Australian artist connects two worlds with downtown Monroe mural

George Rose embodies her art.

That's true in a literal sense. As Rose talks, she scrapes absentmindedly at shades of green and blue embedded deeply around her fingernails.

Each scratch at the long-dried paint unveils matching tattoos on the underside of both arms − a pencil on her left, a paintbrush on the right. After a long day at the wall, the black ink comes alive with a splatter of color.

It's also true in a more abstract sense.

The Australian-based muralist is a kaleidoscope of passion and energy that matches the vibrancy of her work.

While few in Monroe will meet the well-traveled Rose − outside of those who stopped to watch her paint last week − one visit to the north wall outside of the Logan Charles Salon & Spa gives a glimpse into the face behind the flowers. The location is home to the second completed mural this summer in the Plntng Seeds initiative that's bringing a burgeoning art scene to the city of Monroe.

Rose is one of two international artists taking part in the initiative's second season, and she is the first to dip a brush into Monroe's historic downtown district.

Working in close collaboration with the salon and drawing on much of Rose's previous work, the mural features a mix of flowers endemic to both Michigan and Australia. The floral colors slide between yellow, orange and red and are surrounded by shifting shades of earthy greens and blues.

While the piece is distinctly a George Rose creation, she hopes it also becomes a part of the fabric of Monroe.

"I want the community to feel like they have some ownership over it, and I want people to think of it as being woven into who they are," Rose said. "I want the artwork to exist as part of this place. I like the idea that I can come and have these great experiences in a place and create these works of art, but then I give it to you guys and I have no ownership of it anymore. I want people to feel they have that link to it."

The connections run deep at the salon owned by Bill and Angie LaBudie.

Logan Charles is the name of the couple's son who died at 5 years old in 2001.

"Yellow is the color we use to remember him," said Reese LaBudie, Logan's brother who now runs the salon with his parents. "That was never the primary focus of the project, but it was cool how that all came together."

The family also asked to incorporate the many green shades used on the wall − from a light lime to a darker shadow green − to closely match the salon's style and ambiance.

"I put forward a few different colorways that I usually choose intrinsically, just a feel," Rose said. "Once I got to the wall, we decided to pump up the saturation on all the colors. We wanted everything to be as bright as possible."

The flowers that Rose included are the inland pigface, a perennial native to Australia, and the Michigan monkeyflower, an endangered species found only in Michigan.

"I like to research an area and incorporate endangered native species into my work," Rose said. "And, when I'm on the road, I also love to use Australian species. I like doing that and leaving a little part of myself. ... All my work also will incorporate some abstraction. I'll go into my studio and make these kind of ink blotches almost and use that within the design because I like the dynamic and how it creates energy."

An artist from a young age, Rose carries a wealth of experience in her field and has become a highly respected international muralist in short order after shifting her focus to the medium full time in 2015.

At just 37 years old, Rose has enjoyed invitations to paint in all corners of the world. Her work can be found in Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Indonesia, the Netherlands, Poland, France, the Czech Republic, Mexico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and more.

She has five murals in the United States, including Monroe. Her work can also be found in San Diego, Sand City, California, and St. Petersburg, Florida. A recent piece in Jackson caught the attention of the Plntng Seeds program.

"The vibrancy of her work really stood out," said Woody Hoffer, the founder and creative director of Plntng Seeds. "She uses gradients really well. I've seen other muralists who use gradients in their work, but I haven't seen anybody who did it so clean and crisp. … It's not an easy thing to do. To be able to do it free hand with a sprayer is really crazy."

Hoffer also connected Rose with Monroe artist Presley Bergmooser, a graduate of St. Mary Catholic Central and Monroe County Community College. Bergmooser assisted Rose throughout the week and will be the featured artist on her own Plntng Seeds mural at Boyd Park later this month with assistance from local high school students.

"We're doing what we intended with Plntng Seeds," Hoffer said. "We've been able to bring in a very well-respected artist who's mentored an artist from Monroe who will then in turn mentor students from SMCC and Monroe High on her own mural. We're passing along these skills from one artist to the next and creating opportunities for young creatives in our community."

Rose was thrilled to work alongside Bergmooser.

"She was great," Rose said. "She's been an amazing help to the point where I've been able to add so much more detail to the mural by having her there assisting me."

Bergmooser's assistance helped Rose power through long, 10- to 12-hour days at the wall and also gave her more time to interact with people from the community who stopped to admire the mural. For Rose, that is one of her favorite parts of traveling the world to paint.

"Oh my God, so many people," she said. "It was a lot. Like every day. … I was spending so much time just having chats with people who were coming by because they were so excited about it all."

LaBudie said the salon is excited as well. Rose exceeded their expectations and what they might have been able to accomplish on their own without her and the Plntng Seeds program. The salon had been trying to add a mural to that wall since first buying the building in 2012. Plntng Seeds opened a door for the family that had previously been closed.

"It was always a canvas that we wanted to do something on since we've owned it, but it was never really allowed," LaBudie said. "…What was cool was that our building and that wall was one that was brought up multiple times to (Plntng Seeds). Woody really worked with us to make sure we had what we wanted on there.

"It's all been great."

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Australian artist connects two worlds with downtown Monroe mural