The Glebe’s newest mural, “Pollinator Power”, by Emilie Darlington, is here! It’s located at the scenic corner of Bank Street and Patterson Avenue, next to Central Park East. This beautiful art piece features pollinator plants from the local area, including the Coneflower (Echinacea), Dense Blazing Star (Liatris), Zinnia, Windflower (Anemone), Geranium (Pelargonium), Nasturtium (Tropaeolum), and Dahlia. We would like to thank the City of Ottawa for funding this mural, and Bell Canada for allowing it to be placed on their electrical box.
Emilie's Website: https://www.artworkbyemilie.com/
Social Media: @ArtworkByEmilie
Below is a Q&A with artist Emilie Darlington about her mural and inspiration behind the piece:
Question: How did you get into this career?
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Amy Zambonin Photography - Emilie Darlington[/caption]
Emilie: My whole life, I've been a big painter. I have a very supportive family that was really into the idea of me doing post-secondary fine arts, so I moved to Ottawa in Fall 2012 to start pursuing my Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree at the University of Ottawa. I graduated in 2016 with a painting specialisation and throughout my time there, I started painting larger and larger pieces over the years. I painted my first mural in 2019 for a beekeeping company called Apiverte, in Quebec, just over on the Gatineau side. In 2020, when everything was shut down, I really took the opportunity to promote myself as a muralist that could do this while social distancing, and that summer, things really took off. I painted my first three story mural, I went to Niagara Falls. Now I do this full time, and I’m very passionate, lucky, and hardworking. It’s pretty great.
Q: What would you say inspires the art you create?
A: My biggest inspiration is definitely nature. Most of my murals feature vibrant plants and animals with a focus on domestic or local plant and wildlife. When I travel around to paint, I like to see what the local wildlife is like, whether it be at a park, pollinator garden, or any natural resources in the area.
Q: What inspired you to create a mural focused on pollinator-friendly flowers for the Glebe neighbourhood?
A: So I, of course, coming along with loving plants, also love pollinators and a lot of my murals focus on the domestics. I’m very familiar with local plant life and I thought that the power box created a good opportunity to have a play on words, so I titled the piece “Pollinator Power” to pay homage to the electrical box and that these plants are really what power the pollinators, that power us and our food.
Q: Were there any challenges in creating this mural?
A: Not too many challenges with this one. This is a very friendly, welcoming atmosphere. There’s shade, there’s lovely local businesses that have allowed me to catch a quick snack or break. It’s been great working with the Glebe BIA. Overall, I’ve had a really positive experience with this mural. I’m loving it so far.
Q: What is something you want people to take away from seeing this mural?
A: A lot of times, if you see something in a painting or mural, all of a sudden, it's on your radar and you’ll start noticing it in other places. I hope my work encourages people to plant other pollinator-friendly plants.
Come to Central Park East and see Pollinator Power in person!
