Title: Full Circle, 2024
Location: Olentangy River Trail Water Pump Station
Columbus, Ohio
Client: Columbus Dept. of Public Utilities
Size: 750 sq. ft.
This mural design celebrates and magnifies the all-encompassing importance of water and the multitude of roles it plays in our communities, our environment, and our shared lives as a whole. Following the US Water Alliance’s “One Water” vision and the initiatives of the Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed, the elements presented in this mural describe an ecosystem where our society and our environment are inextricably intertwined through water use. This fundamental viewpoint is essential when developing a water management system that is innovative, sustainable, and equitable.
The water pump station mural design is separated into 3 themes for the 3 separate walls that would be painted:The north facing wall presents a close-up view of water’s relationship to the aquatic animals of the Olentangy River, and the plants and insects nearby that rely on the positive health of Lower Olentangy Watershed. The west facing, central wall, describes multiple ways where human activity is intertwined with the Olentangy river, and water in general, be it for recreation, from the tap, or as the cupping hands represent, the most fundamental resource that defines our very existence. The south facing wall contextualizes the Olentangy River and Watershed within our community and the city of Columbus. A majestic Blue Heron stands in the river, its neck and head framed to reveal the Columbus skyline in the background, thus creating a direct connection between the Olentangy River’s natural elements and the urban landscape of Columbus that is close by.
Lastly, The mural title “Full Circle” expresses how all of our societal and environmental pursuits lead back to one primary source: water. While each wall expresses the impact of water in different areas, the water itself flows continuously through each scene, underscoring its connection to everything. The “full circle” concept is further conveyed on each wall with circles that serve to create a visual focal point, and magnify or heighten the important aspects of the narrative being described. To use the phrase, “all the water we have is all the water we have ever had,” we know that water is the oldest and most essential contributor of life on our planet, and it is up to us to ensure that we are preserving our most vital resource for generations, ages, and eras to come.