In the spring of 2021 I, along with a group of local artists, was invited to attend a walking tour of the Westwood Denver neighborhood with the Denver Street Partnership. During this walk, we were invited to think about how temporary public art installations could improve the walkability of this community. As we headed toward Munroe Elementary School we were first shown Friendship Alley, an alleyway improvement project that was headed up by the local neighborhood organization Westwood Unidos in 2016. When you approach the alleyway from the west you are greeted by two large, wrought iron signs on both sides, one reads Friendship Alley and the other in Spanish reads Callejon de la Amistad. This alleyway leads directly to Munroe Elementary School and has become a safe space for students to walk and bike to and from school. I immediately fell in love with this space, created by the community for the students, and it got me thinking about how a public art installation could build on this concept of community. I was connected with Maggie Latorre, Munroe’s incredible art teacher, who along with the students in her after school art club has painted multiple murals along Friendship Alley over the years.

In early 2022 I began working with students in the classroom, ranging in age from 3 - 11. Over the course of four weeks, we explored public art and through the experimentation of different mediums, the students responded to the question “What does community mean to you?” (“¿Qué significa para ti la comunidad?”). I designed a structure, similar to a little library, that would later showcase these scenes celebrating community, inspired by the students. Students started by drawing and writing out their ideas. They then moved on to expressive stances that would communicate what was happening in the scene. A student whose scene focused on soccer might lay across a large piece of paper and strike the pose of someone who was kicking a soccer ball. Their partner then traced their outline and they moved on to decorating their figures with markers and paint. These silhouetted figures and the poses students captured provided inspiration for the final design of these multi-layered scenes, and also decorated the school’s hallways.

A special thank you to Munroe’s incredible art teacher Maggie Latorre for welcoming me into her classroom and providing support throughout the project.

I then partnered with a local fabricator, Elmendorf / Geurts to engineer and fabricate a series of six sculptures that would line the way through Friendship Alley, all the way to Munroe’s front entrance, highlighting a safe path for students. Each sculpture contains a unique scene inspired by the student’s thoughts on community in the form of layered, water jet cut, stainless steel panels. The house like structure that houses each scene features open doors as a welcoming sign as well as a nod to retablo folk art sculptures. Solar panels and interior LED lighting allow the sculptures to emit a soft glow in the evening, providing a unique day to night viewing experience.

In late October 2022, a group of my amazing friends volunteered their time to help refresh the murals along the alleyway in advance of the sculpture installation. Thank you to Alsne, Erin, Roxann, Avery, and my mom for spending a Saturday painting and to my good friend, studio mate, and incredible artist Sandra Fettingis for donating paint from her years of mural work around Denver and across the country. 

The sculptures were installed in November 2022.

This project was made possible thanks to funding from the Colorado Arts Relief Fund, the INSITE Fund and Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Colorado Creative Industries, and the National Endowment for the Arts, Denver Arts and Venues P.S. You Are Here Grant and Denver Streets Partnership.

In 2023 I was selected as one of three finalists for a public art project for Rocky Mountain Lake Park in Denver, Colorado. My approach to this particular site was to create a welcoming sculpture that compliments the natural feel of the park and serves as a gathering space for community members and park users alike. This proposed sculpture entitled Under the Cottonwood Trees pays homage to the history of this park that’s been enjoyed as a space of leisure and recreation by the community for over 100 years.

The sculpture is comprised of two bisecting forms so the sculpture reveals itself in it’s entirety as the viewer moves around it. The view from the pathway looking towards the lake shows the silhouettes of two woman in COR TEN steel whose outlines were inspired by a historic photo of park-goers in the early 1900s. As you approach the sculpture on the pathway you see a modern silhouette of a couple in mirror polished stainless steel who represent the current community. The proposed sculpture is a celebration of the community who has enjoyed this park for the past century with a look toward the future.

Thank you to Public Art Services and Mowry Studio for their guidance and input in the development of this proposal.

In 2023 I was selected as one of three finalists for a public art project for Athmar Park Library in Denver, Colorado. My proposed sculpture serves as an interactive gathering space that celebrates the diverse communities who have called Athmar Park home since the neighborhoods establishment in 1949. The overall sculpture takes on the look and feel of a stylized hubcap, paying homage to lowrider cruising culture which is prominent in this community. The mandala like pattern of cutout shapes reveals the mirror polished stainless steel panel sandwiched between the two painted stainless steel panels, conveying the slow meditative feel of cruising culture with the final assembly held in place by lug-nuts

The mandala serves as a vehicle for the stories of the diverse communities this library serves and also references this buildings history as a spiritual center. It was my intention for the final mandala design to be created collaboratively with students from the neighboring Goldrick Elementary School. The intention was for each side of the sculpture to feature a different mandala inspired design that speaks to the uniqueness of this community, with each side painted a different vibrant color.

Thank you to Public Art Services and Mowry Studio for their guidance and input in the development of this proposal.

In the Summer of 2018 I was selected as one of four finalists for a public art project to be located at the future Prickly Plume Park in the Central Park neighborhood of Denver, CO. The sensory nature of the park played a key role in the development of my concept. The park design focuses inward using plants and berms to create a sanctuary space in an area surrounded by movement making this site an ideal location for a series of smaller works. I proposed a series of seven interactive, exploratory stations that use visual and auditory medium to engage the viewer in an experience that reflects on the surrounding environment. Inspired by the parks unique triangular shape, each viewing station is comprised of an open faced icosagon (20 sided polygon) structure created through the repetition of the triangular form. Each station ranges in height from 3’ to 6’ tall to ensure accessibility for all. 

As the viewer approaches the exploratory station it will emit a low humming sound, drawing them closer to investigate. This sound will change in pitch as the individual gets closer to the work transforming the sculpture into an instrument that is responsive to the movement of the viewers hand in relation to the work, creating an auditory reflection similar to a theremin. The introduction of sound encourages further interaction with the work while creating a unique experience for viewers without sight. The sound element will have a fixed and focused volume to cultivate a relaxing environment for everyone at the park and in the surrounding area. 

As the viewer is drawn closer to the work the kaleidoscopic effect that occurs when an object is placed inside on the polycarbonate shelf will be revealed. Objects placed inside the open faced icosagon will be multiplied by the mirrored interior creating a quiet moment of reflection. The exploratory stations also serve as a place for community engagement, allowing community members to build off each others kaleidoscopic compositions through the addition of natural objects. 

Thank you to Public Art Services, Re:Engineering, YetiWeurks and Mowry Studio for their guidance and input in the development of this proposal.