Set Free by Become More in Lee's Summit

"Set Free" was commissioned by the Northeast Kansas City Chamber of Commerce through the Historic Northeast Mural Program in 2022. This mural is located in front of one of the worst problem alleys in NEKC. This mural reads from right to left. On the right, closest to the alley, the mural begins with heavy rain clouds leading into a bird cage surrounded by dark clouds and evil faces. The bird who had been trapped in this cage is being released by a woman, representing a simple act of kindness and love. The bird must then fly through torrential rain coming down as a waterfall, thick and heavy. As the bird flys through the rain, is begins to overcome obstacles represented as mountains. The first mountain the bird does not completely get over, but as it passes the first, the rest become smaller until the bird reaches the light. Silhouetted by the sun with out stretched wings, you see a silhouette of a person inside the silhouette of the bird with outstretched arms. The light at the end (the Sun) is over a tree with a birds nest. The birds nest has the bird who has escaped as well as another bird and 2 baby birds. The lady who set the bird free now stands under the tree with outstretched arms praising god for the miracle. There are bushes growing from right to left across the bottom of the piece. At the beginning they have no flowers, but as you move towards the left there are tons of flowers growing all over them. This is because it takes the rain for you to grow, and to flower. The background of the piece is covered in a seemingly alien language (actually English) that reads, "you’re not alone", "you are loved", "God loves you". I have spent a lot of time working on this street, in this alley, and with these people. The patrons of this alley are homeless, drug addicts, prostitutes, pimps, and gang members. Often times they will tell me that this street is a trigger for their bad behavior. As soon as they get out, they are ok, but when they come to visit that they seem to be called back into darkness. These people intrinsically understand the message of this piece. To be set free from darkness, to escape, to overcome, and to reach the light at the end. They understand that this is a message to leave and to thrive. You can feel the love radiating from this piece. The image does not do it justice. This mural is HUGE, it’s vibrant, and it is a message of hope to those who see it. There were massive electrical boxes and poles and pieces attached to the wall that I was able to hide using the bushes and the rain. There was a sign on the building that I had to remove before painting this piece. I used a lift truck to reach the top of the building. This piece took nearly a month to paint using primarily a 4inch brush by myself. The paint I used for this piece was leftover mural paint from other murals that had been done in the past through the HNE Arts program as well as a little paint that they bought specifically for this project.