For Los Angeles-based artist June Edmonds, the in-production “Ebony on Draper and Girard” mural is about more than making a three-story statement on the alley-facing side of 7724 Girard Ave. in La Jolla.
Edmonds said her work, inspired by the first Black women to own property in La Jolla, incorporates more than 40 colors in undulating lines. “I used the lines of the streets from old maps in the artwork. There are curves on the right that represent the curve of Girard Avenue on the south end. The curves on the top are like the north end of Draper Avenue.”
The curves come together to create a leaf shape to symbolize “feminine energy” and a darker color palette to represent “the darker skin tones of these pioneers.”
New installation for Murals of La Jolla honors local Black pioneers
Artist June Edmonds designed the new Murals of La Jolla work, “Ebony on Draper and Girard.”
(Chris Wormald / Courtesy of June Edmonds)
Print
For Los Angeles-based artist June Edmonds, the in-production “Ebony on Draper and Girard” mural is about more than making a three-story statement on the alley-facing side of 7724 Girard Ave. in La Jolla.
It’s a salute to Black women and their role in La Jolla’s development.
After completing a mural inspired by Maria Valdez, the first Afro-Latina woman to own property in Beverly Hills, Edmonds was invited to create a piece for the Murals of La Jolla public art program. She researched names such as Henrietta VanHorn-DeBose and Carrie Coleman, who were among the first to own property on Girard and Draper avenues.