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68 Years (An Off the Wall Project)

BLK.JHN Mural Nashville Street art

Back in April, 2019, I thought I had completed a series on the fourteen (and only fourteen) murals of the Off the Wall project. Well, while there was a hiatus in new murals for about a year, Tinsley Dempsey, the person behind this large outdoor gallery, has since managed to get more walls for the project, more artists, and apparently more funding. Three new murals have appeared since the end of what I will now call the first phase of the project, including one by Nino C. Flores that went in at the end of 2020 and and one from Tarabella Aversa that went in the previous April. Dempsey has said that she wants to run murals all the way down the 2900 block of Felicia Street, which would have murals wrapping all the way around the block.

This is presumably the first of a series of murals that will go on a long low wall that runs along Felica Street, and it went up back in March. It’s by the artist BLK.JHN. Like much of his work, it’s done in a vivid, pop-art style. I call the post “68 Years” because that’s how BLK.JHN titled the painting that he made that this mural is based on. The painting and the mural are in honor of his grandparents, who would have celebrated their 68th wedding anniversary on March 31. Sadly, his grandmother passed the day before he finished this mural. This isn’t the only memorial mural in the Off the Wall series. There’s a mural honoring Jessi Zazu, as well as a work by Omari Booker honoring his sister.

BLK.JHN seems to have only done a few murals, and this appears to be his first in Nashville. I would hope we see more, as his style is bold and works well in mural form.

Located at 2901 Felicia Street. That’s an imaginary address, as this is a back wall of the Abbot West Self Storage complex at 3020 Charlotte Avenue. It lies about 150 feet west of the corner of 28th Avenue and Felicia Street. There’s a small gravel parking lot right next to the mural.

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Just Roll With It (An Off The Wall project)

Roll Mural Nashville street art

Back in April 2019, I was brave enough to declare that Tess Erlenborn’s mural was the last of the Off the Wall project murals down on Charlotte Avenue. At fourteen murals, it was already the largest mural gallery in Nashville. But of course, a year later, a new mural by Tarabella Aversa became the fifteenth Off the Wall mural. And now in 2021, there are two more new murals that are part of the project, including this one by Nino C. Flores. This means the project now includes seventeen murals. (Here’s a link to the first one, which has links to the other original fourteen.)

Flores is a local illustrator who is just beginning to make murals. The colorful calligraphy you see here is characteristic of a lot of her work. Here’s a video of her working on the mural back last December. She also has a new mural off Davidson Street that I plan to feature soon. Hopefully, we will be seeing more murals from her soon.

This particular mural has the slogan “Just Roll With It,” and if you look closely, you will realize that the “O” is a giant roller-skate wheel. All this will start to make sense if you know who the sponsor is – Asphalt Beach Skate Shop. Now, this is a little unusual. It’s not unusual that Asphalt Beach would sponsor a mural. Before their Woodland Street store was largely destroyed by the March 3, 2020 tornado, it had an enormous graffiti mural on the back.

No, what’s unusual is that this mural is nowhere near either the Woodland Street shop (which is under repairs), much less their temporary headquarters on Elm Hill Pike. But kudos to them for sponsoring a new and up-and-coming muralist here in Nashville.

Located at 3020 Charlotte Avenue, which is the address of Abbot West Storage, the complex where all of the Off the Wall murals are found. The mural is on the northeast side of the complex. To be precise, it’s located just next to the corner of Felicia Street and 28th Avenue North, a block north of Charlotte Avenue. Street parking is available on Felicia Street.

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Hold Fast (An Off The Wall project)

Hold Fast mural Nashville street art

One of the projects that inspired this blog was the Off the Wall project on Charlotte organized by Tinsley Dempsey. Fourteen murals along the wall protecting  Abbot West Storage from Charlotte and wrapping around as the wall turned and ran down 28th Avenue North led to a lot of blog posts. (The first one is here, and has links to all the others.) The first of those murals went up in 2016, and the last one a little over a year ago in April, 2019. Now there is a postscript. This new mural is on one of Abbot’s storage buildings, facing 31st Avenue North, just off Charlotte. It’s the product of Tarabella Aversa (who in the past has gone by Tara Marie Aversa) and went up in late April of this year, with the sponsorship of Dempsey. Its flower motif is familiar from Aversa’s other work, such as the mural featured in Flowers of Walden.  Its message of strength resonated in the aftermath of the March 3 tornadoes, which did so much damage to Nashville and nearby communities. But a lot has happened since then. Aversa has since linked it to the cause of justice embodied in the protests that arose in the wake of the killing of George Floyd. The mural’s mix of delicate beauty and fierce strength with a message of perseverance will no doubt be relevant for many causes to come.

Located at 3020 Charlotte Avenue. This mural actually faces 31st Avenue North and is easily visible from Charlotte. Your best bet for parking is perhaps across Charlotte at Cross Fit Nashville, and there is street parking on Felicia Street one block north of the mural.

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Off the Wall (Part 14)

 

Erlenborn Mural Nashville street art

This is the last in the Off the Wall series, as it was also the last mural completed in the Off the Wall project. This particular piece is by Tess Erlenborn. There’s a picture of this mural in sunnier light on her website. (I tend to take a lot of photos on grey days to avoid shadows.) I encourage you to explore her site and her Instagram page. I happened to catch her working on this mural just as she was getting started (see image below). The Off the Wall project itself was the brainchild of Tinsley Anne Dempsey, and it took some time to finish. It was well worth the effort, producing a mural gallery that is a must see in Nashville, and a very important piece of the Nashville visual landscape. This is also the end of this numbered series. I keep saying I won’t do one again, but the Nations Wall, the Elliston Garage, and the Berry Hill music murals pretty much demand it.

Tess Erlenborn street art Nashville

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13

Located at 3020 Charlotte Avenue. This mural actually faces 28th Avenue North. Your best bet for parking is perhaps across the street at Cross Fit Nashville or street parking on 31st Avenue north of Charlotte.

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Off the Wall (Part 13)

Donate Life mural street art Nashville

The Off The Wall project ultimately produced fourteen murals (and a large sign) on the 3000 block of Charlotte Ave and the 400 block od 28th Ave North. This is the thirteenth one on this blog. Almost done! This mural was actually one of the earlier ones to appear. It’s by Eastside Murals, who are prolific and have been on this blog several times. This particular mural promotes Donate Life Tennessee, an organ and tissue donor registry.  As they note on their website, twenty people die every day waiting for transplants (that is apparently a number for the whole United States). You can register here if you choose. Learn more about the Off the Wall Project in Part 1 or on their website.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 14

Located at 3020 Charlotte Avenue. This mural actually faces 28th Avenue North. Your best bet for parking is perhaps across the street at Cross Fit Nashville or street parking on 31st Avenue north of Charlotte.

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Off the Wall (Part 12)

Tate

The Off The Wall Nashville project has been finished for a while now, and my cataloging of it is also almost done. This piece is by Sarah Liz Tate, a Nashville illustrator. The positive message of “I.G.B.O.K,” according to Off The Wall, is meant to highlight mental health awareness. Like several of the Off the Wall murals, this one was sponsored by the Buckingham Foundation.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 13 Part 14

Located at 3020 Charlotte Avenue. Your best bet for parking is perhaps across the street at Cross Fit Nashville or street parking on 31st Avenue north of Charlotte.

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Off the Wall (Part 11)

BTCatMain

I am almost done with the Off the Wall murals! Before I knew who the artist was, I labeled the folder I kept photos of this one in “Ice Cream,” because the colors and designs make me think of an ice cream shop. The artist is Kyle Brooks, who goes by Black Cat Tips. He’s Atlanta-based, so we’re homebodies of a sort, as I grew up in the Atlanta area. On his website, he talks about his experience making this mural (I thought about calling this post “7 Bananas”) and there’s a video to go with it.  This mural was sponsored by the Buckingham Foundation.

UPDATE: I realized a couple months later, this was blog post #400! Woo-hoo!

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Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14

Located at 3020 Charlotte Avenue. Your best bet for parking is perhaps across the street at Cross Fit Nashville or street parking on 31st Avenue north of Charlotte.

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