Trolley Square Mural Project
Trolley Square is known as a place for professionals to unwind after work, hear live music, people watch, and enjoy scenic walks through the neighborhood and its parks. As the premier social, shopping, and dining destination in Wilmington, we have now added Arts as a distinction for the area. See the artists at work and take a stroll and find the boxes!
#TrolleySquareArt and #AroundTrolleySquare
I was extremely fortunate to showcase my work in my neighborhood. First, I submitted several design ideas through a contest presented by the Delaware Division of the Arts. The contest asked for artists to paint a mural on the sides of utility boxes in the neighborhood of Trolley Square. I have lived in this area for the last 16 years and was delighted to be chosen to paint a design on a box that is on the corner of my street. This is a spot that is next to beautiful community and flower garden that surrounds First Presbyterian Church on the corner of Pennsylvania Ave. and Clayton St. I frequently pass by this corner throughout my day and the metal box typically sports juvenile graffiti, so getting the opportunity to create an artwork here for the public is a dream come true. I spent over 40 hours on this project from Memorial Day weekend to the completion deadline of June 22. It was amazingly therapeutic to sit and paint plein air on my weekends. Making connections with community members and hearing their positive feedback helped encourage me to work harder. On one particular Sunday evening, while painting my box, President Joe Biden drove by in his convoy while visiting the Italian Festival and gave me a wave. My awesome wife Afton also helped me through several of the steps, as well as bringing me drinks and taking pics to document the experience. Below are the pics that show the process from start to finish.
#TrolleySquareArt and #AroundTrolleySquare
I was extremely fortunate to showcase my work in my neighborhood. First, I submitted several design ideas through a contest presented by the Delaware Division of the Arts. The contest asked for artists to paint a mural on the sides of utility boxes in the neighborhood of Trolley Square. I have lived in this area for the last 16 years and was delighted to be chosen to paint a design on a box that is on the corner of my street. This is a spot that is next to beautiful community and flower garden that surrounds First Presbyterian Church on the corner of Pennsylvania Ave. and Clayton St. I frequently pass by this corner throughout my day and the metal box typically sports juvenile graffiti, so getting the opportunity to create an artwork here for the public is a dream come true. I spent over 40 hours on this project from Memorial Day weekend to the completion deadline of June 22. It was amazingly therapeutic to sit and paint plein air on my weekends. Making connections with community members and hearing their positive feedback helped encourage me to work harder. On one particular Sunday evening, while painting my box, President Joe Biden drove by in his convoy while visiting the Italian Festival and gave me a wave. My awesome wife Afton also helped me through several of the steps, as well as bringing me drinks and taking pics to document the experience. Below are the pics that show the process from start to finish.
Where is the Bee Box?
Honey Bee Box
What visual image would do better to promote living together, working, and socializing in Trolley Square than the honey bee? A community of honey bees has often been employed by political theorists as a model of human society from Aristotle and Plato to Virgil. There are two things that a honey bee symbolizes that every human craves – A sense of purpose about our existence, and the hive, the connectedness to each other. In ancient mythology across all cultures, the honey bee was believed to be the sacred insect that bridged the natural world to the underworld. A universal symbol of ethical virtues, such as diligence, sociability, purity, cleanliness, wisdom, and creativity. Bees are one of the favorite creatures in the insect realm. Not only do they play a vital role in our ecosystem. Observing them in the wild gives us valuable insight into the natural world which we can apply to our daily lives. Bees represent creativity, resourcefulness, teamwork, collective consciousness, communication, hard work, manifestation, and the sacred feminine. They are nature’s alchemist, architects, and matriarchs. Bees also represent a divine love and creation, showing us that everything in life fits into a greater plan, purpose, and place. The bitter-sweet nature of a bee is highlighted by its harsh stinger that is used as protection. While we may love bees, we keep our distance and respect their boundaries because of the immense power of its sting. Spiritually, bees can represent the importance of setting boundaries, having energetic protection, and demanding energetic respect from others.
What visual image would do better to promote living together, working, and socializing in Trolley Square than the honey bee? A community of honey bees has often been employed by political theorists as a model of human society from Aristotle and Plato to Virgil. There are two things that a honey bee symbolizes that every human craves – A sense of purpose about our existence, and the hive, the connectedness to each other. In ancient mythology across all cultures, the honey bee was believed to be the sacred insect that bridged the natural world to the underworld. A universal symbol of ethical virtues, such as diligence, sociability, purity, cleanliness, wisdom, and creativity. Bees are one of the favorite creatures in the insect realm. Not only do they play a vital role in our ecosystem. Observing them in the wild gives us valuable insight into the natural world which we can apply to our daily lives. Bees represent creativity, resourcefulness, teamwork, collective consciousness, communication, hard work, manifestation, and the sacred feminine. They are nature’s alchemist, architects, and matriarchs. Bees also represent a divine love and creation, showing us that everything in life fits into a greater plan, purpose, and place. The bitter-sweet nature of a bee is highlighted by its harsh stinger that is used as protection. While we may love bees, we keep our distance and respect their boundaries because of the immense power of its sting. Spiritually, bees can represent the importance of setting boundaries, having energetic protection, and demanding energetic respect from others.
