Over the next months, I will be posting updates about an opportunity I have been afforded. The NC Arts Council has awarded me a grant to advance my artistic career. My grant winning proposal had a goal of building relationships with NC Agricultural leaders. The conversations and understanding will produce artwork that will celebrate the sustaining work of these community leaders of our state. Expect the work to be published by late October, 2021.
Jay and Barbara Raffaldini of Raffaldini Vineyards generously supported my grant proposal. They commissioned the two following educational displays to promote their farm and their specific NC Agricultural Vineyard Area (AVA). As you can learn from these displays, their approach to business has the best interests of their community at heart. Secondarily, the method they use for drying grapes brings in their Italian heritage and offers NC agriculture a high quality bold wine. Fields that once supported tobacco and were rich with the scent of drying barns are now home to world class grapes and drying rooms.
Mural commissioned by Buie’s Market - 749 Avalon Rd N.
Winston- Salem, NC
My thanks go out to the owners and staff of Buie’s Market: one because they partner with local farmers, two because they gave me the privilege to make their entrance a place of honoring NC farmers. My hope for this mural was to draw attention to the impact of agriculture on the soil and the water and the communities of Winston-Salem. The choices these farmers make add value to the social, economic and cultural aspects of our community. The choices Buie’s Market customers with their purchasing power gives these farmers support and helps to build our community.
