“Excuse me, are you an earth sign?“ The stranger called up to me
“What?“ I called back down from the scissor lift.
“Are you an EARTH sign?”
“Huh?”
“Are you a TAURUS?”
I had this exchange with a passer by while painting a wrap-around mural on the pump station for River Park Parkway for the city of San Jose. The park serves as a flood catchment, a public park and trail system, and home to a growing number of bird species and riparian plants, many of which I feature in the mural.
It caught me off guard that somebody would extrapolate my astrological sign from my artwork. I’ve never been too much into prediction philosophies because, y’know, one can’t control the weather. I focus on what I can control: showing up and doing my best. However this Chinese New Year has brought attention to the unusual Fire Horse year we are entering. Being human, my first thought was how will this double whammy energy affect me, specifically? It turns out I am an Ox in the Chinese zodiac, specifically a Water Ox. The Ox and Horse have a naturally conflicting relationship in Chinese astrology — they sit directly opposite each other on the zodiac wheel. Water and fire, they don’t jive either. AI suggested to me: Think of it less as a bad year and more as a character-building year. The recommendation made to me is, in essence: go back to bed. AI suggested I stick to all my Ox-like routines. No Problemo! As a “Double Ox”, I could not adopt a different strategy if I tried. .
I used to think my “Steady Betty” temperament was a detriment to my art making. Not enough edge/ risk/ chaos!. These days, I appreciate how well it has served me. Most of my projects are from referrals or repeat clients, and the projects are meaningful to me. I am consistently bringing joyful, color-driven artwork into the spaces that need them most. Simple, but powerful, like an Ox! For example, this rainbow mural I painted down the side of the newly constructed Mitchell Park Place apartments, built for lower income and special needs members of the Palo Alto community.
At Stoneridge Creek Retirement Community, I am currently transforming the formerly plain doorways of the memory care residences with sprays of garden blooms. The feedback from the residents on both sides of the doors touches my heart. I know what seems simple to me is positively changing how they feel about their living environment. Ray Rychnowsky, who I collaborated with previously when painting the arcade, has moved with his wife into the memory care facility. He shared with me his favorite photo of a hummingbird, which I integrated into the artwork.
While slower than horses, oxen are often preferred for their strength, endurance, and ability to handle difficult ground. While my art has never been featured in a gallery like Ms. Fire Horse, difficult spaces are my specialty! The life lesson I am embracing these days is self-acceptance. While it is sad to let go of my ambition of someday becoming perfect (as if!) embracing my idiosyncrasies is creating a life that is way more fun – and funnier. This video, highlighting my third collaboration with Mazra Restaurant, is a full dose of “unfiltered Morgan”…
In Los Gatos, I created a series of bird murals for the front of the new Whole Foods. The quirky birds made the front page of last weeks Los Gatan...
Showing up as your quirky self is exactly what the world would benefit most from right now. Being Right or Perfect (or powerful over others, influential, etc, pick your poison) is nothing but struggle. I hope that Fire Horse is powerful enough to burn that all down. Good riddence. Whatever comes next, if we are able to be the honest expression of our individual flavor of presence, our fullest humanity, into each moment, we might move to a better spot collectively. A final example of that in my own life is five years ago I realized I could be of service to the arts ecosystem by writing a book on how to make a living as a mural artist. It’s candid and quirky- it’s definitely not the Melania version of life as a working artist. In January I got a call from Avenue of the Arts Festival in Florida. They wanted to order 250 copies of my book because “…we read all the books on the subject in the genre, and yours was the best. We think this will really help the artists who come to our festival learn how to make a living as artists.” Guess how that made me feel?
I ran into an old friend on the street recently and they asked me, “Are you still painting?” In my head, that question lands in me in the same way that the question “Are you still breathing?” might land to someone else. “Why, yes,” I reply delightedly, “I am!” We are awash in content these days, every bit and bot wants us to read the latest and most interesting thing. I am cognizant of that, and respect your ever stretched time and attention. I might post less frequently but it is with joy I remind you that, in addition to all the uncertainty and human drama unfolding in our world these days, I am here creating a steady output of mural beauty…
With love,
Morgan
