Local artist Andrew Miller has completed his latest Ballard mural on the north end of the Salmon Bay Sand & Gravel building, just behind Hattie’s Hat.
Miller started the mural in August after the property owners approached the Ballard Alliance about adding artwork to the wall. The project was intended to discourage tagging while bringing more public art to the neighborhood.
The mural is part of the Ballard Alliance’s broader effort to bring more public art to the neighborhood. The organization identifies potential mural locations and connects artists with business and property owners. Its Public Art Committee, formed in 2018, includes local artists, residents, and people who work in Ballard and helps facilitate projects throughout the neighborhood.
The finished mural draws on Ballard’s natural and maritime surroundings, featuring a fishing boat, mountains, local wildlife, and hummingbirds. It also includes a small depiction of Jimothy, the short-spined raccoon that became a local internet sensation this summer.
Miller has painted several other murals around Ballard, including pieces at Mike’s Chili Parlor, Sloop Tavern, and Ballard Clay. His Jimothy mural at Ballard Clay helped inspire the raccoon’s inclusion in the new artwork.
“This is certainly one of my favorite pieces to date,” Miller told My Ballard.
Miller said the mural contains several details with personal and symbolic meanings.
“The 21 hummingbirds are the pollinators that create the growth around them, including the three goldfinches and heron sprouting from the ground,” he said. “The initials and the flags represent the property owner’s family, of Belgian and New Zealand heritage, and the initials of their two children.”
Photos by Andrew Miller