“Painted Prayer”

Cabot Art Walk, Cabot, AR
36 x 108 mini mural
2021

Painted Prayer is inspired by the folk art of barn quilts and quilting. The mural displays three traditional quilt patterns: Grandmother’s Flower Garden, Schoolhouse, and 12-Point Star. Grandmother’s Flower Garden was a pattern popular during the Depression when quilt making was a necessity. The hexagon provided a way to use small fabric scraps and was a reminder of colorful flower gardens. The Schoolhouse pattern featured a side view of the building and was either pieced or appliqued together. Settlers moved west for a better life and part of that better life was education. The schoolhouse was often one of the first public buildings constructed and was the cornerstone of the community. A strawberry plant pattern was added to the mural to represent the support education and business provide to each other in the Cabot community. The 12-Point Star pattern represented abundance during the 12-month year and guidance. Settlers used stars for navigation while traveling west. A heart was added to the mural to represent that abundance and guidance emerge from love.  A prayer is defined as an earnest hope or wish. Painted Prayer is a wish for the Cabot community. A visual reminder to look for lifts during hard times, to be grateful for community support, and to use love as a guiding light. Like smaller elements of a patchwork quilt, together we can make a big, beautiful impact.

“Nurture”

Cabot Art Walk, Cabot, AR
36 x 108 mini mural
2020

The concept for this mural is a play between wild and domesticated, native and non-native. It includes numerous Arkansas wildflowers found along the roads in Cabot, AR and strawberries brought here by the railroads. The different plants thrive together thanks to pollinators like the honeybee. The single bee in action is a metaphor for the difference that one can make in the lives of others.