Kevin Lu's CommUnity mural project never stopped growing. It was because many who stepped into Galeria Clarion made their contribution before stepping out. The children loved it especially, because no one had ever invited them to draw freely on the walls. Musicians left their names for other musicians to discover. Artists came back over and over to elaborate on their previous drawings. "Sometimes, just the mark of an x," Kevin said, " is the beginning of someone's journey into the art."
To comply with the law of impermanence, the mural was declared "finished" on July 22. My former theater student Margaret Chen penned the last dragon, and a closing party ensued. The next two weeks we started to clean up the walls. But no matter how we tried, the images kept showing through after layers of paint. Now we look at the walls with new eyes, knowing that a collective artistic energy has submerged into the plaster, making the space even more precious.
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