A glittering blue mosaic of a humpback whale and her calf will greet students when school starts Sept. 2 at the new Tobin Montessori and Darby Vassall Upper Schools and Community Complex in Cambridge. “Tranquility,” a mural designed by multimedia artist Andromeda Lisle fills a second-floor wall.
Humpbacks “are loving, nurturing, protective animals,” Lisle said. “I wanted that sensation for these kids.” The adult whale represents faculty and staff; the calf, the students. The glass-and-ceramic mural, commissioned by the city, was crafted and installed by Mosaika Art & Design, a Montreal fabricator.
The artist, 36, knows the perils children can face. She and her mother were unhoused when she entered Cambridge Rindge & Latin School as a high school freshman. After a period of stability, they lost housing again her senior year.
“I left for college from our homeless shelter with two bags from the Salvation Army,” Lisle said.
But she had a spirit-saving art teacher at Rindge & Latin, Deborah Haverty. “The extra emotional support I got from her was instrumental in me having the confidence and skill to be able to start” as an artist, Lisle said. She majored in sculpture at Skidmore College.
Today, all her luminous murals and smaller-scale paintings and sculptures depict mythic animals teeming with energy.
Where to find her: www.theandromedagallery.net/
Originally from: Lisle was born in Wisconsin. Her family moved several times before they landed in the Boston area when she was 13.
Lives in: Cambridge
Making a living: In addition to mural commissions, the artist has sold her work on Etsy and at craft fairs. “It’s definitely not a living wage. But I am grateful for the success I do have because most artists struggle to get anywhere in the world,” she said. She suffers from debilitating migraines, and Social Security Disability Insurance supplements her income.
Studio: It’s “a bedroom in my apartment that I share with my weasels,” ferrets Ozma and Caboose. “I have to keep my studio in shape because Ozma knows parkour,” the artist said.
What she makes: In all of Lisle’s art, animal forms cascade with patterns that reference cellular structure and Indigenous mythology. Her inspirations come from her background; she identifies as Black, Irish, and Cherokee. “Not just the indigenous heritage, but the Celtic and the African American – all these cultures around the world have a deep reverence for animals,” she said.
How she works: Health accommodations are crucial “I let people know ahead of time I am prone to migraines, and that’s why I give large time estimates for projects, to give myself leeway,” Lisle said.
An animal’s silhouette is “a hard design process,” she said. “When I start doing the stuff inside the silhouette, that just comes as it comes. ”
Advice for artists: “Have hope. Don’t give up,” Lisle said. “Do you blame the trees for not producing fruit year-round? Do you get upset with an acorn you planted that’s not an oak the next day?
“It’s building a house brick by brick by brick,” she continued. “If you stick to it, even if it takes time, that will be a foundation that will last you for your life.”
