I am working on a collaborative project with artists Ginny Sykes (who co-created the design with me), Julia Sowles-Barlow, and Jim Brenner in the Ft. Sheridan forest preserve in Highland Park, IL. The project is created through Chicago Public Art Group and is commissioned by Openlands.
We have been working over the last week installing all of the painted mural segments and glass mosaic tile. Currently aluminum arcs are being installed. The piece entitled "Arc of Nature" speaks to the complexities and patterns that exist in the world around us at the macro and micro level. I will be posting more photos in the coming week when the piece is completed.

Julia is installing a piece of the mural with our fantastic installation assistant Bart.

Progress photo of the piece before glass tile mosaic has been installed.

I have just completed a huge mural in Baltimore, Maryland. The mural (located at 1818 West Fayette in downtown Baltimore) was sponsored by the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts. The mural depicts two figures: a man digging in the ground (there is a community garden located in front of the mural wall) and a little girl drawing with sidewalk chalk. The drawings transform into large graphic flowers that move across the mural. In the background are monochromatic scenes of landmarks in the community from the past.
This mural was really fun to paint. I especially had fun rendering the figures. One obstacle was the extreme heat in Baltimore. I was painting during a record heat wave. Temperatures got up to 105 degrees!

May 2010 Oak Park, IL- Augustina Droze recently completed a new mural in Oak Park, IL. The mural represents the complexity of everyday nature including dandelions, pill bugs, and a giant weed at the center. These elements in nature are often overlooked. This mural aims to show the true beauty and intricacies of even the smallest elements of nature and represents how these elements and science are interconnected.

This mural was commissioned by the Village of Oak Park and can be viewed at the intersection of South Blvd. and Oak Park Ave. along the train embankment.

Augustina Droze was selected to create a mural in the Pigtown neighborhood of Baltimore. Pigtown is a wonderful area which gets it's name from the the time when pigs were run down the streets on their way from the B&O railroad station to the slaughter houses. The mural celebrates the neighborhood by depicting local architecture, the train station, and enormous pigs running towards the viewer and out of the mural! If you visit Baltimore be sure to check out his mural near the intersection of Washington Avenue and Martin Luther King.

In the West Town neighborhood of Chicago 6 new murals have been painted. The murals were painted by Chicago artists based on themes relevant to West Town. Augustina Droze was selected by a panel to paint one of the 6 murals. The scene "West Town Nature" created by Augustina represents an array of urban wildlife that can be found in the area including a crow, rat, pigeon, finch, squirrel, and even an ant. In the background the viewer sees St. Bonnafice Cathedral which is slated to be torn down. If you are in the area (Chicago Avenue and Lessing under the train viaduct, one block west of Halsted) be sure to stop by and check out all of the murals!