T-Shirt Designed for the Rude Rec Mural titled "Art is Justice", collaboration between Jeremy "Jolt" Ulibarri and myself. The shirts were given as gifts to the participants of the mural.
On the final two painting sessions at Rude, our friend and advocate journalist Jared Jacang Maher came down to the mural site to interview and speak with the participants of the project.
Here is his write up on the project which can be found by scrolling over the key word WESTWORD RUDE REC PROJECT.
I got a call a few weeks ago from Jolt, local graffiti OG and head of the graffiti advocacy group Guerilla Garden.
"Hey, man," said Jolt, aka Jeremy Ulibarri. The background was noisy, like a freight train or an... indoor swimming pool? "We're doing that project I was telling you about today. You should come down and check it out."
When I've gotten invited to watch graffiti writers work in the past, the location has usually been some "permission wall" in an alley that no one ever sees (or a very non-permission spot on a rooftop in the middle of the night.) Jolt, though, always seems to have random projects cooking that involve teaching kids the more artistic, evolved side of graffiti. But working with businesses, non-profits or the city is a difficult line to walk, particularly since Denver -- as one of the first municipalities to make it illegal for minors to possess spray paint -- has been operating a very expensive battle against graffiti vandalism for years. The last thing officials want to do in most cases is put spray cans in the hands of unpredictable teens, no matter how structured the program.
Double whammy: Jolt's latest wall is not only actual city property, but the kids painting it are juvenile offenders serving time in the state youth corrections system. The $10,000 mural in the Rude Recreation Center near the Sun Valley housing projects is an experiment in restorative justice, explained juvenile parole officer Martin Friedman. The idea is to engage young offenders in public service to the same community that they had ostensibly harmed with their crime.
The fifteen-by-seventy-foot mural in the center's pool area was designed by Jolt and graffiti artist/illustrator Delton Demarest to look like a series of portholes looking out onto an underwater seascape. After writing a letter and submitting works of art, twelve teens were chosen to take part in a series of classes led by Jolt and Demarest on basic graffiti art techniques such as shading, color-matching and style. It's not easy stuff, which is why many teenage graffiti writers never progress beyond the crappiest of scrawled tags and wavy pot leaves.
But with a few sessions at Rude rec, many of the program's participants were fully painting their own characters and forming styles, clearly locked in the artistic process of experimentation and critique with their peers -- then stepping back and trying again, week by week. And at the end, their creation stays on the big wall of the community center for all to see. As one of the teens said to me, "It sure beats picking up trash on the side of some highway."
On the last day of the project, Westword intern Alexis Johnson made a quick video of the action (above). We weren't allowed to show any of the teens' faces or use their full names, since juvenile criminal records are supposed to be sealed and all. But you get the picture. A grand opening for the mural will be held at Rude rec, 2855 W Holden Place, on June 27 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Special thanks to Jared Jacang Maher and Alexis Johnson for the time and effort.
Sketchbook Studies of Damien Hirst's "St. Sebastian, Exquisite Pain" at the MCA in Denver.
Recent Aztec warrior character design. In tandem with mural concepts, will post progress and revamp sketches soon.
CHASM aka DJ SPELL R.I.P. May Los Angeles, Texas, and the rest of the world remember your smile. Such a great honor to paint Brian, and I hope his family and friends are happy with this portrait. R.I.P. CHASM! Shout out to P.O.S., Woe, and Sleepy and anyone else involved in Brians life for giving me the opportunity, thank you. 
Installation in progress at Guerilla Garden Studios. 8ch Dee is a collaboration between the one and only Dr.Nonstop, and myself, a mixed media mural installation being created at the Guerilla Garden warehouse, to be unveiled on July 3rd at the show opening. Here are some progress shots of the composition and theme, you can see that the artwork for sale is installed into the mural and painted as part of the completed piece. Giclees will be made available of the entire piece, and the individual parts are for sale. More progress photos soon to come.
Session 5 at Rude Rec Center now completed, only our final session to go next Tuesday. Project is turning out great and the community is starting to voice their enthusiasm. Such a great opportunity to work with these young men and women. Artwork courtesy of Lookout Mountain and Third Way. Look for the final painting session and unveiling event flyer soon.
