Inclusivity Mural
29th and Jefferson, Boise, Idaho
March - April 2021
The Vision
I really enjoyed working with John Simonson of AMS. He wanted to create a mural as a gift to the community that conveyed a message of inclusivity, given the ethnic and economic diversity in this area of the city. As a settlement city for refugees, Boise has community members from all over the world. John is an equal opportunity employer and will hire and work with people from all walks of life. He has a soft spot in his heart for those who are less fortunate and for those who have endured trauma or who have come upon hard times. He believes everyone deserves a chance.
The vision for the mural came to me after visiting with John. That afternoon a song by Snatam Kaur started playing in my head. I heard the lyrics, "The sun shines on everyone. It doesn't make choices. When it rains, it rains on everyone. It doesn't make choices. When we pray, we pray for everyone. We don't make choices." I focused on the line about the rain. John liked the idea!
I took photos of children in my neighborhood to use as models for this section of the mural.
My dear friend Niki introduced me to the business owner, John Simonson, so this mural wouldn't have happened without her! She helped with umbrella base coats and she painting the two dogs.
When I shared this photo on social media my friends said she looked like me. Yes, I do see a resemblance! Others thought Niki was my mom, I can also see that!
The Creation Process
Reflections
As I was nearing the end of the creation process I had some new ideas come to mind. I was inspired to change a few of the people, wanting to include someone in a wheelchair and add more ethnic variety, like someone from Asia and also Mexico. But at that point John was not wanting to make changes, and I had another project I needed to get started on so I didn't really have the time to make the changes I was envisioning. Overall I feel good about how the mural turned out, and the experience of interacting with the community as the project developed was beyond what I could have imagined. A kindergartner's comment lit me up, "This is magnificent!" she said. Another person commented, "This is my happy place." The neighbors who lived in the apartment complex across the street expressed their gratitude and said they loved how I brightened up the neighborhood. I had no idea how meaningful this would be, to me and the community.
Get in touch, let's have coffee & talk about your new mural
If you have a vision for a mural, or if you just have a blank wall and want to transform it into something people will get excited about, I would love to assist!