“Caminante, son tus huellas
el camino y nada más;
caminante, no hay camino,
se hace camino al andar.
Al andar se hace camino,
y al volver la vista atrás
se ve la senda que nunca
se ha de volver a pisar.
Caminante, no hay camino,
sino estelas en la mar.”

— Antonio Machado

"Wanderer, there is no road, the road is made by walking"

This mural project is sponsored by the City of Long Beach Office of 9th District Councilman Rex Richardson. It is part of the Creative Corridor Mural project series titled Uptown Renaissance. It is painted on the Intercity Fellowship Hall building

The design was in part influenced from a poem by the Spanish Poet Antonio Machado.

“Wanderer, your footsteps are
the road and nothing more;
wanderer, there is no road,
the road is made by walking.
Walking makes the road,
and turning to look behind
you see the path that you
will never tread again.
Wanderer, there is no road,
only foam trails on the sea.”

— Proverbios y cantares" in Campos de Castilla, 1912- Antonio Machado

The imagery in the mural ultimately leads to rebirth, represented by the phoenix, but it is also about the road getting there. I did not want to be too literal, allowing it to be open to interpretation. The elemental images can be phases of a person's journey or flashes of memories intertwined, overlapping, and blending into one another. To me the meaning is in constant flux. I was fortunate enough to find a model from the area which posed for the large female portrait in the mural. The figure is representative of serene clarity through constant change.

The mural was painted over the course of a month. I had many helpful volunteers from the local community and guest artists which left their distinct mark on the mural. The initial idea development was a collaboration between community and the committee at Intercity Fellowship Hall.