Secret Garden Mural
29 Pieces, Trust for Public Land, Texas Trees Foundation, and Dallas ISD 10 Minute Walk Project asked me to create a mural inspired by drawings created by elementary students.
We asked them to imagine how their secret garden would look and used their drawings for inspiration.
For this mural, I wanted to ensure I represented each grade through their inspirational drawings. As I looked at their drawings, I imagined the children creating them, each one filling their blank pages with their imagination, creating their unique worlds, just as I did when I was little. I wanted this to become the interconnecting thread of the mural. I wanted the children to become co-protagonists of this story. Specifically, I wanted to show the connection between the children, their imagination, and nature.
In the mural you will see:
Elements that represent each of the seven grades and the children connecting with nature, as we watch how nature comes to life through their imagination.
I want this mural to allow the viewer to step into a unique natural world that comes directly from the children's minds and imagination.
This mural is dedicated to Virginia Escalante, a devoted school volunteer and PTA treasurer who died of the coronavirus. At the center of the fantastical rendering of children climbing out of clouds and trees is an image of the smiling Escalante.