Curlycup Gumweed

This is a mural that was spray-painted in 2020 on the accessory dwelling unit of a private residence near the Art District on Santa Fe. It is a colorful abstraction of the bud form of a Colorado native medicinal plant called Curlycup Gumweed (Grindelia squarrosa). American Indians used the gummy secretions to relieve asthma, bronchitis, and colic. Today, medicinal uses also include treatment of whooping cough, bladder infections, allergies, and skin rashes.

This mural is about the often overlooked beauty and abundance of nature all around us. We are taught that plants like these are “weeds” and must be yanked and discarded or poisoned with chemicals. However, what if we were to wake up to the magic that we are surrounded by a cornucopia of free food and medicine wherever plants are allowed to grow naturally?

This tiny little gumweed bud, that is about to bloom brilliantly, painted as if it is a giant tree, represents the massive, transformational paradigm shift that is about to blossom...

*Painted with the help of Michael Jordan and Jessica McMillan