Local artist Atlanta Dawn works on her mural located on the east wall of Arts Alley in Rock Island on Wednesday. Her piece, “Luminary Voyage,” took 14 full days to complete. Atlanta Dawn talks through a smile.
When discussing her latest work — a 1,600 square-foot mural titled "Luminary Voyage," in Rock Island's new Arts Alley — the Rapids City-based muralist talked about what it means to have an "inner light." The mural features imagery of an owl, three moths and a Native American woman. Around the woman's face, a white glow beams northward.
"She's harnessing her inner light," Dawn said. "And your inner light is so important to shine outwards into the world. Be that through diet, how you act, being a good human.
"I feel like that helps me a lot. That's made me a successful artist." At around 1:40 p.
m. on Wednesday, as the sun started to bake her east side of the alley, Dawn put a spray-painted signature, followed by the number 24, on the mural. Local artist Atlanta Dawn paints her mural, “Luminary Voyage,” in Arts Alley on Wednesday, June 5, in Rock Island.
With just a few final touch-ups later that afternoon, the signature marked an unofficial end to the piece, which Dawn said is one of her biggest yet. She sat down in the shade. By Wednesday, Dawn had been working on the mural for 16 consecutive days.
She said she was grateful that she got shade in the mornings. "It was great," she said. "And there was a nice breeze, so even on the hot days it was cool.
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