FROM THE DIVIDE
2024 Street Wise Mural Festival
Location: Goose Creek Underpass at Foothills Pkwy, 2198 47th St Boulder, CO 80301
Photos by Dona and Niko Laurita, and Cam Margera
Assisted by Emily Foster
Bikers and joggers beware! Sharks now swim beneath Foothills Parkway on the Goose Creek Path. Catie Michel’s mural for #SWMF2024 brings the Caribbean reef shark and Leopard sharks to our landlocked state to demonstrate Colorado’s connection to the ocean.
A life-size Caribbean reef shark swims out from the underpass. These sharks measure up to 9.8 feet long and weigh up to 150 pounds, a truly imposing underwater predator. The artist gives the shark a broad, rounded snout, small nostrils, and large, circular eyes along with gill slits near the tapered pectoral fins at his sides. A high dorsal fin followed by a second low dorsal fin sits atop his body. A pair of Leopard sharks swim around the Caribbean reef shark’s tail fin. These smaller sharks range in size from about four to five feet. With bodies covered in a striking striped and dot pattern akin to the leopard, these sharks have short, round snouts and large, oval eyes plus wide triangular pectoral fins and a series of large dorsal fins.
In FROM THE DIVIDE, Catie reveals why Colorado is often called the headwater state. More than 150 rivers have headwaters in our state, and eight of the country’s major river basins originate within Colorado. In general, everything east of the Continental Divide eventually flows into the Gulf of Mexico (home to the Caribbean reef shark), and everything west historically flows into the Gulf of California (home to the Leopard shark).
Vivid reds, oranges, purples, and blues foliage springs from the light blue ocean water. Rather than swim through aquatic plants, Catie draws the connection between Colorado and the ocean by including a selection of wildflower species commonly found in Boulder. From left to right, these wildflowers include the scarlet globemallow, wholeleaf paintbrush, silvery lupine, upland larkspur, and scarlet gilia.
For this project, the artist partnered with Boulder-based Ocean First Institute, an organization dedicated to ocean conservation through research and education. The nonprofit emphasizes the importance of land-locked states to engage in ocean conservation through ocean literacy, plastic use reduction, and water conservation. Catie’s background in field research and science communication also helps her clearly communicate this subject matter.
Just as our rivers connect us to the ocean, FROM THE DIVIDE unites native Colorado flora with sharks found in the Gulf of California (Leopard shark) and the Gulf of Mexico (Carribbean Reef shark).
About the Artist:
Catie Michel is an artist, muralist, and scientific illustrator guided by collaborative storytelling and our connection to the natural world. Her background in field research and science communication grounds her creative work in attention, observation, and inquiry.
As a devoted naturalist, Catie's creative process begins the moment she catches a rare glimpse into a vernal pool or hears the competing calls of owls at night. Finding great community in shared curiosity, she examines themes of connection (human/more-than-human), access, advocacy, and the intersection of science and art. Cultivating safe spaces in which others can explore their own connections to the natural world, to themselves, and to each other is endlessly fueling. Catie explores what, in nature, is capturing our attention and what, in us, is looking back.