I’m an art teacher at Kernan Trail Elementary School and when my principal gave me the green light to mural up the stairwells and hallways I threw myself into it and have been having so much fun. The above image is the top level of butterfly mural that starts in warm colors, and as it transitions to the bottom floor moves to warm colors.
This is the middle level of the butterfly mural, where we showcased the character traits that my school emphasize to our students. This mural has been so fun to make because while I designed and drew most of it, my students have put a ton of work into it as well and it’s been so fun watching them create something that has such an impact on the atmosphere of the school. Hundreds of kids traverse this stairwell every day, and it used to be a blah brown and now full of color and energy.
In 2015 I committed to cultivating a consistent art practice, and the first design I was pulled toward was the pine cone. Maybe it’s because I climbed a ton of pine trees growing up, or that I live super close to Dutton Island, which is a pine island in the Intracoastal Waterway… either way, I love the imagery of the pinecone and it’s metaphor for growth and renewal.
I make them as paintings, prints and mixed media pieces and love finishing them them in wood frames. I build all my frames because working with wood and power tools is one of may favorite things. Currently I’m building the frames out of cedar and finishing them with linseed oil and the look/ smell amazing.
The first time I experienced the joy of muraling was when I created this one for my friend’s at Bella Vida Yoga Studio in Jax Beach. I had practiced in front of this blank wall for years and always wanted to paint it. The unalome symbol is one I admire for its simplicity and powerful metaphor, and while it was fun to paint, I was not expecting the experience of being in class at the studio and listening to people talk about the painting and how it influences the space. I love the act of painting, but the way a painting changes a space is my favorite thing about being a muralist.
I was very happy to paint the deli at Native Sun, a grocery store in Jacksonville Beach. They have great food, and are an icon/ trailblazer of the healthy foods scene in northeast Florida.
One of the many reasons I took the job at Kernan Trail Elementary is our amazing principal Suzanne Shall. I asked her in the interview if she was cool with me mural and she asked me what she could do to help:) I started immediately with the school logo inside the entranceway.
This collage took forever, but it’s one of the most fun projects I’ve ever been a part of, and at 20’x8′ it’s by far the biggest collage I’ve ever produced. This wall is one of the first things one sees when walking into the school and I dig it as a first impression. We made the collage out of 4′ squares, and when you pull back to look at it from a distance all the minutiae blends together, but look at it close one sees all the details and all the hours and hours the kids poured into making this.
This upcoming school year our theme is farming and I’m having too much fun with this cow design- probably end up adding color with watercolor, pastels and paint pens.
