*Julia Einstein has enjoyed this year of art and agriculture.*

A guest blog by Julia Einstein, Artist in Residence at Raleigh City Farm:

'Tis the season for reflection as we look ahead to 2026 when the Farm celebrates 15 years of growth and I celebrate 5 years as Artist in Residence - two major milestones! The blog written at the end of “year one” was filled with quotes from myself and those who came for art workshops and enjoyed our collaborations with Pocket Gallery, Oakwood Garden Club, and Artspace. Here’s a couple:

“The farm is a living part of our neighborhood, and that was made more real when I participated in an art workshop!”
“I fell in love with the farm in early spring from the very first flower seed sown for the artist’s garden – it grew to be the heart of my artist’s studio.”

That first year marked the start of artist guided experiences at annual events. Educational workshops also had their start with Herbarium Making, Plein Air Pottery, Farm to Print and Flower Collage.

In year two, a focus on the family visitor led to ideas to generate multi-generational participation. I carved a set of wood blocks to provide a hands-on tour of the farm and designed a suite of activities in a Family Kit to bring out at the Farmstand.

My studio practice grew during year 3 as I played with scale. Large canvases transformed into flower beds one can stand nose to nose. Painted in highly saturated color they are interpretations of my explorations into the history of floral art. The painted poppies, zinnia, bluets (and more!) gathered at the farm were included in an exhibit at Pullen Arts Center.

This year saw the farm expand onto the Delway Street lot and we celebrated with a mural project we affectionately named Big Blooms! The fence panels which run parallel to this new planting field inspired my design for a row of seventeen 6’ x 8’ supersized images of the harvest in a color palette based upon my ongoing series of flower icon paintings, as well as the bright green of Raleigh City Farm’s logo.

*Before and After: The fence surrounding the new planting field on Delway Street is now a visual and colorful celebration of new growth!*

Here’s the list from A to Zinnia: Artichoke Thistle, basil, butterflies (to complement new sculptural bench), cabbage, coneflower, fig, gomphrena, hibiscus, kale, Little John (the beloved farm cat), peppers, poppy, strawberry, sunflower, and zinnia. With extra large brushes, I climbed a step ladder to paint supersized color-by-number outlines. Big Blooms debuted on Bearthday (the farm’s birthday + Earthday) and continued on First Saturdays when the community was invited to drop by to color-in-the-mural. I give thanks for this wonderful gift of participation! Now I look forward to winter in my studio where I’ll be creating textile designs, wearable art, and a new series of paintings inspired by these big blooms.

A look into the artist’s process from field to sketch, from the color design, observational painting, to the final step with pollinators! The zinnia (a.k.a artist’s muse) pictured is one of the many that grow into bouquets offered at each week’s Farmstand.

What’s next? More fun and big thinking to expand upon the concept and color palette of the Big Blooms mural! It’s a great way to grow the principles of placemaking on the farm. I imagine artful wayfinding to welcome and guide visitors in navigating the farm. To celebrate a new floral offering at the Farmstand, I’ll bring my love of the history and craft of the herbarium – an activity going back to 19th trailblazers of botany, poetry and writing where one would know their landscape by walking, discovering and pressing plant specimens into artful arrangements preserved for posterity – into a series of FREE workshops for First Saturdays at the farm. Participants of all ages will make and take home their own botanical work of art to keep their memories of a day on the farm.

This project was made possible by a generous place making grant from the NC Realtors, the outpouring of neighborhood kindness of Seaboard Ace Hardware, and the participation of our community of farm friends.

Big Blooms Mural Project – An artful gift from the community

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