Suzanne Peterson

Suzanne Peterson is a visual + performance artist and educator residing in Norfolk, Virginia. She currently serves as the Manager of Education and Engagement at the Barry Art Museum at Old Dominion University after spending 7 years as an artist-instructor at the Chrysler Museum Glass Studio. She is a current master's candidate in the Institute for the Humanities at Old Dominion University. She graduated with a BFA in Studio Art from the University of Wisconsin, the birthplace of the nation's first university-based studio program. She has exhibited at such galleries as Woman Made, Chicago, IL; UrbanGlass, Brooklyn, NY; and Glass Wheel Studio, Norfolk, VA. Her work is published in New Glass Review 37 and she has walked in Laura Donefer's Glass Fashion Show. She founded the Lil Truck of Tools, a 501c3 mobile-maker studio in 2020. The nonprofit organization serves the Hampton Roads area with free hands-on pop-up workshops led by emerging studio artists.

The mural to me is a reminder of our past and a challenge regarding what our future could be!

Darius Mapp

My name is Darius Mapp and I’m a graphic designer who assisted with designing the mural. I graduated in May 2024 with a bachelors in graphic design with this being one of my biggest projects.

The mural to me is refreshing.

When viewing the mural, people should recognize the issue we have with protecting waterways but also be aware of the beauty that can come from us protecting them.


 

Ashley Rue

My name is Ashley Rue. I am a fine arts major specializing in painting and drawing.

The mural to me is enriching.

When people walk away from this mural, I hope they see the research, creativity, and immense teamwork that went into this project to allow this art to come to fruition. Without ODU, the community, and my fellow classmates and professor, this mural wouldn’t be as beautifully powerful as it is. Altogether, we made Aquatic Archive to create tighter bonds between one another through art.

Isabella Thompson

I am Isabella Thompson, an undergraduate artist and educator at Old Dominion University.. Born and raised in Suffolk, Virginia, I feel a strong commitment to education within this state. Being a child of a multi-subject educator, the passion for this career was always at the forefront of my mind. I grew up admiring my art teachers and finding solace in their classrooms. Being in art education, community engagement, arts-based research, and exploration of media are areas I continually strive to strengthen.

The mural to me is a testament.

Viewers should walk away from this mural with an appreciation for Norfolk’s waterways, an understanding of arts-based research, and their jaw on the floor. It is a fact that this mural is a breath of fresh air in Norfolk’s campus and a testament to the power of including research in artistic endeavors.
 

Lisa Beckman

Lisa earned a BFA Studio Art from ODU in '86, and a MAT Visual Studies/Urban Education from NSU in '92; her post-grad work has been at SCAD, VCU, and ODU. She is a retired 34 year Norfolk Public Schools Art Teacher and former NAEA Middle School Art Teacher of the Year, Tidewater Region. She is a facilitator for art teacher professional development, most recently at the Chrysler Museum of Art, and she was an Adjunct Instructor at ODU as University Supervisor of Art Education Interns, Spring '24. Lisa is a working and commissioned artist in b/w wet darkroom and digital photography, draw/paint, wood furniture and sculpture, & metals/jewelry.
She apprenticed as a stained glass glazier in '75, and still does ongoing work and commissions.She is also interested in gardening, kayaking, yoga, hiking, cycling, & camping; and she plays the ukulele.

The mural to me is a Vision (both as a noun and a verb)

 My research led me to a variety of useful methods and information to support the Blue Connections project-- from styles and content of visual art about water and the right to clean water to the history of the Tidewater region's relationship to water including that of Black and Indigenous peoples, as well as populations through to today.
 

Ja'lyn Knick

Ja‘lyn holds a Bachelor of Art in Dance with a minor in Studio Dance ‘24. She became interested in community art after a course investigating different art mediums. She hopes to travel the world during her career in dance in order to explore different dance styles.

The mural to me is picturesque.

After the public walks away after viewing the mural, they should hope to come out with a sense of inspiration and reflection. The mural is made to speak of meaningful conversations which can evoke different emotions of each viewer. Its artwork has the power to connect people, life, and many things.