Minnesota Mural Project: LOVE
Remember the early days of this pandemic when we all thought the heat of summer would help stop Covid-19 from spreading? Or, was that just me? And then Florida and Texas started running wild with cases...even with all their heat...
Daily I find that I am still trying to recreate my optimism and patience that I had during the Dalgona Coffee (Whipped Coffee) phase of the pandemic and I thought getting out there, and creating for the Minnesota Mural Project (MMP) might be just what I needed this week. Well, and maybe a whipped coffee or two as well. Care to join me?
D A L G O N A C O F F E E R E C I P E
1 TBL Instant Espresso Powder
1 TBL Sugar
1 TBL Hot water
> Mix the above ingredients with a hand-mixer until frothy (about 3-5 minutes).
Next, add the whipped coffee to a glass--chosen to support your current mood--that is filled with a few coffee ice cubes, and milk.
The coffee ice cubes will start to dissolve in the milk and once you get your Instagram shot, you can stir in the whipped coffee and enjoy. Everyone have theirs? Good, let's continue...
I've been eye-balling this mural for quite some time because it is attached to one of my favorite local Co-Op's (Hampden Park Co-Op) and I just love the sunshiney color palette. If you know me well, you know that I've recently been engulfed in a mildly concerning Beatles obsession and I've been listening to All You Need Is Love and Penny Lane among all their other hits on repeat for weeks now. So, when it came time to really narrow down this edition of the MMP, I knew I had to design for Cey Adam's mural that he created in 2019 on the side of the Hampden Co-Op: LOVE.
LOVE mural is located at Hampden Park Co-Op, 928 Raymond Ave, Saint Paul MN 55114
For flower material, I chose to carry out the sunshiney palette with some of my favorite blooms, including Marigolds, Stock, Pincushion Protea, Standard Mums, Solidago, and Asclepias. For a little added dimension and stretch, I included some of our neighbor's saplings that forever will be coming over our fence--so, win-win, I trimmed up their tree and utilized their length before composting them.
I admire the sharpness of this mural most. And I know it was no small task to paint each, individual brick and maintain those crisp lines, so I chose to color block my fan-design in honor of the sharpness Cey was able to achieve with his team when he created this mural.
If you are in the neighborhood, please stop and check out this mural tribute to LOVE--something we all need to give and receive as much as we possibly can. Especially right now.
I encourage you to stop and shop at the Hampden Park Co-Op (you won't be disappointed), and even subscribe to their FOCUS Magazine--a great publication that includes the "doings" of the co-op as well as coupons and other news. They are such a wonderful fixture in the neighborhood! Thanks to Roderick Neal, Marketing Coordinator for the Co-Op, for taking the time to chat with me while I was designing and for sharing some FOCUS magazines with me!
I stumbled across a quote from Roderick in one of these magazines that stopped me in my tracks. He said "I've realized that if you take the high road, you get a much clearer view of the horizon."
Let's all just be thankful for this chance meeting and marinate on that quote for as long as you need today. Roderick finished that statement by saying "Success is there and though it may be at a distance and hard to reach, if your resilient, it will be there waiting for your embrace."
Here I was, just out there designing and trying to share my LOVE & LIGHT with the community and I feel like I'm the one that is walking away filled with even more LOVE & LIGHT after thinking on that sentiment. But, I suppose that's why they say you can't pour from an empty cup--we are all out there trying to fill our cups so that we can pour into others.
As always, thank you so much for taking the time to read along and be a part of the Minnesota Mural Project. I'd also love to give some extra special "THANKS AND LOVE" to this edition's sponsor, who wished to remain anonymous. If you'd like to sponsor or partially-sponsor an upcoming MMP, please reach out to me at jessica@jolenafloralstudio.com
CALL TO ACTION: Show some extra LOVE this week to those around you. A text or call to a friend you haven't seen or connected with in a while, a stranger in line at the co-op, a co-worker, etc. Y'all know the drill--spread that LOVE like wildfire this week! We all need it.
Be well and until next time,
Jessica
