PIXEL Technique

Fully developed for exterior and interior installation in 2017, My ‘Pixel’ technique exposes the community to pointillism and other elements of art history. As with most of my work, I focus on diversity and cultural exchange while engaging people of all ages and skill levels in the production of fine art.

This technique is fully all-inclusive. It is an excellent community-building project for people of all ages, backgrounds, skill levels, locations, languages, and experience levels.

I demonstrated preliminary versions of this technique to teach students in Michigan about the Diego Rivera Detroit Industry murals (2013-2014), Frida Kahlo (2014), Kadir Nelson (2015), and Auguste Renoir (2016).

The 8′ x 12′ pointillist reproduction of Rivera’s Detroit Industry murals housed at the City’s Detroit Institute of Art (2014) raised awareness about Detroit’s priceless art treasures, the concepts behind the mural that represent intellectual and ethnic diversity, and Detroit’s legacy of hard work as Detroit considered selling its art collection as the city entered bankruptcy. Hundreds of k-12 students across 11 districts participated with the help of Jackson College Art Department and #JxnArtTeachers.

Leading up to a school-wide field trip to see the ‘Frida and Diego’ DIA exhibit, high School Spanish students painted and recreated a Frida Kahlo self-portrait as they learned about the famous and prominent artist who painted and miscarried 20 miles away from them (2014).

Children in the foster care system painted and recreated a Kadir Nelson (2015). They learned about a prominent painter who champions resilience and the human spirit. The painting now hangs in a Department of Health and Human Services office where foster kids and parents can see it daily.

Participants suffering from a variety of conditions including symptoms of dementia painted and recreated an Auguste Renoir (2016). Consumer’s Energy graciously provided my assistants for the Friendly Home for Impoverished Women Renior Pixel Project.

Hundreds of community members representing all ages, primary languages, skill and experience levels, backgrounds, and life experiences living throughout Southeast Michigan, University of Michigan Presidential Honors delegates representing the African continent, students, faculty, and staff painted 11 large-scale works, installed 2019-2020 at locations throughout the UM Library system and the UM Detroit Center (2019-2020). I worked with library specialists representing UM’s vast collections (2019) to develop a cohesive visual language that draws directly from UM Library collections for source images (Life Sciences, Health Sciences, Chinese Dance, Islamic Manuscripts, Papyri, Religion, the Labadie Collection, Data Visualization, Art, Architecture, and Engineering, and Special Collections). This project included a special partnership with Ann Arbor Summer Festival to help promote UM Library collections and to incorporate public opportunities for cross-generational project-specific engagement.

Nearly 800 Community members, staff, and stakeholders laid handprints in branded colors to comprise the backgrounds, installed onto metal, for 19 large-scale works at Henry Ford Allegiance Hospital.

800+ people: Cancer survivors, pre-vivors, their families and caregivers are currently painting 2 large-scale works for installation at Henry Ford Allegiance Hospital and Henry Ford Cancer Institute. One work features a pointillist landscape set on the Kalamazoo River. The other work features a pointillist landscape set in Michigan’s Tunnel of Trees (M-119).

Between 2019 and Fall, 2022, we’ve worked with nearly 4,000 people to develop 37 works.

Current projects include:

Expansive Landscapes Monument PIXEL Project, Henry Ford Macomb Hospital, 2020-2023;

Rose Triquetra PIXEL Project, Brigitte Harris Cancer Pavilion South Lobby, 2020-2023;

Interconnected: An SLC PIXEL Project, University of Michigan, 2020-2022.

IVCG CGG Artist-in-Residence PIXEL Project, New Haven, CT, 2022-2023.

All rights reserved.