PublIc ArtWorks
Transformative Soil: Terra Firma
TRANSFORMATIVE SOIL: TERRA FIRMA
ELEVEN 40” x 60” DIGITAL COLLAGE PANELS ON ALUMINUM AND ACRYLIC.
TOTAL LENGTH: 41.5’.
With its unique identity, the city of Huntsville is always in a continuous state of becoming what it will next be in context with what it has been in the past. This eleven-panel photography-based digital collage art piece incorporates vintage and contemporary images of interesting people, events, objects, folklore, and flora and fauna connected with the city into the work, celebrating its distinctiveness.
Using a limited color palette in the piece is not just a design choice but a symbol of unity, harmony, and excitement. The native warm red and brown colors speak to connections with the land and native soil around us since Huntsville’s beginning in 1805. The soil is an integral part of the underlying identity of the city and its place in the Southern United States. It represents a physical connection to the city, which is more than 500 square miles (Alabama’s largest city in area). Huntsville initially attracted settlers to the area because of its rich soils and abundant clean water.
This piece has a sense of timelessness that inspires reflection on our community, its memorable sense of place, and an identity unique to Huntsville. It is designed to encourage a sense of community, our connections to our past and future, and our land. The images remind us who and what made and made up Huntsville then and now. Everything is interconnected over time and built upon things of the past and projected out into the future. The soil from which Huntsville has sprouted has brought us so many good things, including the U.S. Space Program, our local universities, the citizens of Huntsville, our commercial enterprises and private dwellings, the visual arts and music and dance, our churches and civic organizations, and our abundance of outdoor recreation. City Hall gives us a chance to celebrate all these things together.
Individual image information and additional information for Transformative Soil: Terra Firma can be found at this link.
Foster Child/Foster Parent
FOSTER CHILD/FOSTER PARENT - MURAL 24’ x 16’ - SPRAY PAINT ON MASONRY WALL
This piece was conceived to celebrate and acknowledge the complexities of adolescent girlhood and their transition into adulthood. Part of the wild ride young girls are on is the journey to figure out who they are and what makes them themselves, how they see themselves from the inside and how others see them from the outside, what the mask is, and what is real underneath. I call the piece “Foster Child/Foster Parent” partly because of the transition of taking on the parenting/ownership of oneself from the literal parents. I believe this is one of the main things young women do during this phase of their lives. The scale of this piece on the wall will make it over 24 feet high, and it’s not often that we see, feel, or think about the real experiences of young women at this time in their lives. I combined two models for this piece and did a digital art piece combining their two faces into one face, representing not a specific person but the idea of any girl in this phase of life.
While I hope young women and girls will see this as a personally empowering piece, I also want everyone to enjoy its fun and visual appeal. It’s a celebration of young women's intelligence, strength, and capability as they take control of their lives more and more as they grow up. In addition to that, it’s just a fun piece visually in color, scale, and design.
I’m very excited to have such a significant work of art out in the open and available to be seen and enjoyed by anyone. Art in museums and galleries settings can be very intimidating, and I believe that most of us benefit from having art in our lives. I think art and art making make the world a better and more exciting place to live.