Transformed

2022

Snakes represent creativity, rebirth, transformation, and healing.

This mosaic is made from the creative contributions of community members who attended art workshops in the Turret studio of West Edge in 2022. Through a two-year residency funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, artist Sassa Wilkes and residency apprentice Barb Lavalley Benton facilitated a series of workshops focused on healing through creativity in community. Participants painted, printed, collaged, and played with a variety of media, often using music and meditation to stay present in the moment of making. Each scale of the snake was hand-cut from their work. The writings seen throughout the piece were taken from poetry created during these workshops as well.

The mountains at the bottom were cut from pieces by kids who painted with us on 14th Street West during Old Central City Days. There are also some beautiful contributions made by the 2022 Governor’s School for the Arts students, who got to visit West Edge and paint. The sun in the background is a nod to the healing that our region is experiencing due to efforts in harvesting the sun for power.

Click HERE to learn more about the artist residency program that led to the creation of this piece.