At the end of 2020, I received notice that I was selected to be one of 60 grant recipients throughout the Pacific NW to create new work for a Black Lives Matter exhibition at the three Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art locations. My artwork will be displayed in Pullman during fall quarter 2021. I was selected based on past work, and on the strength of my proposal, which was to create a 3′ x 3′ mosaic portrait of Nat and Thelma Jackson, a couple local to Olympia, WA who have both spent their lives working for social justice causes. Here is a nice outline of their accomplishments: https://www.sos.wa.gov/legacy/sixty-eight/nat-and-thelma-jackson/
Between other commissions, I’ve been slowly working away on the portrait since January 2021. It took 5 months working part-time, and it is now completed. This is the most ambitious portrait I’ve tackled so far and I am very pleased with the outcome. I have kept in touch with Nat and Thelma throughout the process, and we identified the City of Lacey, where they live, as the most suitable final location for the artwork. I’ll be giving the piece to the City of Lacey to be installed as public art. Here it is:
October 2022 update: On October 4, 2022, the mosaic portrait of Nat and Thelma Jackson was unveiled at the Lacey Community Center in Lacey, WA. It was a lovely and moving event. Here is a 1-minute video: https://youtu.be/50TqxjOuHyo
