Zone 3 Community Sketchbook
A place for experimentation, practice, and expression in collaboration with Harvard University Planning and Design.
Meet Nell
Q&A
Q: What city were you born in?
A: Guangzhou, China (Hometown: Stow, MA)
Q: Where do you currently live?
A: Allston, MA
Q: What was the inspiration behind this art installation?
A: The inspiration behind the Plant Goddess is how the Allston/Brighton community is continuing to grow and thrive. We thrive because of goodness. Everyone works together as one beautiful organism. We look out for one another and when we come together, it’s a beautiful place to be.
Q: What inspired the community workshop? What did you hope the community would get out of the workshop?
A: The workshop’s purpose is to create through the arts while exploring what growth and thriving mean as individuals and as a community. I hope the project will empower participants in their stories by channeling their feelings and expressing themselves through creativity. I hope it brings them a moment of reflection to think about how they’ve grown here, what uplifts them, and where they want to go.
Q: Where else can people find your work?
A: I’ll be tabling at the Boston Art Book Fair in November!
Q: Where do you get inspiration? Who are a few artists that you admire?
A: I find inspiration in nature, in Boston, in the people I pass by, in my loved-ones and more. So much speaks to me. It’s a wonderful thing to be creating each day. A few artists I admire are Sha’an d’Anthes (aka furrylittlepeach), Tillie Walden, Beatrix Potter, and Charles Schulz.
Q: What is your favorite public art piece in the area?
A: My favorite public art piece is Lantern Stories at Auntie Kay and Uncle Frank Chin Park in Chinatown
Q: If it was your turn to host book club, which title would you choose?
A: The graphic novel, On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden
Q: Favorite place to eat in Allston/Brighton?
A: Oppa Sushi
Q: Who is your favorite Boston-area artist to follow?
A: Muralist Anna Dugan
Q: What have you learned about your creative practice in recent years?
A: I learned that I love doing a little bit of everything. Public art is pretty new to me but it doesn’t scare me. If I apply the same work ethic, research, and excitement from my other art-making, I believe I can do it even if it’s unfamiliar. I think artists can easily confine themselves by not trying new things.
