Lori Leckliter

The Universal-Mural Project is an art outreach project that will engage communities using public services and shelters. I had the opportunity to design and create a mural in CT at the Darien Community Association this year, and it sparked an idea. If this community can have a professional mural to bring the natural world into the dining room of a grand home, why can’t I find a way to reproduce the same serene work of art for the dining rooms of local shelters?

The Universal-Mural Project focuses on bringing the natural world into social spaces. The power of art stimulates the right side of the brain, where creativity, intuition, visualization, emotions, and daydreaming stem from. Spending time in nature also has many health benefits and can spark creativity in adults and children. By engaging the interested people at the Open Doors community, which includes adults and children, we will share the vision and create a permanent installation in the space that they call home.

I’ve applied for the Art + Everywhere grant that is being offered through my alma mater, Lesley University, as their initiative is to activate and enliven spaces in our communities, not just galleries or traditional ‘art’ locations. This grant acts as a pilot for my project, to focus on a mural in the dining room of Open Doors in Norwalk, CT. I will engage the community of interested participants to work on the project with me. The jobs that I will offer through this grant will take the resident artists out in nature for inspiration, and from there, we will design the mural, prepare the designated location, and paint the mural. It is my intention to partner with the Lesley MFA community to bring The Universal-Mural Project to other areas of the country through grants such as this one.

Artist Bio

Lori Leckliter is a multimedia artist best known for her emotional portraiture and impressionistic paintings of the natural world. With gestural brushstrokes, she explores the many layers of identity that awaken during adolescence. Using oil painting to build layers and textural interest with the traditional use of thick impastos and thin veils of chroma, she leaves hints of the processes amongst the layers. As an artist with varied interests and mediums, Lori uses up-cycled clothing to weave into abstract pieces, as well as a larger-scale practice of mural painting focused on the natural world.