I was asked to paint a mural at my daughter’s school in 2015, on the theme of the decline of the pollinators. The school has a strong connection with nature, healthy living and science. They have growing domes on site, and use them to teach the kids about all aspects of the food chain. At a time when farming has become a highly mechanized, chemical agrobusiness, and many people have lost their connection with nature and where their food comes from, Sierra House’s program is a great example of how consciousness is shifting. The mural was funded by UC Davis CALFresh Program.
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The painting features melting honeycombs to represent global warming, bats, mosquitoes, ladybugs, honey bees and monarch butterflies which are dying out because of neonicotinoid use in agriculture. I also added local medicinal plants, flowers and fruit. Portraits of actual kids from the school and staff felt like a great way to personalize the mural, and make it relatable for the kids.
I wanted the mural to be cautionary, but optimistic. It is, after all in a school full of very young children. However, I’m just starting work on what I regard as a ‘grown-up’ version of of the same theme, for a private client in Heavenly Village. It has been dubbed the ‘Monsanto Mural’, and will feature much stronger, darker visual language to protest the status quo in our food industry.