Public Art :: Merced RFP

No time to waste here. Each year I am making huge strides in my goals as an artist and especially a public artist. This last year was such an amazing learning experience in all aspects of being a business women, artist, friend, and a family member. I have taken more time to be with family, friends, and start new relationships inside and outside of my artistic community in California. The New Years resolution for myself is Balance and Harmony.

So, let's hop to it, no time to waste, right? Merced, California had a national call to public artists. I found out about the opportunity within about a week of the deadline. Excitement and nervousness rushed my well fed body, this would be the time I would take everything that I learned over the last year and apply it, studiomargo style, for my first solo RFP. Merced gave the artists three themes to work within, the history of Merced, Yosemite/Central Valley, and Merced culture. So right away I hopped onto the Yosemite train. I started to gather images and started my research. After one day of that I started to thinking to myself that this is about Merced, MERCED, not what lies past Merced, or the gateway into something, this is about Merced, the community, the people, the life and culture that makes Merced what it is. So I started to research Merced and started dialogues with Merced County residences. I come from a long line of family farmers so conversations about the USDA, agricultural this, 4-H Club that, and discussion about the landscape were buzzing around and starting to make their way into studiomargo. Keeping in the theme of utilizing my last year in every way possible for this project I started to become so happy when the ideas started to spill out of my brain and onto the paper. All of a sudden, the bees, the chickens, flowers, the small farm lifestyle I led for a few months in the SC mountains started to pop up and it felt so right. My grandmother's profile, who was a farmer and my friends childrens' all found their way into the murals. This concept was created with love and family moments.

First let me write to you about this project. Since I am a muralist, this project has the potential of 6 different murals, the sizes are: (2) 45'x4.5', (2) 45'x6.5', and  (2)45'x7'. Yes, that is a wonderful amount of painting surface, indeed! Now, let me take you back to about 2004 or so when I was a webmaster for the Transportation Agency for Monterey County, which is where I was introduced to, Transportation Art! Ah yes. So I brushed up on it again and repetition is one of the keys to having transportation art work well. It was the repetition that sparked my idea for the landscape. I wanted to have all of the panels/murals linked in some way but without being overly repetitive. So four of the murals I kept the Merced landscape an anchor while utilizing farm based creatures and family moments as a strong staple to the piece. For the other two murals that will be roadway panels 4 and 5 I took produce grown in Merced for my inspiration.

This is the current stage of the G Street Underpass in Merced (Photo and drawing courtesy of the Merced Redevelopment Agency). Below that is the final design and where the panels will go for the project.

My Statement:
Statement for Merced G Street Underpass
The concept for the six panels are based on the culture of Merced. From livestock to community to crops to 4H clubs Merced places a high importance on the land, nature, and development of the future. In this concept is a fruitful, passionate, community based visual. Coming from a long line of family farmers has instilled a high importance of the land and food and cattle production in me.
The pedestrian panels will be more detailed, having a range of farm animals and community members while keeping the landscape a main staple throughout the entire G Street Underpass, much like it is in Merced. The four roadway panels utilize repetition and a simple but sophisticated color palette. This will keep the driver focused on the road but enjoying the colors. Merced produces a diverse range of agricultural produce from tomatoes, berries, grains, melons, potatoes, cotton, milk, cheese, poultry, and cattle. This concept is taking the Merced agriculture production and using it directly in the murals. All panels are family friendly and in fact this concept places a high importance on community and working together not only as a family but also as an agricultural community. Keeping an interesting perspective and dynamic angles with a strong composition will create a fresh yet timeless energy to the space and this piece.

 Below are the final line drawings.

The artistically organized list for the complete information for the RFP.

Mounted final line drawings ready for a final painted sketch.

I can not remember if that is 8:20 in the morning or the night, I was pulling those long studio sessions again, where Sun setting and Sun rising are something that happens in the middle of your working 'day'.

The painting station, where I sat for the next two days painting the maquette murals. As I was painting these little murals the thought of painting them on 45 feet of material was so exciting, I mean, those are some big berries!

The final painted sketches ready for delivery.

Creating the final studiomargo package. 

March 7th is when the finalist are announced.

Balancing the in Between

I realize that I tend to write about learning to balance life. Many of my friends who are artist are also workaholics. This past fourth of July I found myself in the studio, painting. On my birthday I am usually always in the studio. Since I have been sober for the last year and a half I have found myself in the studio more than ever before. Learning how to keep life balanced seems it will be a life long practice for myself. I have started to go to meditation about once a week to keep me on track with a more balanced life, going to yoga and getting outside in nature as much as I can are all great moments I can do to keep my life balanced.

 So, balancing the in between, huh? Well in between painting and drawing making food and enjoying natures color palette are top priority. John and I are working on the Calgary Canada mural and putting the finishing touches on a mural in San Bruno for Skyline College. Below are some images of some of our process in the studio.

Here is the project for Canada. We are mixing colors for the glass tube. I enjoy this color palette so much! There are images of swimmers that are on the non woven media that we will paste onto the mural once the tube is ready for them. I am excited to learn how to make this tube really look like glass.

Next up is the mural just about ready for installation, Skyline College in San Bruno, CA. This is the first mural I have worked on from cartoon to finish. I am very excited about installing Skyline. This mural is about 15 x 16ft. We will be installing Skyline in about five days from now. One of the wonderful things about working with the non woven media is the ability of being mobile. If you have been following you will note that this mural was once in a different studio. We rolled it up and brought it to the Truckee/Lake Tahoe studio further North of the Santa Cruz mountains. Once Skyline is ready we will roll it up again and take it to its home. Although I am excited about installing the mural, this part of the process is always a high adrenaline rush, being up on scaffolding, rolling out the mural, and working it into its place, where it will live for the next 100 years, or so.

O, hey, let's not forget, this whole, balancing the in between. Here are a few shots from outside the studio, soaking up new inspiration and smelling the sweet California air. I hiked up Squaw Valley, three hours and took the little lift down. It was real different than hiking in Big Sur, which I am most familiar with. I have not skied and going up all the way to the top was real interesting and thinking about what it would look like with snow was, cooling.

This three hour hike, where my patience started to wear out, not knowing where I was going, but I was along for the ride, really was a treat. When I got down from the mountain, I heard amazing soulful music. It was a band from New Orleans, tearin' it up! It was so awesome! I dont know where I got any additional energy, but I just could not stand still, I hopped into the crowd and started to dance with the crowd. It was just such an amazing experience and the icing on the cake!

Bedford Galley 'Working in Wax'

The Bedford Gallery in Walnut Creek had an amazing opening about two days ago with all things wax. There were 400 entries and 85 artist were juried in and there are about 100 pieces in the exhibition.
I have been painting since I was five and most of the time I painted in acrylics, water color, i did pen and ink did some sculpture work, and glass work too. In college I really learned what it meant to paint large. I received my degree from California State University, Monterey Bay in Visual and Public Art which equals Large Scale and Mural painting and a minor in Graphic design. My love for painting large and making a difference in my community will never leave me. Since my graduation I was still hungry for more. I am a sponge. I took a course with Cari Hernandez and Daniella Woolf. After that, game over. I fell in love with the medium. I painted in a way I always wanted to but never allowed myself in acrylic paintings. I feel so free when Im doing encaustic painting. I have found myself in a place with no rules and as a matter of fact it seems that in the encaustic world rules are meant to be broken. From working with canvas, painting over acrylic, using oils, incorporating plexi, bronze, cheese cloth, and so much more. Encaustic is the medium of exploration. It is competitions like 'Working in Wax' at Bedford and 'Metamorphsis' in Lincoln, Nebraska that are bringing a scene of healthy competition to the medium. Every time I go to a purely wax event all I do is discuss the medium, who the artist is and how they did their work. There is nothing more exciting then discussing with your fellow artists the possible process that went behind a particular piece. I am a member of the International Encaustic Artists. I love this group of waxy artist. I have been able to really discuss on a deep level the medium and process and learn from othr artist.

Here are a few shots from the event at the Bedford. Most all the work is for sale in the show and is a great chance to give back to the community and support artist around the United States.