I recently had the wonderful opportunity to collaborate with Pones, TANK, and artist Lyndsey Whittle on a project supported by ArtsWave, transforming the inside of a TANK bus into a colorful, unexpected stage for dance, art, and community connection.
My contribution was created especially for one bus traveling through the Northern Kentucky TANK network. I brought my musical prayer flags and mandala imagery into the space, creating color, pattern, movement, and a sense of celebration. Lyndsey and Clint helped with formatting and printing my artwork as stickers for the bus, while Lyndsey also brought her own beautiful fabric artwork to the project. Together, our different artistic practices became one joyful collaboration.
The highlight for me was the day we all came together to install the work inside the bus. Everyone was so excited! The bus became this wild, colorful visual experience—so unusual and so different from what we normally expect when we step onto public transportation. Then Pones brought the space alive through dance and performance. Suddenly, an ordinary bus became a moving stage filled with art, movement, surprise, and human connection.
What made the experience especially meaningful—and a little bittersweet—was knowing that it was ephemeral art. I had to let it go after just one day. As an artist who works with ephemeral mandalas, I understand that letting go is part of the work, but I still wished this one could have stayed until the end of the year!
I am grateful to everyone who helped make this unusual collaboration possible. Art does not always have to live in a gallery. Sometimes it can travel on a bus, surprise us in the middle of an ordinary day, and disappear again—leaving behind a memory.
Please enjoy the photographs below. They tell the story better than words ever could.
More Photos by Casey Miller who was the event photographer. Thank you Casey, you did a good job! A big thank you to Pones and ArtWave. Here is an article by Behind the Curtain Cincinnati.