Backstory

“This piece in some ways is a love letter to Columbus and to nature. Every part of this piece references Columbus and Ohio: The song sparrow, indigo bunting, sandhill crane, the car, the forest, even the model are from here. I am telling a story that many of us can resonate with, and that’s the feeling of finding home in a place far from where you were born.

The young woman depicted was driving through the woods one day, and her car broke down. At first she panicked. However, when she stepped out and looked around, she saw the sun through the trees. She felt the soft grass. She watched the fireflies dance. She heard the birds singing. Where she came from had neglected her, silenced her, and pushed her to the margins. The noise was so deafening that she couldn’t even hear her own self. But here, she felt peace and oneness with her surroundings that was never possible before. This beautiful place could sustain her and nourish her, and she could find real purpose for her life by living here instead, and learning how to help the birds rebuild their dying population.

If you look next to the car, there are feathers growing out of a tire like cacti. I had this vision of a world where we could propagate feathers like plants and grow bird eggs in trees to help save endangered species. This is the first in a series of murals that feature endangered animals in the region, and ways that we can help.”

— Luka Weinberger, Muralist