What a rooftop mural taught me about life | George F. Baker III | TEDxAtlanta

Key Concepts:

• Muralism as a life's work
• Doodle grids as a mural starting point
• Overcoming fear of failure in art
• The beauty of a "try" and repeated attempts
• Father's influence and lessons on effort, time, and study
• Perfection as the enemy of progress
• Additive process in spray paint art
• Murals as a devotion to trying
• Creating opportunities for others to try
• Courage to be oneself and inspire others

1. Early Career and Collaboration with 1010:

• In 2019, the speaker was a rookie muralist, two years into his career.
• He assisted the legendary muralist 1010 on a project at the Peach Tree Center building in Atlanta.
• 1010's murals feature abstract portals on buildings worldwide.
• The collaboration felt immense due to the scale of the project and 1010's reputation.
• This opportunity was critical in the speaker's journey of changing his life's work to murals.

2. The Doodle Grid Process:

• Murals typically begin with a digital design.
• The design is then transferred to the location using a "doodle grid."
• Doodle grids are blue squiggly lines that act as frames of reference for the mural.
• The speaker initially felt immense pressure and awkwardness when asked to "doodle" by 1010.
• He focused excessively on precision, causing him to move slowly.

3. Overcoming Fear of Failure: "It's Just Paint, George":

• 1010 noticed the speaker's hesitation and asked what was wrong.
• The speaker expressed his fear of messing up 1010's work.
• 1010 replied, "It's just paint George, you can always paint over it."
• This phrase reminded the speaker that failure is not final and that one can always try again.
• The speaker realized that life, like art, can be improved through repeated attempts.

4. Father's Influence and the Beauty of a Try:

• The speaker's father, George F. Baker Jr., was a military man and a polymath.
• Despite disagreements, the father instilled the value of trying.
• The father was a pharmacist but also an expert fisherman, chef, and could recite Shakespeare.
• He completed the unfinished basement of their first house, learning plumbing and carpentry.
• The father taught the speaker that he could learn anything with effort, time, and study.

5. Challenges and Reinforcement of the "Try":

• The father initially discouraged the speaker from pursuing graphic design, a clothing line, and muralism.
• He suggested keeping art as a side hobby and pursuing a more "guaranteed" career.
• Each artistic risk the speaker took was meant to reinforce the lesson that with effort, time, and study, he could try anything.

6. Perfection vs. Progress and the Additive Process:

• Trying does not demand perfection; perfection is the enemy of progress.
• Trying requires repeated attempts.
• Spray paint art is an additive process where things accrue and accumulate to become something greater.
• Since the Peach Tree Center project, the speaker has created over 50 murals worldwide using this technique.

7. Murals as a Devotion to Trying and Creating Opportunities:

• The speaker's works are a devotion to trying again and again.
• Each work, even talks, starts as a sketch.
• Every piece is an homage to the glory of a try.
• By trying, individuals create opportunities for others to try.

8. Bonnaroo Mural Example and Inspiring Others:

• The speaker painted the mushroom fountain for the Bonnaroo Music Festival over 10 days with two assistants.
• The mural created opportunities for others: a couple got engaged at the fountain.
• A festival worker's daughter, also an artist, was invited to paint on the mural.
• She arrived with a full sketch and was given the entire space within the eye patch of a character to paint her vision.
• This gave her the opportunity to try on a new identity as a mural assistant.

9. The Courage to Be Oneself:

• The speaker believes that when individuals find the courage to be themselves, they gift that courage to others.
• He encourages creating spaces for others to try and create themselves.

10. Synthesis/Conclusion:

The speaker's journey as a muralist is a testament to the power of trying, learning from failures, and the influence of his father's example. The key takeaway is that perfection is not the goal; progress through repeated attempts is what matters. Furthermore, by embracing the "try," individuals not only achieve their own goals but also create opportunities and inspire others to pursue their passions and find their own identities. The act of trying, therefore, becomes a gift to oneself and to the community.