The Story

Year completed: 2021

Dimensions: 12’ x 5’

Medium: Acrylic paint on canvas paper, adhered to plywood doors, love, gratitude, community.

Commissioning Agency: GRuB Farm (Garden Raised Bounty).

Collaborators: Artist D33light, GRuB Farm Staff and Volunteers, and members of GRuB Farm’s community.

Love Notes to GRuB was created during the 2nd summer of the pandemic as a way to celebrate GRuB Farm’s 20th anniversary and the incredible community that both supports and is supported by GRuB. The mural design showcases 20 native plants from the region; one for each year of GRuB’s history.

The overall design reflects the colors of the rainbow. It symbolizes GRuB’s deep roots in our community and its commitment to grow and evolve. D33light brought elements of the charka system to the project. Each color represents the plant’s chakra system, in turn reflecting one’s own balancing of chakras.

Each participant filled a square with a love note and created a design of their choice. Before painting, they were invited to reflect deeply on the native plants, the land, and the GRuB community, focusing on the chakra represented by the colors painted on their square.

Many people had been isolated during the past year. While this project met COVID safety guidelines, it was also a powerful opportunity for community members to recreate a connection to the land, to the farm, and to one another.

In many ways, this project is a metaphor for the unique elements each of us bring to community. As each person created their own unique piece, adding their story, they participated in the creation of something much more complex and richer than any one of us could on our own.

Our hope is that when seeing the finished mural, with their unique contribution, they feel ownership over the mural and a recognition of their value to this community. This will have lasting impact as people, including children, see what they helped to create over time.

“It was a delight to work with Carrie Ziegler and D33light to create a collaborative community mural in honor of GRuB's 20th birthday. They listened carefully to our goals, vision, and organizational values, and designed the Love Notes to GRuB project that embodied exactly what we were looking for. Even though we were in the pandemic, hundreds of people of all ages could contribute; the final mural is vibrant, welcoming, and reflects GRuB's relationships in our human and natural ecosystem. We are grateful for D33light and Carrie's creativity, artistry, and approach to community engagement.”
~Deb Crockett, Executive Director of GRuB

Enjoy a short video about the project, or feel free to stop by and view the mural on the back porch of the farmhouse at 2016 Elliott Ave NW, Olympia.