I added the swirlies on the sides. Kind of a nice collaboration if you ask me :)

This is area where the residents (all of whom have either Alzheimers disease or some form of Dementia) can play with and rock the baby dolls. 

I painted the sign, not the onions in the background.... those were done by the wife of the muralist who died. She tried to paint some of the things he had left unfinished. I was assigned to help make the Parkview Eatery sign look a little.... nicer. The font was not my choosing (if they even started with a font): swirlies, random serifs, and descenders that don't descend. I know that I'm seeing it with my graphic designer's eye, but come on. Haha Anyway, I cleaned up the letters a bunch and made it a bit bolder and more readable (wish I had taken a "before" picture)

There's still more work to be done up there, so looking forward to spending some more time up there when I'm able to, and budgets allow. It was nice seeing some of the same caregivers and residents I had met in the Spring. Like last time though, it did take a bit of a toll on me emotionally. It's hard to see people who must have been so vibrant and have these incredible life histories, stumbling around so confused. It's sad. But this is a tiny thing I can do for them at least! One lady kept thanking me, so that felt nice. I tend to be pretty sensitive, so I cannot fathom doing a job where I'm in this kind of situation day in and day out. Hats off to those of you out there who do. :)

My Grandma would like this.

Ok, this is the craziest: I’m on a business trip! For my business I made! For doing this thing that is my #1 favorite art thing to do for other people, but people will also trade me real money for, that I can buy real things with!  That’s the craziest to me. Is this real life? This job is huge for me for a couple of reasons: #1, I’m making more money/hr. than I ever have or probably ever will again, which is awesome because money, but also #2, this means that someone (who is not friends or family) is telling me they find what I’m doing valuable and will treat me as a real professional. Which I guess is what I am. That feels good.  

I drove up here to Walla Walla, WA (GORGEOUS drive through the Columbia river gorge) yesterday after working a half day at my “real” job (also in love with that), and settled into my guest room at a retirement community here. The next morning, I had breakfast with the owner, and we took a tour of the building’s murals (they are everywhere and amazing). The muralist before me sadly died of cancer not too long ago, so here I am, the replacement. They built a brand new memory care unit right next door to this community, and that’s the building that I’ll be filling with murals. So after the morning meeting, this is what I made:

I’m happy with it, especially for a one-day project. The texture of the walls is PERFECT, and my instructions are to paint “impressionistic” with relatively low detail. Which is totally my jam.

While I was painting, I kept picking up brushes that had either, “Florie Gussis” or “FG” written on the handles in sharpie. My grandma labeled all of her art supplies with her name. I inherited these after she passed away, and now, I use both her brushes and her really nice acrylic paints (I only use those on canvas though, not walls). My grandma had Dementia. Now I’m using her brushes to paint a mural in a memory care facility for residents to enjoy, who have what she had. Something just feels so “full circle” about that. I know she would be proud of me right now and I miss being able to call her and my Grandpa to tell them about these exciting life moments. But I’m happy to have inherited her creative genes - she is with me always. 

Stay tuned for more... I’ll be here mural-ing all week. ;)