the (as of yet) elusive mural

Who would think that painting a mural (and for free) on the side of a building in an art-centric town would be so challenging? If you want to do street art legally, there are lots of hoops to jump through with very few open doors (which makes it understandable to me why a lot of artists just skip working with the system entirely). I've been investigating some possibilities and discovering there are many layers to work through...the business that just rents the space in the building of interest, the people who are hired to manage the space, and then the people who actually own the space. A lot of leg work and waiting and calling and following up is required.

Part of me wishes the whole process was easier, but I still think it's worth pursuing. Someone, somewhere, would like to have something beautiful painted on the side of their building. Yep, I'm gonna believe it. 🙂 So, as with anything worth doing in life, perseverance is a good companion.

And, to follow my own advice from my recent post, today I've decided to focus on "what is" (where this public art journey is taking me along the way) and not be fixated on the end result. Thus far, it's been super instrumental in connecting me to people. And I love connecting to people! In addition to meeting Evan and the other artists who are part of the Beautify Lincoln project that I've mentioned previously, I've become part of a local neighborhood group that is working to beautify alleys in Santa Monica. And this week, I went out on a limb and began approaching home owners whose properties back up to some of these alleys. I happened to meet a really interesting couple (both of whom are musically and artistically inclined) who is in the process of building a home and a future art retreat center in Peru. I got to tour their backyard and see some of their cool art projects, as well as hear a bit about their art retreat center dream. Maybe I'll go one day when it's built!

So, although specific public art projects have not yet come to fruition, I am really enjoying connecting to all these people along the way. And life is, at least in part, about connecting, is it not? I think it should be.