“NEW EARTH” STUDIO MURAL
collaborative mural by raphaella brice & LJ ferris | december 11 - 18, 2022
SEABA residency | october 2022 — sept 2023
dream of a world where falsehood holds no power over who we truly are.
digital piece
“NEW EARTH”
“rebirth” | “renewal” | “transformation”
LJ says it best: “the only way we can go through collective rebirth & renewal is to work together and towards a similar goal, which is to make the world a better place,” and that’s exactly what we embodied in the “new earth” mural.
it’s something we have to do together, as one, not individually.
“new earth” represents the spiritual transformation, or awakening, of the world that began after COVID-19. the earth’s intuition (the third eye) is being re-awakened by the lightning bolt (the divine power, christ consciousness, higher dimensional power, etc), and the arms holding the earth are loosely wrapped by red blood, as it signifies our human fleshliness and attachment to our own desires that keep us bound to arrested development. this mural signifies the unification of all people’s (hence, the black and white arms holding the earth) to make the world a better, sustainable, and peaceful place to life. “new earth” evokes & embodies the saying, “the time is now.”
however, this mural is really up for any interpretation. LJ & i were just happy to create meaningful art together.
may “new earth” ignite new ideas, arises new feelings, and allows you the space to think freely and openly.
LJ's original sketch of new earth
raph's digital sketch version
raph's digital sketch version
after creating her first mural alongside josie bunnell, raph made it their mission to continue to create meaningful art with artists of all walks of life to pass along the message of radical self-love, acceptance, and wholeness. once raph began her SEABA residency in october 2022, she knew the first being they wanted to create with: LJ. LJ’s art is very mind-bendy and makes you critically think about the underlying message of each of their pieces. raph knew deep down that they were both destined to create something epic together.
in some ways, we are very similar and in other ways, we are very different. coming together to work on “new earth” was creatively enchanting. from our different religious backgrounds to our vastly different lived experiences and to our own age differences — learning from each other through art & our work ethic was magical. it felt like our minds & energies merged together and we literally watched “new earth” become a life of their own. it felt like a journey that was more like a month, than just a week. from december 11-18th, raph would pick up LJ after they finished classes at UVM, stop and get coffee at Speeder & Earls, and head over to raph’s studio to paint “new earth.” we’d peacefully jam out to Khruangbin while painting and organically finding new ways to bring new earth to life. at some point during the art process, we were accompanied by community members, bo, sRah, and dima!
we honored each other’s skills & abilities. we honored each other’s ideas. we honored each other’s backgrounds. we honored each other’s stories. creating new earth and coming to terms of our differences in a healthy and safe manner, led us to be open about who we truly are.
thank you all for being a part of this journey. please enjoy the memories of our time creating the mural together!
