Movement and Stillness

Artist: Glynn Rosenberg

A Sea-Themed Mural Takes Shape at Aya Yoga Oasis

by Josefin Kannin

Earlier this year, Aya Yoga Oasis owner Carrie Johnson selected Seattle-based artist Glynn Rosenberg (they/them) to create a sea-themed mural on the wall of the building facing Second Avenue. The work began July 8.

The mural is part of The Burien Mural Art Program, a joint initiative between Urban Artworks and the City of Burien. It is funded by a $200,000 grant from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to beautify local businesses, attract visitors, and create a sense of community. In all, 12 murals will be created along several commercial corridors in downtown Burien.

The City partnered with Urban Artworks to run a citizen survey to determine what kind of murals people wanted to see. “The results indicated what is important to the community, and helped inform our artist and selection process,” said Alex Nason, project director at Urban Artworks. “Community connection and nature were the top choices on the survey. No one had any interest in seeing things about religion or politics.”

Once the survey was complete, Urban Artworks put out a call to artists. “There were 180 submissions for 12 murals,” Alex said. “We narrowed it down to a pool of 30 artists that business owners can choose from. There’s no cost to the property owner and they get two years of maintenance as well.”

“I’m one of the first artists to paint a mural,” said Glynn, a multi-media artist who uses plant and animal forms to explore human relationships with nature.

They are familiar with the city, having previously worked with Mural Masters – an annual, Burien-based graffiti and mural festival – to paint a temporary mural in the downtown area.

“Carrie’s main concept for the piece was sea life and sea creatures, and more specifically movement and that being the tie to yoga,” Glynn said. “I chose animals that move in interesting ways. Jellyfish and octopus come to mind because of jet propulsion and movement. Also animals that we don’t think of as moving; coral and sea stars, which normally are clamped onto surfaces at low tide but also can move pretty quickly. As in yoga, some are very active, whereas with others there’s a lot of stillness. I wanted to focus on both stillness and movement as the full connection to the yoga process.”

Environmental considerations often factor into Glynn’s choice of featured plants and animals. By choosing local animals and plants to paint, they hope to draw attention to threatened species in the Pacific Northwest.

The  mural includes bull kelp – which creates forest-like marine habitats essential for the survival of other species. The sunflower sea star – a threatened local species that glides over surfaces using a unique inflation and deflation of its many feet – is also highlighted.

Glynn is a longtime yoga practitioner. “Yoga has been around me my whole life,” they said. “My parents actually met in a yoga class in the early ‘90s in Denver – my dad was wearing purple leggings! So I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for yoga.”

In addition to the Aya Yoga Oasis mural, Glynn has several other projects in the works. “I’m painting some windows for a coffee shop called Nudibranch Coffee on Capitol Hill, and also a custom painting on canvas for a private client that’s a gift for his wife.”

Glynn works out of a studio in the Pound Arts building on Capitol Hill, a queer-friendly homebase for working artists since the 1980s. The 11 studios are open to visitors every second Thursday from 5-8 PM as part of the Capitol Hill Art Walk. You can follow Glynn on Instagram @glynn.rosenberg.

Barring weather delays, Glynn plans to start work on the mural in early July. Please stop by and say hi, and check out the Aya Yoga Oasis Instagram feed @ayayogaoasis for photos of the work in progress!

Studio Photos

Photographer: Spencer Norris

Wanderman Media productions specializes in telling stories that capture the vision of the business’s mission. Aya Yoga is privileged to have worked with Spencer Norris and to use his photographs of our clients and staff on our website and in our marketing materials.

Aya Mural

Artist: Coral Baldwin

The Aya Mural was commissioned by Carrie Johnson to showcase the resilience of the fern. The fern plant is a symbol of resilience, strength, mystery and wisdom in many cultures around the world and it is the inspiration behind the Aya name and logo.

Nada

Artist: Raul Gonzalez

Generously donated by the artist himself, this mixed media piece exemplifies the beauty of the traditional string guitar. Music draws people together, whether you are moving to music on your yoga mat or dancing at a music festival or a celebration. We are proud to have this skillfully made piece displayed on the second floor.

Spray Paint Murals

Artist: K S R A

Aya is home to 2 separate, yet related, murals by Portland, OR. based artist KSRA. One mural was commissioned by PNW Mural Masters (green ferns on black background) and the second mural was commissioned by Carrie Johnson and Stephen Lillie (yellow flowers on white background).

East Wall Graffiti Mural

Artist: Sneke and unidentified artist.

Aya owner Carrie Johnson invited Sneke to use this wall space to create their own mural design. Sneke and another artist (please tell us their name) spent several days spray-painting this piece on the 2nd floor of the east wall of our building.

Aya Symbols

Artist: Michèle Loren

Aya Symbols is a series of 5 acrylic paintings designed as custom pieces for Aya Yoga Oasis. Each panel features one of the five Aya logo ferns. These works were generously donated by the artist in 2019.

Rising Aya

Artist: Michèle Loren

Over 1500 meters of organic cotton rope was used to weave this custom fiber art piece. Hand selected semi-precious stones were woven in the center mandala with silver and copper beads on the long fashion-draped skirted bottom.

Rising Aya was custom designed for Aya Yoga Oasis in 2019 where it still resides today. 

48"W x 48"L x 25"L drape fringe (73"L total)

Aya Logo

Artists: Roslyn Hyde and Coral Baldwin

The Aya Logo was created from concept to final design with the brand expertise of Roslyn Hyde and the creative input of Coral Baldwin. This unique logo demonstrates the natural diversity of the fern as a metaphor for the natural diversity of the human body.