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Summer 2017
photo journal
The Dripped On The Road Summer 2017 Program in August was a 2 1/2 week trip that visited 5 cities, painted 6 murals, hosted an artist talk and camped in tents every night in backyards, at artist residency programs and on farms. The program focused on collaborative murals with local artists. The Summer '17 Resident Artist was Below Key.
Below Key began his career as a graffiti artist from Queens, NY and is now a multi-faceted artist with his own clothing line and an ever growing imagination and drive to create more.
The program visited Hamburg NJ, Ithaca NY, Williamstown MA, Boston MA and Worcester MA. The final exhibition was hosted by Wix.com in their Manhattan, NY workspace.
Hamburg, NJ
August 10th-13th
The Summer '17 Program started in rural Hamburg, NJ for the Get Juiced! Festival and restaurant grand opening.
Hamburg is a quirky town full of rural myths and legends such as the New Jersey Devil, home to the abandoned Gingerbread Castle and birthplace of Felix the Cat. The program's first mural was on a local carpet store across the street from where Felix The Cat was created.
On the final day, the Get Juiced! Restaurant in Sussex NJ opened its doors to diners with a ribbon cutting ceremony hosted by the town's mayor, with live mural painting and performances by local bands.
Owners Bobby & Steff hosted the program on the Get Juiced Farm where the team camped in a clearing between the organic produce and the woods.
Ithaca, NY
August 14th-18th
Stop 2, Gorge-ous Ithaca NY!
Ithaca was the first location where the program collaborated with a local artist, Jim Garmhausen. Jim helped the program set up their camping situation, granting the program permission to sleep in tents behind the building his studio is in, a giant chicken-coop barn transformed into artists studios and apartments called the CRAQ Barn. The barn at one time housed 80,000+ chickens.
Mural #2 was located on an old firehouse in the heart of Ithaca less than a block from the new Ithaca Commons. The crew decided to reflect the buildings history and painted a firefighter themed mural. The local residents loved the mural and the program was visited by the local newspaper, the local radio station and even the local Fire Department to thank the crew for their beautiful mural.
Williamstown, MA
August 18th-20th
Some stops are purely for relaxation, exploration and of course inspiration. After painting two large-scale murals in just one week, the crew stayed in Williamstown, MA with DOTR friends the Doucette Family before heading to Boston, MA.
Driving from place to place allows the program to consciously seek inspiration. The team spent the first day at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, an amazing institution featuring industrial buildings to explore, outdoor installations, multiple days worth of gallery exhibitions and a brewery. The following day, the team headed into nature.
Western Mass. is known for its waterfalls, so the team packed a few backpacks and hit the trail to The Cascade, a beautiful but very cold waterfall. The entire team went swimming and enjoyed a freezing shower under the falls. Exploring nature affords your mind a moment of silence from the everyday responsibilities and stresses that accompany work and travel.
Boston, MA
August 20th-23rd
Boston & the Total Solar Eclipse!
The program stayed with local artist and DOTR friend Merk Those and his wife Rhoda in Quincy near by the first ever Dunkin' Donuts.
With the foreknowledge of the first US total solar eclipse in 38 years, the directors thought, how cool would it be to paint during the eclipse? So that's what they did!
Merk Those brought the team to Cambridge to paint for the 10th Anniversary of Central Walls aka Graffiti Alley, an alley of legal public walls that was started by his good friend. Merk invited out a group of local graffiti artists including a 13-year-old named WAKE with skills beyond his years. The crew and local artist painted the entire alley. Merk set up courtesy drinks and food at the adjacent restaurant to alley.
The next day, Merk and Rhoda brought the team on explorations to secret graffiti locations around Boston. These sites had amazing views of the city, were covered in amazing art and provided the artists with urban inspiration. In the early evening, the team headed to WeWorks for an Artist Presentation with Wix.com.
Worcester, MA
August 23rd-28th
Worcester MA was the Summer Program's final stop for the Pow! Wow! Worcester Mural Festival. The Program camped in Ramiro's childhood friends, Mal and Jeff's backyard. Wooster is a special place for Ramiro as his family immigrated from Argentina to Wooster when he was a child.
Pow! Wow! Worcester invited DOTR to paint a mural on the night club Electric Haze where the Sold Magazine x Pow! Wow! opening party was held. During the opening party, Resident Artist Below key live painted the bartender's camper van.
As this was the program's final mural, Resident Artist Below Key directed the mural concept. Over the three days the mural was painted, the local community rallied around the program, gifting them with alcohol, beer, pins, snacks and appreciation. Thanks to "Papi" the unofficial mayor of Kelley Square, "Chill", "PinMan", "The Ghost of Jerry Garcia", "Tone" and the "Horse Carriage Guys". Worcester was full of epic characters.
Pow!Wow! was a great festival and a special thanks to everyone that made this wall possible and to Che from Worcester.
