Threading Through
The "Threading through" Greenway Trail was produced through a partnership with Brand the Moth and funded with an AARP Community Challenge Grant. The new mural at the Cordelia Park Tunnel underpass is part of the grant project and was painted by artists Doris Kapner and Laurie Smithwick with help from the community during a painting day. This trail connects the four surrounding neighborhoods of NoDa, Villa Heights, Optimist Park & Belmont through the Little Sugar Creek Greenway.
Connect to the Clio App
This ArtWalk is also available on the Clio App and Website which allows you to access GPS.
Start at corner of Parkwood & Davidson
Title: “Opening Night”
Location: Corner of Parkwood and Davidson at entrance to Cordelia Park
Artist: David Stromeyer
Date: 1991
Media: Stainless steel
Artist Info: www.davidstromeyer.com
Story: Oh boy, does this have a story. So way back in 1991 this sculpture was funded as part of the City of Charlotte’s Percent for Art program. The artist was paid $15,000 for his large, three-piece archway sculpture installed originally at the front entrance of Spirit Square on Tryon Street. By 1999, there was a push to move it as folks wanted a more-lively Tryon Street. As the neighborhood of NoDa was becoming an arts destination and Cordelia Park was recently approved, the entrance of Cordelia Park seemed like a great spot for a gateway piece. And so on a quiet Sunday morning, it moved across town.
Many thanks to Charlotte’s favorite historian Tom Hanchett for help with this research.
Key Formal Elements:
- Free-standing sculpture
- Negative space of the area under the top ribbon
Make the Connection:
The original intent of the artist was that the archway represented the curtain rising on opening night thus connecting the abstract sculpture to its original place in front of Spirit Square. In its different location, can it still be seen with the same intent? Is the curtain raising on the NoDa arts district? With it’s performing arts venues, galleries, and incredible murals, NoDa is the arts neighborhood of Charlotte so perhaps the sculpture has found its forever home.
Cross N Davidson St
Title: “La Patria”
Location: 1721 N. Davidson Street
Artist: Gus Cutty
Date: 2018
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @guscutty
Story: Gus Cutty is Asheville based and a large part of the mural community of the Southeast. While his mural here at the Abari Game Bar is the only Talking Walls mural, take some time to look around at all of the other murals in this art hot spot.
Key Formal Elements:
- Limited palette of red, white and blue
Make the Connection:
Cutty wants us to think. He says that he prefers for his work to initiate conversation and this mural does indeed. In large letters, “La Patria” meaning homeland gives the viewer a frame of reference. Whose homeland? The close-up of a chain link fence, an historic sailing vessel, and a figure of a Black male. What types of questions about identity does he want you to consider?
NoDa Deli and Market murals
Title: NoDa Deli and Market murals
Location: 1721 N. Davidson Street
Artists: Alex DeLarge, Southern Tiger Collective, Dustin Moates, Aubrey Hedrick, @euuuuuli
Date: 2019 - 2020
Media: Acryli cpaint
Artist Info: @alxdlrg, @southerntigercollective, @aubreyhedrick, @dustinmoates, @euuuuuli
Story: Over the past couple of years, locally owned business NoDa Deli & Market allowed their building to become a canvas for artists. A lot of these artists are part of the Southern Tiger Collective which supports street art and mural painting in our community.
Key Formal Elements:
- Strong outline in the BLM mural
- Highlights on the face of Baby Yoda
Make the Connection:
Baby Yoda and a Black Lives Matter mural together? Sure, art is an expression of our community. Baby Yoda, a character from the Disney Mandalorian series, by Alex DeLarge dates to 2019. The BLM mural dates to 2020 during our collective year of racial reckoning. The “Say My Name” mural on the second story also dates to 2020 and includes a list of black and brown persons who lost their lives as a result of racial injustice. Art sparks conversation and there is plenty to talk about with this corner or murals.
Corner of Davidson & Parkwood
Title: “Belmont Markers”
Location: Corner of Parkwood and N. Davidson
Artist: Charles Partin
Date: 2011
Media: Iodized brick relief panels in brick piers
Artist Info: www.partinstudios.com
Story: Charles Partin is a Nebraska-based architect and sculptor and he applied for this project through the Arts & Science Council. Once chosen, he began outreach through community workshops and settled on a design that celebrates the historic architecture and textile mill history of the area. Partin sculpts wet bricks of different depths, numbers them to aid in the installation, and installs on site once the bricks are fired.
Key Formal Elements:
- Abundant texture
- Low-relief sculpture
Make the Connection:
The simple mill houses constructed by the historic Louise Mill are celebrated by the artist. Humble dwellings made for factory workers feature gable ends and front porches. The mill constructed around 72 of these houses and while many remain today, gentrification has meant many are now lost.
Head to Greenway tunnel below
Title: “Threading Through”
Location: Little Sugar Creek Greenway, Cordelia Park - Parkwood Tunnel
Artists: Doris Kapner, Laurie Smithwick
Date: 2021
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @doriskapner, @lauriesmithwick
Story: This mural is part of an AARP Community Challenge Grant awarded to Brand the Moth in partnership with ArtWalksCLT. Working with Parks and Recreation, this location in Cordelia Park was chosen as a way to brighten the experience of walkers, runners, bikers and all using the neighborhood greenway. Local artists, Doris Kapner and Laurie Smithwick designed the mural in a ‘coloring book” fashion so that community members could have a part in creating this piece during a Community Paint Day. Over 60 people came and helped build the layers of textural circles to make our greenway a little more colorful.
Key Formal Elements:
- Implied motion of the flow of circles
- Textural use of patterns added to the illustrative creatures
Make the Connection:
This combination of abstract geometric circles and realistic animals delights the eye and brings color & play to your experience in the greenway. Sunny, energetic yellow greets you at both ends while over-sized animals invite you to celebrate nature in our local habitats. The grey squirrel, opossum, marbled salamander and red cardinal are all North Carolina state symbols. Find the box turtle in the mural but keep an eye out for them in the creek beside it too! The 100-foot-long mural represents the people, communities and nature that “thread through” our city connected by the wonderful greenways that helps make Charlotte a more livable, accessible, and inspiring place.
Follow Greenway to 15th Street
Title: Work in Progress
Location: 1200 N. Davidson Street
Artist: Cheeks
Date: 2022
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @cheeks.clt,
Make the Connection:
Coming soon!
Cross N Davidson
Title: Trips for Kids mural
Location: 516 E. 15th Street
Artist: Will Puckett, Lauren Puckett
Date: 2010
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @mr_puckett, @glassaeroplane
Story: Look at that date. This one is an oldie but goodie. Will Puckett is one of the original artists painting murals in Charlotte. Maybe the first. Puckett did early work adding iconic murals to places in NoDa like the Neighborhood Theatre and Jack Beagles. For this mural, he worked with Trips for Kids, a non-profit organization, providing cycling experiences for underserved youth. The mural project was funded with a grant from the Arts & Science Council.
Key Formal Elements:
- Heavy use of outline
- Cool colors of sky and green grass
Make the Connection:
Puckett and his wife built the pallets and installed them on the side of the building. Then he outlined the entire composition in paint-by number form and on April 16, 2010, community volunteers came and painted the mural.
This is such an early mural in Charlotte’s mural history. It’s great to see early work that still remains.
At end of 15th, behind building
Title: “Disco Ball”
Location: 420 E. 15th Street
Artist: Jen Hill
Date: 2021
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @2hills
Story: Jen Hill loves pop art, pin-ups, and all things colorful and cute. Hill is a local artist with a degree in art from East Carolina University. Her other murals are in Camp North End and South End and this wall was painted for Talking Walls 2021. Take a closer look at the brick of this older building. Notice how textured and uneven the brick appears. Hill calls this a “thirsty wall” meaning that it took a lot of paint to get the really saturated colors of her composition.
Key Formal Elements:
- Scale
- Geometric shapes of mirror tiles
Make the Connection:
Jen Hill loves glitter. And if she can’t put glitter in a mural it will be sparkly and shiny for sure. The “Disco Ball” sits slightly off center and twirls in the light creating lots of vibrant colors. Notice how the artist’s design integrates with the windows of the building.
Pro Tip: Catch the mural late afternoon or early sunset for the best light and color.
Back to Greenway, head to Belmont & Seigle
Title: Queen City Animal Hospital
Location: 920 Belmont Avenue Queen City Animal Hospital
Artist: Matt Hooker, Matt Moore, Alexandra Loesser Schoen
Date: 2019
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @hookermedia, @puckmcgruff, @alex.schoen.art
Story: Local fine artist Alexandra Loesser Schoen, produces studio art with a style rooted in the study of nature but with a touch of magical realism and mystery. Through a contact she got a lead on a mural. But since she’d never painted a mural before she reach out to friends. Her long-time friends just happened to be mural super-heroes, Matt Hooker and Matt Moore. With a collaborative design, aerosol work by Hooker and Moore, and brushwork by Shoen, a fun, colorful, animal-filled wall is added to the street .
Key Formal Elements:
- Focal point of the Great Dane
- Implied motion of the parrot at upper left
Make the Connection:
Queen City Animal Hospital celebrated their opening with a mural. It is also very cool that they converted an old grocery store into a vet’s office. Coolness abounds here and make sure that you peek around the corner to see the furry little fellas on the other wall. This business treats a lot of exotic pets so make sure you find the furry, scaley, feathery creatures that are not cats or dogs.
Street Mural at corner of Harrill & Belmont
Title: Street Mural
Location: 1035 Harrill Street
Artist: Rosalia Torres-Weiner
Date: 2020
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @redcalacastudio
Story: The City of Charlotte loves murals. The Urban Design Center and the Office of Sustainability supported local artists and filled Charlotte’s streets with murals during the summer of 2020. Artists from the City’s Placemaking Artist Pool installed street murals that captured the impact of COVID – 19 and the resiliency and sustainability of our city. Rosalie Torres-Weiner is an “artivist,” an artist and activist who loves combining bright colors and shapes to be an activist for feminism, immigration issues, and the uplifting of unheard voices.
Key Formal Elements:
- Polychromatic color scheme
- Lack of negative space as the artist fills the mural with shapes
Make the Connection:
During the pandemic, the artist was inspired by her community and this mural represents that community. In this mural she celebrates the support, strength, and resilience of diverse community members as a way to get through difficult times. Note the circular shapes with the spikes on them as they represent the COVID-19 virus but also somewhat look like flowers. Find the crown for the City of Charlotte connection.
Across Belmont Ave
Location: 923 Belmont Avenue at Sweet Lew’s Barbeque
Artist: SHE Originals
Date: 2020
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @sheoriginals
Story: SHE is a Charlotte native and contemporary artist with training in Germany, who is now back in Charlotte. This mural at Sweet Lew’s Barbeque is her first mural in Charlotte. Funds from the CARES act allowed artists all over Charlotte to paint murals and this one was commissioned by the NoDa Neighborhood Association with support from the business. Sweet Lew’s Barbeque moved into the neighborhood in 2018 when they renovated the former Belmont Car Care Center building.
Key Formal Elements:
- Heavy use of outline, contour lines
- Variety of different icons helps move your eye around
Make the Connection:
If SHE was not a painter, it is possible SHE would be an historian as you will quickly find if you get a chance to talk to her. SHE loves her Charlotte history and in this mural the artist is celebrating all things NoDa, Belmont, and Optimist Park, the three neighborhoods that jointly form the Mill District. So many fun clues and landmarks are represented in the mural. Make sure you can find some of them, including the bright yellow sculpture at the entrance to Cordelia Park!
In the parking lot
Title: “Love Endures”
Location: 923 Belmont Ave at Sweet Lew’s Barbeque Trash Enclosure
Artists: Curtis King, BDZ, DJ, ricky J
Date: 2017
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @piecesofceekay
Story: This one was a mural mystery. Not much information was available about these murals painted on plywood panels other than the names of the artists. But through a conversation with artist and muralist Curtis King, a little bit of history made things clearer. These panels were originally painted by King and others for a community meeting space in Belmont. The panels were removed and re-installed as the trash enclosures for Sweet Lew’s Barbeque. King is an educator and muralist with murals in Uptown and the West Side.
Key Formal Elements:
- Heavy use of outline around figures and shapes
Make the Connection:
The artists highlight area businesses, icons, and heritage. Look for the old Charlotte trolley, hornet’s recalling the reputation of Charlotte during the American Revolution, the historic railroad supports, and other items that celebrate community.
"Worth the Walk" Belmont to Pegram, left to Kennon
Location: 1425 Kennon Street
Artist: Matt Hooker
Date: 2020
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @hookermedia
Story: Sometimes the fantastic mural duo of Matt Hooker and Matt Moore will work solo. In this mural for the Culture Shop, Matt Hooker paints a fun, and completely original mural of Russian nesting dolls floating across the wall.
Also, cross the street to see the traffic-calming mural by Darion Fleming. Commissioned by Open Streets, Fleming’s fish anchors the curve and is meant to slow traffic at this intersection.
Key Formal Elements:
- Implied motion
- Outline
Make the Connection:
Have you ever seen a mural of Russian nesting dolls? That is a very specific design, but Matt Hooker thought it would be fun way to highlight a few important women in history. From left to right, Clara Barton, Shirley Jackson, Nellie Bly, and Yoyoi Kusama are depicted. Each of these are pioneering women and worth a google search. Personal pick is Kusama and her art-filled world of innovative installations. What women would you put on a mural if you were an artist?
Back to Seigle Avenue, Right before train overpass
Title: Belmont Mural
Location: Seigle Avenue
Artist: Rosalia Torres-Weiner
Date: 2021
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @redcalacastudio
Story: This mural was funded by the City of Charlotte Placemaking Program and marks an important corridor in the Belmont Neighborhood. Rosalia Torres-Weiner is an “artivist,” an artist and activist who loves combining bright colors and shapes to be an activist for feminism, immigration issues, and the uplifting of unheard voices. The Belmont Community is located on Charlotte’s Northeast edge and is surrounded by NoDa, Villa Heights, Optimist Park, and Plaza Midwood.
Key Formal Elements:
- Polychromatic colors
Make the Connection:
Much of the public art by Torres-Weiner tells a story. And here the story is about the Belmont neighborhood. The artist anchors the center of the neighborhood with the historic mill and includes some of the mill houses. Flowers, rays of sun, and decorative patterns all point to the revival of the neighborhood. Sadly, a part of the mural was defaced recently. On the right side, the artist added an image of her mother as a protector of her mural. Mural are in public space and occasionally are targeted by vandals. Thank you Rosalia for making this beautiful again!
Continue on Seigle to Innovation Barn
Title: “Gaia”
Location: 932 Seigle Avenue
Artist: Ann Duarte and Sydney Duarte
Date: 2020
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @duartedesigns, @travelinggypsy
Story: The Innovation Barn is a cool facility that is part of the Envision Charlotte program to create a more competitive, sustainable, and impactful community. It has programs to showcase circular economies, a café, teaching kitchen, composting center and lots more. Ann Duarte and Sydney Duarte are a mother and daughter artist team with murals on our uptown, NoDa, and Plaza-Midwood Artwalks. Their fun, interactive murals with messages of positivity and love are adored all over the city of Charlotte.
Key Formal Elements:
- Visible spectrum colors in the rainbow
- Asymmetrical balance
Make the Connection:
Duarte Designs celebrates our planet with a figure of Gaia, the Greek mythological goddess of the earth. Covered in flowers, leaves, and stems, she creates the rainbow flowing across the wall. The artists believe in taking care of our planet and invite you to see all of the color and beauty of our world.
Also, take note of the sweet mural painting by Girl Scout Troop #1577 on the far right of the building.
On other side of building
Title: “Louise Cotton Bunny”
Location: 932 Seigle Avenue
Artist: Amy Hart
Date: 2021
Media: Scrap metal, found items, mixed media
Artist Info: @amyhart0224
Story: This is the second artwork installed at the Innovation Barn and you will want to touch the art for this one. Amy Hart is a “found object sculptor.” She has a BFA from Syracuse University in Surface Design and Metalsmithing and has sculptures on our South End ArtWalk and in the Matthews area. Working with all types of found objects and lots of welding, it took the artist about 5 weeks to complete this sculpture.
Key Formal Elements:
- Variety
- Texture
Make the Connection:
The name “Louise Cotton Bunny” was voted on by the community and honors the name of the original Louise Cotton Mill in the community. TRASH TIP: The Bunny is blowing air bubbles, note the bubble wand made of a basketball hoop, to raise awareness that you can-not put bubble wrap in your curb-side recycling. But rather the Innovation Barn accepts your bubble wrap and recycles it with the original manufacturer.
At Otts & Louise Ave
Title: Advent Co-Working mural
Location: 933 Louise Avenue
Artist: Nico Amortegui
Date: 2020
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @nico_malo1
Story: During the Fall of 2020, this large building-sized mural was funded in part with COVID funds and help from the NoDa neighborhood and the Belmont neighborhood. Advent Co-Working and Paper Plane Deli worked with the artist to come up with imagery for the mural. Nico Amortegui is an artist, sculptor, and muralist with early murals in Charlotte in NoDa and the Elizabeth neighborhoods. His abstract, Cubism-inspired work is easy to recognize around town.
Key Formal Elements:
- Heavy use of outline
- Limited palette of black and white
Make the Connection:
History abounds in the mural so let’s take a look. Scattered around the mural are dates and clues around important events in the history of Charlotte. If you know one or two, tag us in an Instagram post. For example, find the 1985 date and the hornet for a reference to the then new NBA Charlotte Hornets. At the top center of the mural Amortegui paints a black and white profile with a crown as a reference to the missed heritage of Queen Charlotte. Have fun figuring out all of the references!
Head back on Otts, left on Seigle, right on 10th
Location: Intersection of E. 10th Street and E. 12th Street
Artist: Melissa Wineman
Date: 2020
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @owlymo
Story: Local artist Melissa Wineman applied to a City of Charlotte grant making program to celebrate Charlotte’s 250-year anniversary with a big idea. As a child growing up around this area, she had a vision of painting this exact wall one day. Wineman’s project was one of 10 selected in 2018 and in 2020, she completed painting the wall. It took her 17 days to paint the mural, her largest project to date. But it took a very long time to get permission from the state to paint the wall.
Key Formal Elements:
- Scale. Just gonna leave that there.
- Polychromatic color scheme
Make the Connection:
Wineman’s art is magical, whimsical and allows you to live in a world full of fairies and flowers. Not a bad thing. This wall was one of the worst looking walls before she painted it. Armed with color and designs for native wildflowers and butterflies and bees, the artist celebrates her world and invites you in. Slow down and enjoy these flowers!