Seven Hours, One Glass Wall: Behind My Community Mural

In 2026, I designed and hand-painted an original mural on glass for Refugee Support Services (RSS), as part of the organization's I Am Your Neighbor community fundraising initiative in Charlotte.

The Challenge: Painting on Glass

Unlike canvas, glass brought an entirely different set of challenges.

Before starting, I had to figure out which paints would work, how much I would need, and how to approach a composition on such a large surface.

There was also an unusual twist: I would be painting from one side of the glass while visitors would see the finished artwork from the other. That meant thinking carefully about the orientation of the entire design.

After testing different materials and planning the composition, it was finally time to pick up the brushes.

Seven Hours Later...

What began as a blank glass wall gradually became a large-scale, hand-painted artwork.

The entire painting process took approximately seven hours - a very different experience from working on a canvas in my studio.

The project pushed me beyond my usual materials and scale, while giving me an opportunity to create something for a community organization whose work matters.

Art for the Community

Refugee Support Services supports refugee and immigrant communities in the Charlotte area through programs that help newcomers build connections and navigate life in a new place.

Creating this mural in connection with I Am Your Neighbor brought my artwork into a community setting, where it could become part of a shared experience rather than a private collection.

And after all the planning, paint tests, and questions about that glass wall, seeing the finished mural was a reward in itself.