Murals

A mural titled “Imagine!”

Art magnet program of Las Cruces Public School system, Las Cruces, NM

2013:

I taught and led this mural project titled “Imagine!’, as a visiting artist with the Las Cruces Public Schools, with 60 students in their teens, at an art magnet program for this particular project. The mural features art and design elements from various cultures from around the world including Mimbres potteries and ancient petroglyphs found in the southern part of NM. The students chose the quote, “The peoples of the earth are one family” by the anthropologist and folklorist, Ruth Benedict, to add to the design.

Mural at Jagori, an eco-feminism-centered community organization

DharamShala, India

2015:

Dawn at Jagori (means rise-up), a mural I painted for Jagori Grameen, an NGO working with women and men, toward the goal of social justice, gender equality, and eco-sustainability in rural Himachal Pradesh, India. Located in the beautiful Kangra valley amidst the Himalayan mountains in India, DharamShala is an amazingly inspiring place sheltering and nurturing the exiled Tibetan Buddhist community in India, including the Dalai Lama. My design for this mural is based and expanded on Jagori’s existing logo that was designed by one of my favorite illustrators, the late Bindia Thapar. I incorporated stylistic elements from the traditional miniature paintings of the Kangra valley as well as the hand-motifs (mudras) from Buddhist artistic traditions to symbolize nurturing and caring for all living beings and the environment.

Collaborative Community Mural

Aggie Solidarity, an NMSU campus group addressing social justice around border issues, Las Cruces, NM

2012:

Mural project with Aggie Solidarity, an NMSU campus group that collaborated with the community on this public art project addressing issues of economic justice around the US/Mexico border. This mural project aims to create a dialog in the community about the impact of NAFTA on the borderland. It was proposed to and approved by the City Council of Las Cruces and the Keep Las Cruces Beautiful Committee and the Parks and Recreation Board of the City of Las Cruces … and after many months of meetings and dialog, finally the work started on Nov 19, 2012!