Lacey Bryant has lived in San Jose for the last 20 years and does majority of her work locally. Her work ethic is a force beyond measure. Weighing light as a feather and standing tall at the cutest measure, her impact is powerful and she has being painting several murals throughout the City.
Lacey was recently commissioned to paint a mural in support by members of the following Communities: Hyde Park, Japantown Neighborhood Association, District 3 Council Member Raul Peralez, County of Santa Clara Manager Cindy Chavez office, Burnette Academy, Knight Foundation, and Landscape Architect.
For this project, we partnered up with residents that truly care about their neighborhood. Activating spaces that are neglected in our communities need a small group of invested residents wanting to create change. Antonina Ettare, Victoria Tanaka, and Kathleen Perkins are treasures for their community. Our mission was to paint a wall directly across from Burnette Academy. It faces the main entrance of the school where students are welcomed by it daily as they were waiting for their parents to pick them up. It made us truely happy to see young people engage and enjoy the artwork. Many asked permission to cross the street and photograph the wall.
Mr. Garcia, who leads a leadership class, helped involve the students whom earned participation through being exceptional students. The young leaders helped steer the project and gave artist Lacey Bryant several ideas to incorporate into the concept and design. The wall offered a very unique opportunity for her to incorporate a pixelated theme with each square representing the evolution of a student’s path through the educational system. The wall stands four feet tall and over one hundred feet long. With the help of the students the mural references a young generation of individuals from all back rounds holding hands in unity empowering one another to believe in themselves, others, the future, hope, peace, love, education, community.
Many of the faces depicted are from local community members. “Believe” is the word that travels throughout the mural in different languages most prominent to our region and features the diversity our city has to offer.
We want to thank all parties involved that made this beautification project come to life. These projects are more than just murals painted on the walls. They are a homage to devotion and care for a neighborhood that can provide a better quality of life for others. It tells the neighbors you don’t know, that someone is looking out for you and that together we can accomplish great things.
When not busy with her mural work, Lacey has also been working in her studio to produce new works. She recently launched “The Slow Tarot This is a result of a personal art project that spanned over six years, a long labor of love realized through the careful and methodical creation of an original work of art for every card in the tarot deck. A richly designed tarot deck featuring full-color reproductions of seventy-eight original oil paintings, this was a major hit from her supporters. These cards were produced in conjunction with a solo exhibition at Modern Eden Gallery in San Francisco that nearly sold out.
Photos by: Ian Lundie @1ill510
