Joven Jacobeña escogida para instalar mural / Jaco youth chosen to install an interactive mural.

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On May 19, Artify Jacó was the talk of the town at Jacó Walk. Graffiti Bistro hosted a bombastic fundraiser with fun for the whole family in celebration of street art. The event offered two live painters, an excellent jazz trio, a complimentary wine tasting, kids painting & more.

One aspect of the event was a clever new idea to invite artists to render a set of wings for our #findyourwings street gallery & interactive mural series. The idea incorporates all of the ideals of Artify; support local artists, install public art around town & engage the community.

Fifteen wing renderings were displayed on the promenade of Jacó Walk presented by 5 different artists. Attendees were offered to purchase the wings, for their home, business, or a public space for $300, with half of the money going to Artify & half going to the artist. Artists were encouraged to create a design that would be appropriate for a $150 commission, not too detailed, something easy to paint.

The event ended at 10 o’clock with no wings commissioned. But shortly thereafter, Lisle Head, a seasoned supporter of Artify Jacó approached us with his adorable daughter, Ana Maria. In her hands a drawing of wings, in his a wad of cash.

The wings chosen by Ana Maria were drawn by none other than a talented Jacó youth named Inca Rogers. She has always been an artist, & is most known by her friends and loved ones to draw elaborate anime characters.

She heard of the competition through the Las Nubes Mural Club, whose teacher had submitted some wings on their behalf, hopeful that they could paint the mural together. But Inca was saving up for an new phone, and when she heard about the prize money, she went home to create. Days later, her mother, area fashion designer Lucasta Rogers, submitted the drawing.

It was complicated. Admittedly, the mural teacher was concerned that the intricate 8.5 x 11 pen and ink drawing would be difficult to scale up. But Inca was up for the challenge.

She brought a team of friends, family members & her teacher to assist. After 4 days of installation over a 10 day period, the mural was complete.

It graces a corner rounded by many jacobeños heading to their homes in the INVU neighborhood just two blocks from downtown. During the installation, many people stopped to congratulate & thank the painting crew and even served them cold drinks.

The mural is located at the Paraiso del Sol Hotel on Calle Lapa Verde (Pops Road). It is a must see on the #findyourwings virtual art hunt. Many thanks to Lisle Head, Inca Rogers, Lynn Williams, Lucasta Rogers, Matthew Scott, Mary Jose Guevara & Hotel Paraíso del Sol.

Follow Inca’s anime on Instagram @starrysugar.

La noche del 19 de mayo, Artify Jacó celebró el arte urbano en Jacó Walk. Graffiti Bistro fue la sede de un evento familiar con mucha diversión.  El evento contó con dos pintoras en vivo, un trio musical de jazz y pintura colectiva para niños mientras se degustaban unos vinos.

Para recaudar fondos,  se invitaron a unos artistas locales a presentar bocetos de alas para la serie de murales interactivos #buscatusalas. La iniciativa incorpora las ideas fundamentales de Artify: apoyar artistas locales, instalar arte público e involucrar a la comunidad.

15 alas distintas, hechas por 5 artistas fueron presentadas en la plaza de Jacó Walk. A los asistentes del evento, se les ofreció comprar las alas propuestas para instalar en su hogar, negocio o en la calle por $300. La mitad del dinero estaría destinado a los proyectos de Artify y la otra mitad al artista. Los artistas fueron invitados a crear diseños apropiados para una comisión de $150, algo sencillo.

Al cierre del evento, ninguna de las alas se había vendido. Pero poco después, un aficionado del arte, Lisle Head y su bellísima hija Ana María se nos acercaron.  Ella llevaba en su mano el boceto de unas alas, y él unos dólares.

Las alas escogidas por Ana María eran propuestas por una joven jacobeña, Inca Rogers. Desde hace muchos años ella pinta y dibuja, y es mejor conocida por sus dibujos de animé.

Ella supo de la competencia a través del Club de Muralismo en la Escuela Las Nubes. La maestra del club había propuesto unas alas, con la esperanza que sus estudiantes pudieran instalarlas. Pero Inca estaba ahorrando fondos y quiso ganar la comisión. Así que fue a la casa a dibujar. En unos días, su madre, diseñadora de ropa Lucasta Rogers trajo el boceto.

El diseño era complicado, y hasta su maestra estaba con duda si tanto detalle en el boceto tamaño carta podía ser llevado al mural de 3 metros por 2. Pero a Inca no le dio miedo.

La joven trajo un grupo de amigos y familia para realizar la instalación. Después de 4 días de trabajo durante dos semanas, el mural se terminó.

Se encuentra en una esquina donde pasan muchos jacobeños hacia sus casas en el barrio del INVU, a dos cuadras de la calle principal. Durante de la instalación, muchas personas pasaron, saludaron, y hasta les ofrecieron bebidas frías para combatir el sol del mediodía.

El mural se ubica en el Hotel Paraíso del Sol en la Calle Lapa Verde (Calle Pops). No se lo puede perder en la serie de #buscatusalas. Agradecemos a Lisle Head, Inca Rogers, Lynn Williams, Lucasta Rogers, Matthew Scott, Mary Jose Guevara y el Hotel Paraíso del Sol.

Sigue a la artista en Instagram al @starrysugar.

 

#FindYourWings

Did you know that Artify’s first mural was a set of wings commissioned to local Artist Danny Herrera? With the installation of the first interactive mural, commissioned by Artify founder Emily Easton & The Tico Pod the movement was born.

Danny is an exceptional painter who has left his brush strokes near & far throughout the community of Jacó & beyond. His work can be found on the streets in Caliche’s Alley, downtown Jacó, Ocean Ranch Park, Neo Fauna, Hermosa Falafel, Gecko’s Bar & beyond. You can purchase some of his work at Tico Pod Art House.

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Today one can find wings commissioned by Artify and by private parties throughout Jaco on the streets and in businesses. The hashtags #findyourwings & #buscatusalas have been used over 16,000 times on Instagram. A large portion of those pictures come from Jacó.

Danny & other artists will be presenting NEW wings on Saturday, May 19th at A Taste of Art, our first Artify Jacó fundraising event.

These wings will be offered for private or public commissions. Artify Jacó ALWAYS pays our artists, & by purchasing the installation of a new set of wings, you are supporting working artists as well as future public art initiatives.

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Come see these & other wings on Saturday, May 19, from 6 – 9 pm at Graffiti Restro + Wine Bar for a fun filled evening of art, live music, painting presentations & wine tasting.

With your help, Artify Jacó will continue to beautify the streets of Jacó, promote cultural exchanges & art education. Let’s find our wings together.

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#findyourwings 

 

 

Jacó Art Tour is a thing!

A dozen people turned out despite rainy conditions on Friday the 13th for Jaco’s first ever City Art Tour. We had visitors of all ages, and some joiners along the way.

Organized and produced by La Tómbola, the tour is full of informative content & tidbits about Jaco’s iconic street art. Even Artify Jacó team members learned new facts about the murals on our streets.

A free tour will be given once a month, with private & group tours available. Hours of the tour may vary so check in with the Facebook page at La Tombola for updates & schedules.

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Q & A with Fio Silva

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Artify Jaco:  Hay alguna memoria o impresión de Jacó que le da gracia?
Would you care to share your impression of Jaco or any memories from your trip?
Fio Silva:  Jacó me encantó, disfruté muchísimo de la energía de la gente. Pintar en el pasaje, en el centro de la ciudad, fue una mezcla muy linda de cosas que sucedían entre la gente que pasaba y la gente que solía juntarse en la calle.
I loved Jaco. I really enjoyed the energy of the people. Painting in the center of the city was a mix of lovely things happening amongst the passersby & people in the streets.
AJ:  Como se puede definir el tema de su muro?
How would you define the theme of your mural?
FS:  En mi muro quise combinar animales propios del lugar, usando colores vivos, muy presentes en toda la biodiversidad de Costa Rica.
Mi idea fue transmitir fuerza, algo que tenga poder, ya sea por la posición y la relación entre los animales como por la combinación de colores.
In my mural, I wanted to combine local animals, using vivid colors very present in all of the biodiversity of Costa Rica.
My idea was to transmit strength & power, through the position and relationship among the animals as well as the combination of colors.
AJ:  De los animales, hay alguna representación o característica distinta que se simbolizan?
Is there any symbolism or distinct characteristics represented by the animals?
FS:  Si, cuando pienso en qué animales representar, muchas bases me baso en los totems.
Toda la composición reposa sobre una tortuga, la cual representa la logenvidad, perpetuación en el tiempo y sabiduría. Las garzas que se ubican sobre ella representan la independencia y autosuficiencia, búsqueda y representación del equilibrio.
Yes, when I think about what animals represent, I refer to totems. The foundation of the composition is a turtle, which represents longevity, perpetuation of time and wisdom.  The herons represent independence, self sufficiency, & equilibrium. 
AJ:  Cualquier otro detalle del pueblito, su gente, la experiencia o el proyecto Artify que quisieras compartir?
Would you like to share any other details about the town, its people, the experience or the Artify Project?
FS:  La verdad es que Artify, en mi experiencia fue uno de los mejores proyectos en los que he formado parte, disfruté de cada día, de cada momento. Aprendí del lugar y me sentí contenida por todas las personas que hacen posible este proyecto de Arte Público. Quiero volver!!
Honestly, in my experience, it was one of the best projects that I have done. I enjoyed every day, every moment. I learned from the place and I feel great for all of the people that make this Public Art project possible. I want to return!!
Gracias FIO!!!
Si aún no ha visto esta obra espectacular de Fio Silva en Jaco, hay que dar una vueltita a PACHIS PAN.
If you still haven’t seen Fio Silva’s spectacular mural in Jaco, stop by Pachis Pan. 
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Photo Credit: Miles Photography
A VERY special thanks to Stay in Costa Rica, Vacasa, Lift Montacargas, Jaco Realty, Grupo Sin Zapatos, the Green Room, Poseidon Hotel, Todd and Rachel Spivey, Pachis Pan, Rise Up Shots, Tico Pod, our private donors and all of our volunteers for bringing this beauty to life.

Artists’ Profile – StaySea

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One of the primary objectives of Artify Jacó is to support artists. We have received an overwhelming amount of submissions from muralists and graffiti artists the world over interested in joining the Artify movement. Unfortunately, our limited resources prohibit us from securing more than a few commissions per year. Nonetheless, we do attempt to pair artists with patrons looking to invest in murals and custom artwork.

It is not always easy, pairing home & business owners with an artist that can embrace their vision. We found a nice match in early February when visiting artist Stacey Coon installed a beautiful mural for the lovely family of James and Annette Maggs.

When we arrived to the Maggs’ residence on a sunny Monday morning, the house was humming with life. Kids were splashing in the pool, parents were in the kitchen blending  smoothies, everyone smiling. Armed with paint & her travel brush kit, Stacey got to work. By day two, she had completed this custom design of approximately 10 square meters.

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Stacey credits her ability to paint fast & not over think her pieces to the year she spent working primarily in face & body painting. The experience helped her develop faster technique but also allowed her to release the notion of possession of her work. She is a master at channeling her clients’ emotions & desires into her custom pieces.

If you would like a custom painting in your home or business, contact us. We have a wide network of artists eager to leave their mark in our beautiful seaside town. Thank you James, Annette & Stacey!

 

 

 

 

 

Yiyo Graff Behind the Scenes

The making of a mural is a recipe that changes with every installation, every artist, every wall or space. You never know how it’s going to go until it’s gone. Not easy, but what is?

In our latest installment of this ongoing quest to beautify Jacó, and unite our community, we were drawn to Yiyo, a Costa Rican graffitero from San Ramon. In fact, we’ve been trying to find the right spot for Yiyo for months, but only when we were called by the Epicentro Civico to collaborate with the Municipality, did we find the perfect spot for him in our program. The Municipality had a look out building that was ragged and tagged.

They promised to clean it up and refinish the walls if we could find an artist and coordinate a mural installation. If we found a sponsor to refinish the floor, they would install it. Fair enough.

When contemplating the project, I immediately envisioned what I wanted; a 360 art installation, fully immersible for the visitor. We needed an artist who could paint walls, a roof & ceilings, a physically demanding job. Among the Artify team, we all agreed Yiyo was the man to realize our vision. But as with any large installation, nothing is a one man job. It takes a village. Fortunately for us, we are blessed with philanthropic, helpful, loving villagers.

A huge thank you to our Artify Jaco supporters who made this possible. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but Ale, Natalia, Heidi, Lou & Olivia comprised Yiyo’s Pacific Coast Crew.

I would also like to extend a very warm thank you to Stay in Costa Rica, David Karr Properties, Panaderia Artesanal, Green Room & Juanitas, Familia Sin Zapatos / Graffiti & PuddleFish Brewery.

DONATE HERE

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Artify Escuela Jaco – Pilot Project

Greetings from the Central Coast. As we near the close of another year, we are reflecting on all of the blessings 2017 has brought to Artify Jacó. This year we completed  3 large murals, more wings, & closest to my heart, was the opportunity to lead a program teaching painting and color theory to our local elementary school students, at Escuela Jacó.

The school is large. More than 700 kids attend classes from pre kindergarten through 6th grade. The teachers are nice. The librarian is amazing. The kids are awesome. The volunteer teachers and assistants are invaluable & talented. The director had an open mind and allowed us to carve out the program on the fly.

All in all, it was a cool experience. We worked from the library, when it was available. We saw more than 600 kids. We made a lot of color wheels. We also made a model of Fantasy Jacó  with recycled elements, glue and paint. This was a school-wide initiative. It is a 3 dimensional representation of the town as seen by the next generation of Jacobeños.

We feel very fortunate to have teamed up with the Centro Civico for a mural that we will be installing with some of our students with the talented people at the Centro Civico. If you would like to visit our mural and see the maqueta, it will be on display at the Centro Civico in December.

Thank you Doña Vera & Pilar. And a very special thank you to Leti, Lou, Diana, Graciela & Merylis. We look forward to the exciting lessons we can learn together next year.

art. LOVE. nature.

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Farid Rueda Explodes the Jaco Art Scene!

We are so happy now that the Farid Rueda mural is done that we can hardly contain our excitement! The response from the community has been incredible and we feel so honored to have had two such artists in Jaco to start our Street Art movement off right!

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Farid used a lot of symbolism in this lateral totem mural. He explained that the Jaguar symbolizes the sun in many indigenous cultures. In this instance, the Jaguar represents the sun, surrounded by the moon which is represented as two halves of an owl’s face in order to depict the phases of the moon. The Earth is represented by the red and green macaws, which are animals that have been rescued and preserved in the Jaco area and have become a part of our beach town’s identity. We are truly blessed to live in this beautiful beach community, and we feel very lucky that both Farid Rueda & Jade Rivera may have plans to return to create more art in the future. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

Both the Farid & Jade murals can be viewed when you enter the Max X Menos parking lot in the center of Jaco.

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We would like to give a special thanks to all of the supporters of the ARTIFY JACO Project. Our vow is to make our beach town more beautiful through art and we are far from done! We are planning on taking a short break to re-organize and drafts our plans for the next big murals. Thank you for your enthusiasm and for the inquiries about walls as well as all of the artists who have reached out and are interested in paintings murals in Jaco. Please contact us if you are interested in making a donation. All funds go to the artists and to continuing the ART in Jaco.

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Stay tuned to see what else is happening in Jaco and what new art pops up around the community. We love to receive photos of art as well… So if you see something new that maybe we haven’t seen, we would love to hear from you!

JADE Mural a Success! More Coming Soon…

Now that the Jade Rivera mural in Jaco is finished, we could not be happier with the end result. Jade is such an incredible artist who was able to come to our beach town and capture a part of the soul of Costa Rica in just a few days, and then interpret it into an inspiring masterpiece for our community to enjoy. We feel so lucky to have had Jade and his wife here during the time it took to complete the mural. They also said they enjoyed Jaco, which fills our hearts with pride as we strive to make our community a fun destination that people go home and tell their friends about.

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Photo by: RISE UP SHOTS

The mural, named “Legado” or “Legacy” incorporates Boruca indigenous art from Costa Rica in a thought provoking scene of a boy wearing a jaguar mask being blessed by the hand of the Universe. The masks depicted in the mural are made by the Boruca tribe, hand carved usually out of Balsa or Cedar wood and all uniquely hand painted. Use of the masks dates back to when the Spanish Conquistadors first came to Costa Rica to conquer the land. The Boruca Indians we able to ward them off for a period of time by wearing masks and jungle foliage and surprising their enemies in their home territory. This style of Boruca masks are still worn in the Boruca village for “The Festival of the Devils” which happens every year around New Years.

But don’t think that the excitement in Jaco has ended just yet. Tomorrow, Farid Rueda will be arriving in Costa Rica. We are very excited to work with him and get started on the second large mural installation in Jaco for 2017. Stay tuned for details on the next location and design and see what unravels with Farid later this week…

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Don’t forget about the PHOTO CONTEST that is ending August 15th. Art lovers and Photographers are asked to… take photos of the murals in Jaco and post them to social media and hashtag #artifyjaco, email them to artifyjaco@gmail.com, or send them to us on Facebook. Use your creative minds to challenge the normal point of view! The winning photo will be announced on August 18th on our Facebook & Instagram pages. The winner will receive a limited edition silk screen print by Jade Rivera AND a Two Night Stay in a BEACH FRONT 2-Bedroom Condo in Jaco brought to you by VACASA. (Some restrictions apply.)

As always, thanks for keeping up to date with ARTIFY JACO. We appreciate your support!

Announcing a Photography Contest!

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If you are in the Jaco area and are admiring the street art, please take some photos of the newest additions to our town and tag them with #artifjaco on Facebook or Instagram or email them to us artifyjaco@gmail.com. We would love to check out your point of view!

The deadline to submit your photos is August 15th and the winner of the contest will be announced on August 18th.

The winning photographer will receive a silk screen print of this beautiful artwork by JADE RIVERA. 267d90b58342c193073e9d291b4d2552

The winner will also receive two nights in an ocean front 2-bedroom condo

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