Longmont's Mario Miguel Echevarria crafts bountiful mural at Sister Carmen Food Bank

Oct. 27—Public art has the ability to render an ordinary space extraordinary.

Longmont-based artist Mario Miguel Echevarria has been transforming building sides and sidewalks with his vibrant work for over 20 years.

One of his recent works adorns the interior of Sister Carmen Food Bank. The sprawling piece — measuring in at 13-by-83 feet large — depicts a woman surrounded by a luminous bounty of produce. Echevarria even painted the edible flowers amid the backdrop of indigo skies and mountain peaks.

The stunning mix of realism and abstraction is a style Echevarria has brought to numerous projects throughout Colorado and beyond.

When not completing public works, Echevarria — an alumnus from the Rhode Island School of Design — spends time in his studio filling sketchbooks and canvases with images, renderings of future projects and slices of inspiration.

We caught up with Echevarria — who just returned from a three-week journey to Greece — to find out more about his work with Sister Carmen Food Bank, what drives him to create and where we can expect to see his artistry popping up next.

Kalene McCort: Love your mural at Sister Carmen Food Bank. What was the process like competing to design this mural, and what inspired the piece?

Mario Miguel Echevarria:

After bringing all my paints, scaffolding, ladders, etcetera, to the site, I "blocked in" the landscape with paint and then laid out my final design on the wall. I started painting some of the central figures, elements and was happy with the way the mural was shaping up. Because of how busy the Sister Carmen Food Bank is, we agreed that it was better if I worked after hours from 5 p.m. until I dropped.

During my fourth nightly session — in the eerie quiet of the empty food bank — something remarkable happened. In that moment, I recognized that even though my design was engaging, the scale of the planned elements would struggle to compete with the energetic activity in the food bank. I then saw most of the small planned elements fall away. As they vanished, the mural populated with grand gestures. The artistic mind can be mysterious like that, but I knew what I had to do. The next day, I came with a new design and started painting out elements that were already on their way towards being finished. To say the least, painting out figures, etcetera surprised the staff and inspired great curiosity in what was to come next.

Rather than a bunch of smaller life-size figures throughout the mural, I created three giant figures that I hoped would feel as though they are literally stepping out of the mural and into the space of the food bank visitor.

One of the giant figures symbolizes the larger role that Sister Carmen plays in the community. Sister Carmen does much more than provide food to those that need it. In fact, it is remarkable how many additional services they offer. This really blew me away. They offer nutrition and cooking classes, exercise classes, parenting classes, computer classes, they offer homelessness assistance, they maintain a community garden, they assist with emergency financial situations, mental health crises and the list goes on and on.

To honor the fact that SC attends to the whole health of the individual, I painted a giant figure of a woman experiencing dark, overcast skies and a storm. The storm, rather than being destructive and something unbearable, is a shower of flowers. The transformation of a miserable storm into an event to be admired for its beauty, is brought to you by Sister Carmen.

We have all been there. When we are in a desperate situation, the beauty of life often goes unnoticed because troubles dominate our minds and we do not have the energy to be present in the moment. Sister Carmen, in effect, allows people to find stability in their lives so they can simply live and hopefully find the mental space to admire the beauty of existence.

KM: What other murals have you created, and what's the most rewarding aspect of creating large-scale public works?

MME: I have worked as a professional public artist for over 26 years now. As a public artist, I do not have to maintain one defining style or medium. As a result, I have an eclectic mix of projects in my portfolio.

Some examples of the variety include: a challenging commission from New Belgium Brewery to create giant layouts of floor mosaics surrounding brewing vessels, working with suicidal youth to create a mural in a lockdown facility in the State Mental Health Hospital in Pueblo, create aluminum and neon sculptures for an Arts District in Denver, create custom sculpted ceramic relief art installed 80 feet off the ground on a fire station hose tower in Frisco, Texas, create large 3D collages of respected blues musicians for Oskar Blues from painted wood and found objects, and the list goes on.

What I love more than anything about creating works for the public is I love to monitor the before and after effects of how art changes the dynamic of a space. Maybe a space was just an environment to pass through before. After the art is installed, people slow down and linger, smile more and interact with strangers more often and more positively. After the art is installed, it feels like the site is displaying affection for the visitor, and I have witnessed people experiencing this quality. There is often a positive ripple effect from this affection, and make no mistake, good public art can make waves.

KM: Have you always been drawn to painting? Do you remember a time when you knew art would be a part of your career path?

MME: When I was 10 years old, my family lived for a year in Guadalajara, Mexico. My family adored culture, and so we explored Guadalajara thoroughly. During one exploration at that tender age, I came face to face with the work from one of the great Mexican muralists — Jose Clemente Orozco. While standing under Orozco's masterpiece in the Palacio de Gobierno, I will never forget feeling the naked vulnerability of my tiny naïve self in front of such power. I was simultaneously terrified by the power of art and the possibility of painting, and I recognized that my old self would be left behind when I left the Palacio.

KM: What would you say inspires your work lately?

MME: Lately, I am inspired by how many amazing objects and events within our sphere of perception escape our attention. There are exquisite micro and macro events happening 360 degrees around us constantly. As we walk down the street, the turbulence and sound from our footfalls creates patterns in the air. What would this look like if the wind was colored?

I am drunk on the visual world. This may sound ridiculous, but I swoon equally when I see beautiful things and things that are generally considered to be abominations.

KM: Any new projects or pieces we can look forward to seeing?

MME: I am currently in the design stages for a mural in Fort Collins on College Avenue near CSU. The content will be an acknowledgment of the difficult work endured by marginalized migrant workers in Fort Collins and a celebration of their culture that sustained them.

I just returned from a dynamic three-week road trip through Greece. I have no doubt that this will impact the design of my next project. For me, traveling and the ensuing culture shock electrifies my ability to design and create. It is during those moments of intensely processing the unfamiliar when my creative mind stretches wide and efficiently resolves design challenges.