Mural Work
The Ceiling Octopus
One of my favorite (and hardest!) mural design and installation projects. The incredibly imaginative, creative, (and trusting!) clients said they woke up one morning and thought, “We need an octopus on our kitchen ceiling”… so they called me.
I based the design off a Giant Pacific Octopus and worked in the recessed lighting in the ceiling to be hidden as suckers in the octopus limbs. The skylight in the middle of the ceiling was another interesting obstacle to design around! The colors were also based around existing color scheme and tiles in the kitchen.
This mural was also the inspiration for my series of octopus postcards— I learned so many new facts about these incredible creatures that I had to find a way to share them!
The Staircase Octopus
In a strange twist of tentacled-coincidence, my next mural client picked up a pack of my octopus postcards at a craft fair and wondered aloud “I wonder if she does octopus murals?”… Well, here we are.
I have been so incredibly lucky to connect with people who have such wild visions! An artist herself, this amazing client had a vision of an octopus spanning her outdoor staircase. She had already painted her fence and the top of each stair in a fun, bright color palette— so this bright octopus fit in beautifully with her surroundings. We based the red, teal, and yellow spotted color scheme off of a gorgeous painted Oaxacan octopus carving that was already a part of her indoor art collection.
Just as a ceiling with lights and skylights presented unique obstacles, this staircase proved to be a fun puzzle to paint! An additional challenge was the fact that I was 7 months pregnant during the installation. Not too much trouble, but my belly definitely was in the way while trying to paint those bottom steps!
Patagonia Santa Cruz Dressing Room
I do more than just octopus murals, I swear.
This temporary mural installation was down in partnership with Patagonia Santa Cruz and Pangeaseed as part of their kick-off event in 2019 for the Artists for Oceans//Protect What You Love event. Hidden in the kelp blade textures are messages encouraging ocean conservation.
Super fun to do bold, black and white linework that could serve as a background for the photo booth they set up inside the dressing room, and it remained installed for several more months!
I look forward to doing more ARTivisim in the future.
More Miscellaneous Murals to Muse…
Patagonia Palo Alto A set of two murals for the two bathrooms depicting local landscapes, framed with climbing rope.
Jenny Putt Physical Therapy Treatment room birch trees
11th Hour Coffee Holiday Window mural
Want Your Own Custom Mural? Let’s Talk!
Got a space that needs some art? Let me help with that. I’m down to do indoor, outdoor, large or small works. Baby/kids’ rooms, bathrooms, garages, fences, backyards, staircases…I’m all about getting creative with you to create a space that’s completely unique to your vision.