Experience Canton's Mural Fest

Heidi’s Social Media Handle: @primarychild_Studio
Ashley’s Biz Social Media Handle: @palmystree 

What inspired you to become a mural artist, and how did your journey in public art begin?

Heidi: Going through high school, I loved painting and drawing and the fine arts. I couldn’t envision how I might get paid to paint full time one day, but through attending college for graphic design, and following more muralists as I graduated, I realized this was exactly the work I wanted to do in my life. Six years ago, I had the opportunity to paint my first mural for a retail client just after I graduated college. In 2020 I began working for myself full time, and for nearly 4 years I have had a studio in Franklinton, (Columbus) Ohio. I have heavily involved myself in the local arts communities and have grown my career through all of this. Currently, in addition to being a muralist, I am an installation artist, and designer, working on various projects in each area.

Ashley: I’m someone who loves to be creative in any way I can, whether it’s painting, sculpting, drawing, building, or anything else. I hadn’t considered creating murals until college, when I saw the professional work of various professors. One professor, in particular, was an incredible muralist and public artist who created many artworks for cities across the U.S. I always knew I would love to work on public projects, but my business (Palmystree) focus was on smaller works and projects that people could purchase and collect. It wasn’t until a few years ago that a friend of mine, Errick Freeman, began encouraging me to think bigger. That’s when I realized creating murals or public works wasn’t as out of reach as I had thought. Fast forward a few years, and a serendipitous event led Heidi and me to join forces in 2023, making my public art dreams a reality. Now we’re living it, and I am very grateful for the opportunity to work alongside one of my closest friends.

How did your joint work begin?

Following an opportunity to paint a mural together in Canton (our hometown) in June 2023, there was a golden moment of opportunity for both of us to connect further as friends and become business partners. We have been friends for close to 15 years, and have always bounced ideas off of each other and have settled into working for ourselves independently. For where our workloads were, it was a good moment of growth with more of a presence in two cities now.

What inspired the concept for your Mural Fest mural, and how does it connect to the community or culture of Canton?

For our mural concept, we looked towards imagery and ideas that we personally want to explore that will develop our skill set further. In moving towards a more narrative and illustrative painting style, we have designed a mural that represents the vision for your life coming to fruition, through a mix of portraiture, other anatomy, astrological references, and more. As artists that grew up in Canton, the foundation of who we are comes from the arts here and around northeast Ohio. Here we’re using imagery that is representative of our interests and talents, and we’re giving back to Canton with what we’ve gained over the years.

How do you approach designing a mural for a specific community or location? What factors do you consider?

We have a pretty solid procedure of researching the business/company the mural is for, as well as the area it is going to live in. It is highly important to be as aware as you can be of cultural, religious, racial, and controversial stances and issues when designing. At times when we do have more creative freedom, it’s pretty easy to steer clear of controversial topics, and similarly when a client is more heavily involved in deciding the design directions.

How do you hope your mural will impact the community?

Heidi: That you really can do what you want in this life – I didn’t know I wanted to paint murals as a kid, but when I was little my room was covered in colorful drawings, and then many paint colors. My intent to cover the world in color has never wavered, even before it was realized. It is the greatest privilege that I work incredibly hard for and I am blessed to work for myself, and to be able to love my work and myself even more through that – and I hope that everyone has the opportunity to experience that in life. 

Ashley: Echoing Heidi’s sentiment that “you can really do what you want in this life,” I hope this mural has a similar impact on the community. For as long as I can remember, I wanted to be a professional artist. I was fortunate to have a supportive family who encouraged me to pursue my art. My grandmother, in particular, enrolled me in private art classes with Gerri Pierce, a professional artist who mentored me from 5th grade through 12th grade. Gerri, along with my family and later college professors, played a crucial role in helping me make my dream a reality by providing invaluable advice, skills, and knowledge in art, business, and brand-building. My hope is that this mural inspires young artists, especially those in underserved communities, to embrace their creative interests and turn their dreams into reality.

What emotions or thoughts do you want to evoke in those who see this piece?

We hope people feel awe and wonder, and keep finding new details to enjoy in the design. We both love experiencing public art, getting up close to it and really taking it all in. For its location, we think people will be able to easily access it and interact with it. 

What’s the most unusual or unexpected source of inspiration you’ve ever drawn from for your art?

Heidi: Once I was prompted to create a 3D installation art piece all about climate change – as an installation artist I create a lot of 3D tissue paper flowers from 5in to 5ft in diameter. I didn’t know how I would connect flowers to climate change, but learned through researching that flowers have reacted to climate change in different ways (you’ll have to look that up!) and I created an installation that visually described how the flowers have reacted. A great challenge that pushed my 3D work to a new level.

Ashley: As an art teacher and, at one time, an art director in various capacities, I draw a lot of inspiration from my students. I’ve taught elementary, middle, and high school students, but I find the most inspiration from the elementary school kids. They are creative and imaginative. Just hearing their creative ideas sparks a lot of my own! Younger students show us how to be less literal, teaching us to use tools in ways other than their intended use and helping us see faces and animals in shapes and images that portray something completely different. Their imagination greatly motivates me as someone who creates a lot of surrealistic artwork.

How do you collaborate on a piece like this? Do you divide the work based on your strengths, or do you merge your styles throughout the mural?

We work together in many ways – we are in two cities but we have intentional weekly business calls and are constantly communicating about what we both have going on. We do have different strengths and styles, but we usually figure out a style or direction(s) that we’re both comfortable in. With current software, it’s very easy to pass designs off to each other too, so one of us can design one part, and hand it off. It’s a much better process working with a fellow artist on everything!