public art

Breaking the Surface at  W.H. Davy Memorial Park
Making a colorful splash at Davy Memorial Park in Moorhead, MN. Myself and Emily Williams-Wheeler brought some color to this park environment with Breaking the Surface, a public art installation of 5 oversized, playful fiberglass beavers. In 2021, when the City of Moorhead asked for artists to imagine a piece of art that would be central to the community, we wanted to create something vibrant and iconic, while considering the park location. Thinking about the proximity to the river and ideas about community, the beaver became a metaphor and icon for the project.  Beavers can be seen throughout the Red River Valley and are symbols of group persistence and hard work. 

A little behind the scenes: First, the beaver was prototyped in clay in a swimming pose. Then sheets of insulation foam were stacked into a block and carved away reductively to create a model for the mold work in its final dimensions, approximately 6’ long by 3’ wide and 30” high. After refining and hard-coating, the sculpture was delivered to Fiberstock, to have a mold created and fiberglass casts made. The project was installed in July 2022. 

Photography credit to Morgan Schleif.

 

mural projects

Starbucks Mural - Tunnel at 13th Ave West Fargo Store
The mural is a collective of birds migrating from the coffee growing regions to the prairie. Personification of animals (or anthropomorphism) is shared throughout the world as our collective existence. Everything is connected and we are more closely tied together than we are apart, so let's take care of the world, of each other, of our communities, and ourselves.
This interior mural is 25' long with lush foliage and birds flying from the entrance to the back counter. The tunnel features three mural motifs to tie the inside mural into the outside of the store. While waiting in the drive-thru line you will see a hornbill, a turkey with babies, and a hummingbird. 
 
  
 
Community Family Market Mural

A family-owned grocery store in Fargo has become a hub of healthy foods and culture for the neighborhood it serves.

Community Family Market is located in the Jefferson neighborhood of south Fargo and is nearly a mile and half away from the nearest grocery store, or about a half-hour walk, identifying it as a "food dessert."

Fargo Cass Public Health saw an opportunity to help the market provide healthy groceries in the neighborhood through its Neighborhood Market Project, and an opportunity to add some public art with a grant from the Arts and Culture Commission.

The mural is a collage of foods that members of the community and the owners thought were important to the cultures of the customers of the market. Foods from Latin America, West Africa and East Asia are all painted on the market's outside wall.
Fargo City Hall Mural

While creating the composition and sketches for the project, the twelve panels were divided up evenly to represent the past, the present, and the future of Fargo. I began my research chronologically looking at archives of Fargo through primary images and written accounts. A focus on the Red River, the railroad, and agriculture became the central themes seen throughout the 12 panels. Other details such as Island Park, manufacturing, and aviation support these larger themes.

Playroom Mural

A magical hideaway tucked under the stairs full of colorful animals including an oryx, blue nilgai, capybara, dik diks, and more.
Clay Studio Mural
Otto's Paint By Number Mural

create a bold back-drop

A picture is worth a thousand words, but a mural stops people in their tracks. Get your customers, community members, and super fans to look up from their normal walk-by and see your building with fresh eyes.

Interested in seeing something larger than life in your space?
Fill out the Mural Inquiry below for more information
on the mural process + how we can work together.

Basic Process: your budget > discuss location + concepts > mood boards + pricing estimate > deposit due + design development begins > 1 round of revisions if needed > paint!

{Mural request for the regional area of Fargo, ND - Moorhead, MN and within driving distance.}

mural inquires

Answering some of the below questions are super helpful in starting the conversation about mural work.

What is the surface texture the mural will be on? (Examples: drywall with orange peel texture, drywall with heavy texture, metal, brick, stucco, cinder block, prepainted, raw, etc.)

What is the approximate height and width of the mural? (Do you have a specific idea, style for the design, or colors you'd like to use? Feel free to send links to inspiration images.)

Anything else you'd like me know about including timeline + budget for your project?

Looking for a painted sign or logo?

If you need a replicated logo or sign, I highly recommend Upper Hand Signs of Fargo, ND. For printed signs there are a lot of local options, but one I'd recommend is Office Sign Company.