about the artist: britni mara

Mara's Mural 2022

the birth of a mural

Mara and Cayce, consulting on the space

Founder Sarah Cayce's wife saw Mara's work on a walk in their neighborhood and sent it to Sarah. Immediately, that's what she wanted, and got in touch with Mara. The free-flowing movement and abstract feel-good of the work Sarah saw was exactly what she had in mind for the space.

When Mara got to the very empty space, she was handed the reins. "I remember she asked me what I was after. I told her I wanted people to feel creative, loved, safe, and excited to be here. Whatever that meant to her. " Founder Sarah Cayce remembers, "She was stoked, and asked for colors I wanted. I told her I didn't care - whatever she thought was best, but I'd be using a specific color palette in the back office if that was helpful."

Mara changed on the fly, seemingly listening to the sun as she was painting, figuring out how the mural would look best at any given time of day. It took her only a few of days from start to finish - you can see the time-lapse on her Instagram!

"It's perfect." Cayce says, "I had no idea what it would be, and it turned out to be completely perfect. She's always welcome to turn the space into a gallery - people ask all the time if they can buy the mural if we ever move. While we don't plan to move, I totally agree with them - she's brilliant."

about britni

Britni Mara (goes by Mara) is a Boulder-based visual artist who earned her BFA in Studio Art from Bradley University in 2013. The following year, she pursued post-graduate studies at the Siena Art Institute in Italy, and since then, she has been passionately creating fine art.

For Mara, the purpose of creating is to manufacture work that embodies meaning. Her art is an intrinsic reflection of her existence, constantly striving to capture the randomness of movement. Drawn to painting as her primary medium, she has a deep sensory attachment to the physicality of pigment—the way it pushes, pulls, and interacts with the canvas. Her process is guided by intuition and years of experience, as she seeks to transform chaos into a harmonious, intentional happenstance. Through her work, she aims to impose structure onto coincidence; she finds freedom in gestural energy and peace in the color field interplay. Her practice is rooted in the spirit of post-war abstract expressionism and inspired by the nature found in her surroundings.

Mara has been creating art full-time for the last six years. She’s a Chicagoan, born and bred, but recently moved to Boulder, Colorado. Seeking more access to nature and new inspiration, the artist now calls Colorado home.