Zone 3 Community Sketchbook
A place for experimentation, practice, and expression in collaboration with Harvard University Planning and Design.
Meet Tianna
Tianna’s art style is heavily influenced by typography and geometric shapes. Her installation invited visitors in to create flowers, shapes and characters out of paint and stencils. By using a paint by number technique, the mural acts as a large-scale coloring book that becomes a mosaic. As the layers of shapes built upon each other to create one unified piece, they grew to represent the colorful community. Tianna is an Allston-Brighton based artist and designer who is passionate about innovation, collaboration, and civic engagement.
Q&A
Q: What city were you born in?
A: Worcester, MA
Q: Where do you currently live?
A: Allston, MA
Q: What was the inspiration behind this art installation?
A: The inspiration behind this mural was the versatile and diverse community in Allston. It was really a goal of mine to try and illustrate objects, nature, people, and places that would feel random singularly but collectively would make sense on the wall. From a Harvard pennant to a pigeon to a snippet of a neighborhood fence, I hope everyone walks by the mural and relates to something in some way. Allston is such a melting pot of students, educators, artists, engineers, parents, kids, etc. it felt right to try and hit something subject wise for everyone.
Q: What inspired the community workshop? What did you hope the community would get out of the workshop?
A: The idea of the workshop was that anyone coming by could execute a “mild to wild” contribution to the mural. Meaning whatever their skillset or desire collectively was looking to bring, they could contribute a small detail or an entire box within the grid. I want to people to leave feeling excited about how vibrant and graphic the mural is and that they can piece together their own gridded illustrations of things they like and relate to at home.
Q: Where else can people find your work?
A: You can find my work on my website on instagram at @unofficialtart / @tianna.rivera
Q: Where do you get inspiration? Who are a few artists that you admire?
A: The list is definitely long. Some of my current inspirations right now are Laurie Anderson, Jonas Wood, and Kerry James Marshall.
Q: What is your favorite public art piece in the area?
A: Definitely the new mural by Rixy titled “Rita’s Spotlight” over on the elementary school on Cambridge Street across from Twin Donuts.
Q: If it was your turn to host book club, which title would you choose?
A: The book club of readers with a lot of half read books but a lot of heart.
Q: Favorite place to eat in Allston/Brighton?
A: Dumpling Kingdom. Never fails me.
Q: Who is your favorite Boston-area artist to follow?
A: @marka_27
Q: What have you learned about your creative practice in recent years?
A: Most recently, sometimes just putting my head down and trooping through projects that are out of my comfort zone is the only way to move forward in my practice; and that is okay. I like to thing of every new big project I do as my new average. Always looking for the next thing because I know I will always be able to one up whatever I did the last time. My creative practice is just truly about getting better at whatever it is I am teaching myself this week.
