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Steamboat Magazine

Love is the message

06/07/2019 11:36AM ● By Alesha Damerville

Lilly Patterson stands in front of her mural.

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS – “In the world we live in, it can be hard being someone who isn’t like everyone else,” mural artist Lilly Patterson says. “It’s important to be accepting of everyone, no matter what color, race or gender. From my perspective, it doesn’t matter here. Everyone is connected.” She was selected to create the piece as a way to cohesively connect the buildings around the Steamboat Mountain School campus, as well as embody the spirit of the community. 

Patterson spent a month creating the mural. She outlined members of the student body and faculty to shape the varying silhouettes of the human race displayed in her piece. “It expresses the community, but it is the community as well,” she says. 

The circles represent the circle of life. “Each geometric pattern isn’t totally random. Each one is connected to a different circle,” Patterson says. “It’s an expression of how everyone looks totally different until you step back and see the big picture and it’s all connected, connecting everyone to the circle of life and the community.”

The entire project was created from donations. The plywood canvas was donated by Fox Construction. The paint is repurposed from the mural Patterson’s mother, Lance Whitner, created on the building that houses Pine Moon Fine Art in the summer of 2018.  

This isn’t the first time that Patterson has left her artistic touch on the school. She worked alongside her mother to create a remarkable art installation that is featured on 20 stairs in the Craig-Scheckman Student Education Center, located on campus.

Patterson has finished her last year at Steamboat Mountain School. She may be moving on the next chapter in her life, but her time spent there is reflected through the art she has created.