Local muralist’s work to show at Madd Matters

PALMER — The mural on the outside of Madd Matters (at the corner of South Colony Way and Geranium) was Kiersten Johnson’s inspiration.

“It was this big, blank wall,” she said.

Johnson had an idea and pitched it to the owners of the shop and they agreed. Johnson created proposal drawings that were approved and now there are four frames of a female face with different seasons of masks. Johnson likes the autumn-themed one best because it looks so much like one of her friends.

To some, all of the faces resemble Johnson or her family members. When asked, she said that she is around her family and herself the most, so it was likely they look like those she knows best.

When asked how she was chosen to create the artwork, she said that she simply asked, but Greg Gusse, a co-owner of Madd Matters, poked his head around the wall and reminded Johnson of taking the people’s choice award for a shoe show three years ago, and that that was why he knew she could create a mural.

Johnson was surprised. She remembered that she had created a pair of shoes for a shoe show, but she hadn’t thought about having received recognition for her creation.

Her shoe creation had been a dedication to Sept. 11, 2001, with bright imagery depicting 9-10, and dark and gloomy imagery depicting 9-11.

She is a junior at Palmer High and has taken auto shop classes, International Baccalaureate art, English and U.S. history. She competes on the swim team, loves math and has hopes that are likely to see fruition of attending University of Alaska Fairbanks to become an electrical engineer and work on cars.

Engineer? Cars? Math? Art? One might wonder how the ideas mix, but Johnson explained she is good at math because she recognizes patterns, and this naturally flows into art, as art is all about patterns and repetitions and proportions. As a fan of science fiction, she explained how mere imagination doesn’t create a story, that there is a foundation to all those ideas. Math and science create a foundation for ideas found in her favorite genre.

When asked about her favorite authors, Johnson said, “I will not read a book where the author’s name is bigger than the book title.”

She said she wants the book itself to stand out as a good piece of work, not for who authored it.

When asked about her favorite teacher, Johnson hesitated and reflected that she has favorite teachers for different reasons. Since she was being interviewed for her art, she mentioned why she likes her IB art teacher who goes by Ms. Frank, who tells her students if their work is good.

“She wants good work from you and you won’t get better if she doesn’t tell you. She’s very direct,” Johnson said.

A Second Saturday artist’s reception for Johnson is at Madd Matters Gallery in Palmer from 6 to 8 p.m., Saturday.

Kellie Coulson is a freelance writer and artist who lives in Palmer.