As part of my trip to Costa Rica this winter, I worked to create a mural outside of the yoga space that’s part of an amazing wellness center called Finca Mia. I was excited to be able to contribute to the ongoing development and growth of this amazing little farm at the foot of Cerro Chirripó, the highest of the mountains of Costa Rica.
Because I wasn’t working in my studio and had only a small box of tools and paints with me, I had to figure out how to make my lines with what was available to me. I found the kitchen to be a great resource. Pots and pans are usually perfectly round and recycled cardboard was perfect to make a pattern with. Just a pencil to get the lines close (and enable me to erase my “happy accidents” until I got it good enough). I missed my airbrush, which would have made the job of painting the sun rays very easy. Instead, I had to do them by hand. Because there was so much line involved, the sun took twice as long as the rest of the painting combined.
The star patterns are those of the 12 zodiac. Starting with Aquarius at the 12-1 o’clock position and going around clockwise. The two Shaman sit right outside of Gemini and represent our age old traditions of starwatching, moontracking, and sunpondering. The Buffalo is a symbol for the shamans’ magical, mystical powers and also our tie to the mother spirit. The geometry around the moon is adapted from the Nazca Sun Star ruin in Peru, which to this day defies explanation as to its origins and meaning, yet hints at an ancient age of high sophistication in math and understanding that is now lost to us.
Here it is finished! Hope this shines bright light on the yoga deck both day and night for many years to come! Thanks for the space to make my mark, I & M!
-am. Mar 2013
