The “Love More” Mural
Project Overview
Following the Splash of Color Project’s initial experience with mural design and execution, the “Love More” mural became an opportunity to further community involvement in the creative process. By engaging more volunteers, we expanded the number of stakeholders in our artwork and, consequently, in our mission of promoting environmental education and responsibility.
We engaged 250 community members of varying ages and artistic abilities through a community paint day and our internship program while also promoting local businesses and visual and performing artists.
The mural highlights 5 native species from the San Carlos ecosystem over the 96 ft x 22 ft design.
Leadership • Adobe CC • Creative Problem Solving • Community Engagement and Outreach
"How might we leverage the mural painting process to create an accessible and compelling avenue for community members to engage in environmental advocacy and education?"
Design Challenge:
Iterations to our Approach
Building upon insights gained from our initial project, we refined our process and expanded our mission's reach through a deeper commitment to community engagement.
For example, we learned that participants without prior artistic experience struggle with painting clean lines. To combat this, we assembled a team of artistic interns from our high school that were interested in learning the mural painting process. This enabled us to prepare for community paint day, then touch-up and complete the mural with ample hands on deck.
Other iterations included:
Hosting an open community paint day with more publicity, a wide array of activities for non-painters, and increased organization
Seeking supply donations from the community to reduce waste by promoting reuse
Collaborating with community organizations and environmental experts to ensure process sustainability and the accuracy of our final product
Preparing our mural for community paint days by creating thick outlines around each shape.
Our team of 5 interns from Design Tech High School
Community Paint Day
Our community paint day facilitated the participation of 200 San Carlos community members in the painting process. Each participant was provided with a cup of paint and assigned a numbered color to fill in (paint-by-number), ensuring accessibility for a wide range of artistic experience levels. Additionally, we offered a variety of activities and entertainment:
Food trucks
Live music from local bands
An art gallery featuring works from local artists
Merchandise screen printing of our design with the intent to repurpose t-shirts and bags volunteers don’t use
'Mini mural' activities for younger children, including rock painting and chalk drawing
Final Product and Takeaways
The “Love More” mural highlights five native species, most notably the endangered Bay Checkerspot butterfly. It is not only adds vibrancy to San Carlos's industrial arts district, but is also visible from every northbound train, spreading our message to all passersby.
Our experience with the second mural reinforced the significance of seeking collaboration and forming partnerships with both individuals and organizations. It underscored the strong desire of the community to contribute and highlighted the power of involving as many people as possible in the creative process, further amplifying our message of environmental responsibility and education.