Tim Cunningham
Let Your Mind Take Flight
By TIM CUNNINGHAM
This mural I created at Savoy Elementary School is designed to serve as a catalyst for creativity and personal growth among students, as well as a peaceful backdrop for residents and travelers near the Anacostia Metro Station. At its heart, the mural features a creative guardian of the mind as it takes flight, represented by bird imagery symbolizing the spirit of imagination and freedom. This guardian watches over a young cub, signifying the students, as they prepare to embark on their journey through life with courage and grace, ready to forge their own paths and write their own stories.
The painting acts as a visual stimulus, filled with iconography intended to provoke creative thought and stimulate the imagination. The imagery aims to prime the minds of the students, providing sustenance for their creative growth and sparking a flame of inspiration that will remain lit throughout their lives.
Importantly, the effect of the mural is not bound to a single interpretation. Rather, it is designed to evoke a personal sense of meaning unique to each observer, encouraging them to dream big and reimagine who they are and hope to become. As students interact with the mural, it inspires them to break free from societal confinements and walk confidently through life, carrying their dreams with pride
ARTIST INFO
Residing in Frederick, MD, Tim began his artistic journey by doodling on bar napkins at a restaurant where he worked. Inspired by fractals in nature, sacred geometry, and the raw expression of street art, his passion grew as he discovered more and more forms and patterns the pen seemingly lead him too.
Controlling the pen lines throughout these tiny, detail-oriented drawings became a sort of meditative practice- one he pursued almost obsessively. What began as a tangent quickly turned into a pivotal part of his life, and his curiosity brought him to the local Community College to study art more traditionally. Combining what he learned there with his continued journeys in these “subconscious doodling sessions,” his work naturally evolved in both content and scale. His pen drawings, along with his newfound love for painting, continued to grow as ultimately, what began on tiny bar napkins expanded to painting on walls.
Tim considers art to be an encapsulation of energy that its creator has infused, which has much more of an impact on our minds than we tend to realize. He also considers that, just as food should taste good, art should be visually stimulating. He derives the most fulfilment when he finds out his work has brightened someone’s day, inspired an impressionable mind, or provoked even a subtle shift in perspective that catalyzes a different way of thinking. As we continually face ever-more complicated problems in the world, we need more creative solutions, and such ideas more effectively grow in a mind routinely watered with inspiration.
By TIM CUNNINGHAM