Earth Divers
Created for the City of Petoskey
Hello!
Thanks for taking the time to review my application for the Little Traverse Wheelway Tunnel. My family is from Petoskey, so I grew up biking that very trail pretty much every day of every summer of my childhood. It'd be an honor to return home to the site of so many sunsets and scraped knees.
Nowadays, I am a full-time traveling muralist with a home base in Grand Rapids, Michigan. For 2022's ArtPrize, I won first place in the Juried Vote for a monumental lakeshore ecology-themed mural. I've also been selected for several national mural festivals, National Parks grants, international airports, city-wide Historic Preservation Initiatives, over a dozen murals across Michigan, and murals in 8 states.
In addition to mural work, I am an active community organizer. I currently organize Grand Rapids' Heartside Historic Mural Festival (an anti-gentrification effort), and am the founder of the ongoing Pleasant Peninsula Festival (a fest dedicated to furthering environmental education through public art).
I am particularly passionate about public art's radical accessibility, its employment in combatting gentrification, and its ability to raise awareness of environmental and social issues.
I've spent a lot of time creating a design to honor the city of Petoskey; please find below my in-depth research, sketches, and philosophy on mural making.
Thanks for your time & consideration!
Maddie
PETOSKEY
Where water meets land, science meets myth, and the past meets the present.
A NOTE ON MY PROCESS
My murals are all deeply informed by place; the culture of a city, the surrounding ecosystems, the geologic history of the land, and the sovereignty of Indigenous peoples. I believe that murals should honor the location in which they're made, rather than glorifying the artists who made them. For this reason, my work requires in-depth research; both academic and in the field.
Every element of the following designs has been intentionally selected to tell a scientifically and culturally accurate story.
The following research comes from time spent at the Field Museum in Chicago, conversations with Ojibwe colleagues, documents from the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, and one incredible evening on Lake Michigan looking for Petoskey Stones with professional rock hounds.
Thanks for indulging me in sharing what I've learned!
SOUTHWEST WALL
The Paleozoic Sea
As I began conceptualizing a mural design for the City of Petoskey, I was drawn again and again to the most iconic symbol of the area: the Petoskey Stone. I have included Petoskey Stones in several previous murals, but decided to research their history more thoroughly for this design.
The Petoskey Stone is not a stone at all, but rather, a fossil from the Paleozoic Sea that once covered the midwest. Petoskey Stones are rugose corals (species hexagonaria, to be exact) and are indicators that our Great Lakes State once looked very different.
Bizarre creatures like trilobites and orthocones are some of Michigan's most ancient fossils, dating all the way back to the Ordovician Period. Later, Devonian Period predators like dunkleosteus roamed the shallow seas, sharing the prehistoric Great Lakes with a vast diversity of freshwater sharks. One ancient fish, first documented during the Triassic Period, still swims today: the lake sturgeon. Most famously of all, the Devonian coral reefs that once covered the sea floor fossilized into the state stone, the Petoskey Stone.
NORTHEAST WALL
The Terrestrial Pleistocene
After a long gap in the fossil record (literally washed away by the seas and sands of time), we begin to see evidence of terrestrial life in the Pleistocene Epoch. Mastodons, mammoths, and musk ox dominate the land as the Laurentide Glacier retreats north, carving the Great Lakes in its wake. Stag moose and giant beavers share the rivers and forests with more familiar creatures like the white tailed deer and grey wolf. Slowly, our modern world is beginning to take shape.
The Petoskey Stone and Lake Sturgeon bridge the gap between present and past, standing as enduring symbols at both sides of the story. But what lies in that gap? If the fossil record has been erased and science is at the edge of its knowledge, we must turn instead to myth for answers.
As our human ancestors have for centuries, we look to the sky (or in this case, the ceiling) for understanding...
CEILING
Waganakising Odawak Creation Story
What lays in that mysterious gap between the Paleozoic Sea and the Terrestrial Pleistocene? According Anishinaabe lore, the answer is simple: the Earth Diver.
After a great flood, a dark sea covered the entirety of the earth. Only the creatures adapted to water could survive, but many of them grew weary from many months of swimming. Makinaak, the Great Turtle, hoped to create dry land for his kin to find respite. All he required was a bit of earth from the bottom of the sea. Loon, Helldiver, and Beaver all dove into the depths to retrieve earth, but to no avail; the sea was too deep.
All seemed lost until Wazhashk (Muskrat), the smallest of all water dwelling creatures, volunteered an attempt. Despite ridicule from the more powerful swimmers, Muskrat dove into the waters. Minutes went by, then more. Hours passed, then a whole day. The animals grieved for their smallest kin, who had surely drown. When Muskrat finally bobbed to the surface, he had indeed given his life to the cause. But clutched tightly in his tiny hand...could it be? A piece of earth! He had made it! The earth was planted with reverence on Makinaak's great shell. Makinaak began to grow, and grow, until he became an entire island on which all animals on earth could find rest.
This creation story shares similarities with many other legends from around the world. From North America, to Africa, to Siberia, to Finland — each culture shares this story of the "Earth Diver." Earth Diver myths are so common worldwide that they are classified as one of the seven primary creation myths. Though details vary, every Earth Diver myth details a primordial sea, a brave Diver (usually a bird or aquatic animal), and the creation of land born of the Diver's sacrifice.
The Anishinaabe Earth Diver story is told on the ceiling of the tunnel. Included are the three unsuccessful Divers: Loon, Helldiver (a type of grebe), and Beaver. Muskrat, the hero, has reached the floor of the primordial sea to retrieve a handful of earth. Makinaak, the Great Turtle, waits patiently on the surface of the water.
I have included mythology in this mural design to honor the Indigenous people of Petoskey, the Waganakising Odawak.
In addition, the inclusion of myth reflects my own childhood growing up in Petoskey. For my siblings and I, Petoskey summers were the stuff of legend; we recall fondly our long days barefoot in the creeks, our biggest wipe outs on our bikes, hours spent rock hunting along the beach, our fleeting summertime friendships. Even as a kid, it all felt like a dream, a place that didn't exist back in the "real world" of the school year.
For me, Petoskey is a mythological place. It would have felt wrong to stick strictly to a scientific story of the area.
OTHER NOTES
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The angled sections of the tunnel between walls and ceiling will be rendered as a border. On the Paleozoic Sea wall, this will include illustrations of different coral species and fossils found along the lakeshore. On the Terrestrial Pleistocene wall, I'll use illustrations of modern day plant and animal species.
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Both walls have animals all swimming or walking toward one specific end of the tunnel. The mural will be oriented so that each character is traveling toward Lake Michigan.
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Makinaak, the Great Turtle, is positioned at the far north edge of the tunnel, representing each animal's pilgrimage toward Turtle Island (Mackinac Island).
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The piece of earth from which the whole world grows on Makinaak's back is depicted as a Petoskey Stone!
EXPERIENCE & TECHNIQUE
I am a very experienced brush painter with over five years of full time experience. I am lift certified and travel with my own OSHA-compliant harness and equipment. I have experience painting on a variety of surfaces (aluminum, brick, cinderblock, stucco, cement, etc) in a wide range of temperatures. As long as weather conditions are favorable, I have completed projects of all sizes within one week of my start date, save for one project: a 5,000 square foot mural that took me 10 days.
Below I've listed some relevant details to keep in mind as you review my proposed budget.
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Paint: I use the highest quality exterior house paint, Benjamin Moore Aura Exterior. My oldest mural is 7 years old and is as vibrant as ever thanks to this paint. Aura Exterior runs $100/gal.
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Sealant: I seal my murals with VandlGuard Anti-Graffiti Coating. VandlGuard is about $250/5gal.
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Equipment: I maintain MiOSHA certification to operate lifts or work with scaffolding. I will be renting scaffolding for this project for about $300/week.
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Square footage rate: I calculate the price of murals based on square footage. At this point in my career, with my professionalism, speed, accolades, and quality of work, my typical rate is $19/square foot. I've gladly reduced this rate considerably given my personal connection to the city of Petoskey.
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Research and design: Over two dozen hours of research and field work are included in my square footage rate.
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Travel: I'll be traveling from Grand Rapids to complete this work. My travel expenses are also included in my square footage rate.
BUDGET &
TOTAL BID
Square footage rate: $16/sqft at 1,700 sqft total — $27,200
Paint budget estimate: 12 gal, $1,200
Sealant: $250
Scaffolding: $300
Total bid: $29,000
RELEVANT PREVIOUS WORK
Below you'll find a few examples of my other work with their sketch stage. I find this helpful when envisioning a completed mural when all that currently exists is a sketch. As you can see, finished murals include a lot more detail, colors seem more vivid, and forms are more refined.
