Dreams and Train Smoke

After researching the history of the First and Sixth Wards, artist Jessica Guerra sought to incorporate her love of native plants, botanical vintage textiles, and design into visual storytelling with this mural, presented in her signature block print style. In considering this history, the artist became curious to know what produce was grown locally to be sold at Houston’s earliest markets and what the trains moving through these neighborhoods were carrying. Visually, her inspiration is drawn from a 1919 wallpaper pattern, The Huntsman, a design introduced during World War I, which was a time that saw an amazing manufacturing revolution worldwide and, more locally, was considered a “heyday” in the Old Sixth and First Wards.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Jessica Jill Guerra is a Houston-based fine artist and designer with a pure love of expressing beauty, from printmaking on lush paper and textiles, to painting outdoor civic and public art. Her work is recognized for its bold, graphic florals, patterns, and inky, woodcut impressions.

Jessica’s creative work is guided by her substance and technical illustration detail, built upon years of painting architectural illustrations that gave her multidisciplinary skills and expertise in traditional mediums.