Washington DC—Along the Metropolitan Branch Trail wall in the shadows of new high rises adjacent to trendy Alethia Tanner Park of NoMa, Jeff Huntington, whose artist name is Jahru, was putting the finishing touches on his mural. The sun had reddened his back and his shoulders glistened with a dark red tint from the heat—tree shadows crept over his mural as it dried and he climbed from his ladder, “Oh my back aches,” he said. He’d be painting all day.
He stood back and reflected on his creation momentarily—a three dimensional aspect mural of two children peering through thick columns, a girl split by her brother, their faces a wonderment of hope, curiosity, promise, and desperation. It was one among many remarkable new murals painted this week along the trail—many admirers were stopping to photograph and compliment his work.
He spoke about the impact of art on his life as he folded up his ladder, “In my art practice I’m always trying to push the process to find new surprises in them through difficult processes. When something good happens in the work I didn’t really expect, and it’s something new and fresh in my mind, then I feel like a kid in a candy store.”
Just down from him, Eric B. Ricks, was also finishing his mural, a visual depiction of the potential in all of us, from our beginning to maturity—from egg to butterfly. He created his mural from a box of aerosol spray cans, by mixing the hues and by folding pieces of cardboard to accentuate lines and merge abstract objects into a story.
He hadn’t titled it yet, but he described its message, “My story is [about] enjoying where you are. Often we’re looking at others wishing we had what they had, without understanding their journeys too. Everyone starts with nothing. When you understand that, you become more mindful and more invested in your journey. You can create a great story out of your life and share something meaningful.”
Ricks has painted murals in states across the country and traveled to other countries to learn about other artists.
Still down further was artist Mike Pacheco, a muralist who has been painting for 20 years. His mural was a tribute to hip hop and music that inspires people. Hie mural painted an astronaut holding a bom box while wearing a gold chain attached to a clock—a nod to Flavor Flav who inspired him. He said that resistance was an undertone of his message and it was being passed down from the older generation to the new.
Huntington, Ricks, Pacheco, and 13 other muralists had spent the last few days of Summer working on their murals along the trail wall that supports the Redline metro tracks above. The NoMa in Color Annual Festival, returned September 16-23 with artistic impressions of life and messages about life. Many of the muralists have been painting for decades, like Eric Ricks who started painting and creating graffiti in high school. But some of the muralists were beginners and one of the ideas of the grant was to recognize new and upcoming artists as well as experienced artists.
The NoMa in Color Annual Festival project was created as the result of a grant to build beauty and pride through art in the NoMa and Eckington neighborhoods. Before the condominium high-rises were built the area was mostly an empty grassland with dilapidated warehouses and a narrow bikeway along the metro wall. The wall was covered with tags and graffiti and every few months the city had to pay thousands to paint the tags over.
The NoMa in Color project ended that. Sure, odd-ball tags pop up now and then, but the project has brought beauty and pride to the neighborhood and the money spent on layers of white cover-up has been saved while the grant has helped sustain artists who can show off their skills and help build the community in a positive way. The murals have changed a blank white wall into a yearly mecca for artists who have transformed it into an evolving tapestry of creativity and beauty.
Huntington has been painting for several decades but took a break after he lost two who were very close to him. He had a painter’s block during the following trauma and his creativity was dead. He traveled to Brazil and met the street artists where they have a strong influence in the communities. After being among the Brazilian street artists his passion and zeal for creativity was reborn and while painting with them it returned to a level he had not realized before. He created a website and is doing as well as ever. He doesn’t even worry about what gallery to show his art—he strives to find that moment during his work where his creativity shines through to the inner child in him and then he knows he’s created something wonderful, something good.
As he spoke about his experiences relating to art, a metro train passed above making it hard to hear him speak for a moment. “That sound is me in my element,” he said.
You may learn more about these artists here: Huntington, Ricks, Pacheco.
You may learn about the other artists involved in this project but not covered in this story, at this link: NoMaBid.org.
