New Blanchet House Mural Will Welcome Hungry Guests
Artist Travis Fields known by his graffiti art name Campographic is spraypainting a two-story mural on Blanchet House in Old Town Portland. The scene will depict a Blanchet House meal service to commemorate the organization’s 70 years of providing food and community to the hungry, poor, and houseless. The mural will take approximately two weeks to complete.
“Throughout the years my art has expanded from traditional graffiti lettering to creating large-scale objective murals that rely upon detailed realism, landscapes, typography, and abstract marbled patterning,” says Travis aka Campographic. “My inspiration comes from bold typography, avant-garde design, and the awe-inspiring beauty of the natural world.”
Stacee Scott stands in front of the two-story mural with her likeness painted on the side of Blanchet House.
Blanchet House Mural Will Reflect Mission
Looming largest in the mural is Blanchet House volunteer Stacee Scott. Scott volunteers to serve breakfast six mornings a week in Blanchet House’s free cafe. She arrives at 6 a.m., puts on an apron, and brings plates of hot breakfast foods to hundreds of people experiencing homelessness in Portland. Scott somehow finds time to volunteer daily even though she has a full-time job as a special education teacher at McDaniel High School.
“We want the mural to be a beacon of hope. A welcome sign for our community members in need,” says a Blanchet House spokesperson. “Having Stacee in the mural is very meaningful. She embodies Blanchet House’s mission to offer relief to those in need.”
Since 1952, Blanchet House has been a destination for people in need of food and clothes. Volunteers in Blanchet House’s free cafe serve delicious hot meals restaurant style. This style of service helps to restore dignity to the diner by not asking them to wait in a “soup line.”
Campographic spray painting outlines for his mural on Blanchet House in Old Town Portland.
RACC Grant Funds Portland Mural
The Portland mural will be partly funded by a generous grant from Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC). This new mural will contribute to Old Town Portland’s diverse landscape of art. Much of the art went up during the pandemic to help cover boarded-up windows and businesses. Many of the murals dotting the urban landscape provide a history lesson of the area known as Old Town – Chinatown – Japantown.
“Street art can more immediately and intimately reflect a city’s character than words,” writes Andrew Jankowski in Oregon Arts Watch. “Their impact is immediately understood, or at least begs a deeper reading.”
You can follow the progress of this new Portland mural on Instagram.
-By Julie Showers
