[0:05] - Looking at the size of your brush [0:08] and looking at the size of the wall [0:09] and thinking, I gotta paint this whole wall about four times [0:13] with a four inch brush. [0:14] It sometimes can be daunting [0:16] when you think about it that way. [0:18] I am Erik Pearson. [0:20] I am the muralist who created this painting in 2007, [0:25] and now I'm restoring it in 2024. [0:28] The name of the mural is Creating Together. [0:31] The design idea was supposed to take characters [0:35] from different artistic organizations within this building [0:40] and have one character represent each one. [0:43] We have some ceramics going on. [0:44] There's a dancer, there's an actor, [0:48] there's a singer, and there's a painter. [0:51] Each character is sort of helping the other character [0:53] with their profession, kind of showing [0:56] how all the art organizations are connected [0:59] and kind of help each other out. [1:01] It was always built into the contract that [1:04] the mural would last 10 to 15 years, [1:07] and then we would revisit the project [1:09] and see how well it's holding up. [1:12] And then it was voted that they wanted to keep it the way [1:15] that it was originally, which is great. [1:19] It's facing north and east, [1:22] so it gets hit by the sun quite a bit. [1:24] So it got some fading, especially in the black areas, [1:28] which I'm covering up right now. [1:31] So it definitely needed a restore work. [1:34] Even the stuff that doesn't look as worn out, [1:37] when I put a fresh coat on, it really just pops. [1:41] I love that it can be recognized, [1:45] it kind of follows me everywhere. [1:47] I think that's why a lot of big murals are wonderful [1:50] because they can be these wayfinding, placemaking devices. [1:56] So people can say, go to the big turquoise building [1:59] with the mural on it if they don't know [2:01] what this building is, [2:02] because it becomes sort of that visual landmark. [2:05] So it's nice that it's going [2:07] to be seen again the way it was. [2:09] And it is just so exciting to be back here [2:12] and it brings back so many memories [2:14] of the first time that I was here. [2:16] It's gonna be guaranteed to last 10 to 15 years, [2:20] and then we will revisit it again at that point. [2:23] So who knows, maybe another 15 or 17 years, [2:26] I'll be climbing back up here again, [2:29] which sounds amazing. [2:33] It's like revisiting an old friend.