Serendipity

This mural had a story. Now it has two.

I started this mural in April 2017. Through Thrive Collective, the non-profit I work for, I was assigned PS 282 Elementary School in Park Slope, Brooklyn. The mural would be a celebration of life for all the kids in the school, but most of all it would memorialize little Jack.

Jack attended pre-K in 2016 and tragically passed away very suddenly. We called the mural “Captain Jack’s Wonder Voyage,” and included wonderful creatures and imaginary places drawn by the kids to help this mural come to life. It took a lot of effort to finish this huge wall but kids and volunteers preciously helped to make it happen by the end of June.

Not long after the ribbon cutting, the school replaced the exit doors we painted on, and for couple of years those doors remained a sort of interruption in the continuity of the design. This year, the school asked Thrive Collective to repaint the doors with the exact same design they had originally. The job took a couple of days.

On the first day something beautifully unexpected happened. While painting the doors, a lady walked by the gate in tears and asked if she could take pictures before we repainted the wall. She was passing by the playground and saw us working, so she thought we were going to change the mural. I said, “we are not painting over the wall, we are just redoing the doors.” She felt relieved and asked if she could come in and take some pictures anyway.

Her daughter was in pre-K in 2018 and also passed away tragically. She loved the mural and the big dinosaur with pink polka dots, in particular. She promptly showed me a picture of her little daughter Abby and I spontaneously suggested to add a tribute to Abby as well, on the same wall. We both couldn’t hold back the tears and naturally hugged.

So there she is now. Her name on a tag hanging on the neck of her favorite pink polka-dots dinosaur, and in addition, a little portrait of her sitting on the cloud. I am honored to have contributed to this. Honored to have been chosen to do this.

Welcome, Abby, to “Captain Jack’s Wonder Voyage.” You’re the prettiest on the wall.

 

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“Serendipity,” by #ThriveCollective artist @miki__mu This mural had a story. Now it has two. I started this mural in April 2017. Through Thrive Collective, the non-profit I work for, I was assigned PS 282 Elementary School in Park Slope, Brooklyn. The mural would be a celebration of life for all the kids in the school, but most of all it would memorialize little Jack. Jack attended pre-K in 2016 and tragically passed away very suddenly. We called the mural “Captain Jack’s Wonder Voyage,” and included wonderful creatures and imaginary places drawn by the kids to help this mural come to life. It took a lot of effort to finish this huge wall but kids and volunteers preciously helped to make it happen by the end of June. Not long after the ribbon cutting, the school replaced the exit doors we painted on, and for couple of years those doors remained a sort of interruption in the continuity of the design. This year, the school asked Thrive Collective to repaint the doors with the exact same design they had originally. The job took a couple of days. On the first day something beautifully unexpected happened. While painting the doors, a lady walked by the gate in tears and asked if she could take pictures before we repainted the wall. She was passing by the playground and saw us working, so she thought we were going to change the mural. I said, “we are not painting over the wall, we are just redoing the doors.” She felt relieved and asked if she could come in and take some pictures anyway. Her daughter was in pre-K in 2018 and also passed away tragically. She loved the mural and the big dinosaur with pink polka dots, in particular. She promptly showed me a picture of her little daughter Abby and I spontaneously suggested to add a tribute to Abby as well, on the same wall. We both couldn’t hold back the tears and naturally hugged. So there she is now. Her name on a tag hanging on the neck of her favorite pink polka-dots dinosaur, and in addition, a little portrait of her sitting on the cloud. I am honored to have contributed to this. Honored to have been chosen to do this. Welcome, Abby, to “Captain Jack’s Wonder Voyage.” You’re the prettiest on the wall.

A post shared by Thrive Collective (@nycthrive) on May 4, 2019 at 5:17pm PDT