Life in the Time of COVID-19: Space Cats
Summer 2020
Location: Springville, NY
A mural commissioned by Springville Center for the Arts to reflect the spirit of the community in the face of the pandemic. Wrapping three sides of a cinderblock building facing the municipal parking lot of Springville, it depicts over 20 cats isolated but occupied in an unfamiliar environment: space. As this area gets a lot of pedestrian traffic, many of these cats can only be fully appreciated in person. A community survey was conducted enquiring as to what this pandemic has caused us to appreciate more and these answers were visually interpreted and represented. Support was provided through the Springville Community Education Foundation and much volunteer assistance.
I studied cats in all sorts of different positions in order to get their postures and movements to look right, as they are doing all sorts of things like riding bikes, walking, cooking, crocheting, and even vacuuming. Here is just a small sampling of the pages and pages of cat sketches that resulted.
We began priming the building in late July and I did not finish it completely until October, as we had a lot going on at Springville Center for the Arts during the same time period. It was a labor of love! Here are a few photos as the work progressed.

The infamous mixing cup, which was entirely coated in paint by the end.

And here is a link to the project's official page: http://springvillearts.org/sca/events/life-in-the-time-of-covid-19-space-cats/