i spy heART: Fishtown/East Kensington, Philadelphia

Driving down the street somewhere between Fishtown and East Kensington, Philadelphia I saw this fantastic mural with paintings on other nearby walls and buildings. Much of the art looked like neighborhood artists & based on neighborhood themes. This "RIP" mural was one of my favorite pieces of street art I saw during our Philadelphia adventure - not for the quality of the art or location but because of the message and boldness. The "RIP" mural is adjacent to the public playground and on a block where kids were running around and several elders of the neighborhood were keeping watch from their porch or behind a screen door.  It felt like the perfect location to document and hold dear the people you are missing.

Many times in life, I've felt something so strongly I wanted to take a sharpie and scrawl the message on the wall in large letters - proclaim it in a big way.  This Fishtown artist did just that and made a melancholy subject hopeful and bright in the process.

Lucky for me, I saw the perfect fence nearby and hung up a bit of heART. While we were hanging the signs, one of the gentlemen who had been keeping watch over the neighborhood kids and an eye our crew shouted across the street to me, "Now that is just beautiful, beautiful, beautiful."  

"Wow. Thank you," I replied. "I love what you are doing in your neighborhood - all the stories painted on the walls, it's amazing."  

"I try.  It looks good doesn't it?"  he says back.  

Indeed.

Love your heart, Fishtown.