Over the past several years, we’ve seen a rise in popularity of murals here in Greenville, SC. Our team has always loved the idea of helping contribute to the public art scene, assisting with mural projects through the Stone Mural Project and Furman’s Art and Community Engagement class.

When we were looking at office spaces last year, the blank exterior wall of this building seemed like it could be the perfect spot for a future Makers Collective mural. We were thrilled when our landlord agreed.

One of our goals for 2020 was to paint that mural and to make it happen before our Spring Pop Up Shop opened. While we didn’t know yet what the subject matter and style would be, we knew that it needed to be different from anything else in Greenville and represent what we do as an organization: celebrate art and craft on a large scale.

After considering several design directions, our team decided to use our wall to feature a traditional craft medium in an enlarged or exaggerated way. As we considered the various types of art we see at Indie Craft Parade, our focus quickly narrowed to the category of fiber art as a subtle nod to Greenville’s textile history.

*After: the building in May 2020. Photo by Brittany Hildreth*

Working within the constraints of our 56-foot-long wall, we created a design that would capitalize on the built in (pun intended) structure of the cinderblock. We treated the wall like a giant piece of fabric, painting Xs to create an image.

The end result is a large scale floral cross stitch piece, with each ’stitch’ spanning the height of a cinder block.

Timelapse video of the painting process, captured by Alex Reynolds

A note from our designer, Lib Ramos:

When looking for inspiration for our mural, I referenced everything from early cross stitch samplers to needlepoint pieces that my grandfather made before I was born. One of the things I love about this subject matter is that cross stitch can be considered an old fashioned craft, but in reality, it’s connected to so many other types of art — both ancient and modern. Whether you think about mosaic tile work in the past or today's pixels on a screen, there’s a timelessness to how we break down and communicate imagery.

I also find it really beautiful that the image becomes clearer the farther you are from it. The Xs are really fun to see up close, but if you really want the full picture, you need to step back and look at it from a distance.