A reference to “The Handmaid’s Tale,” the mural was made by Tiffany Clark, owner of The Mural Machine. Clark is a local artist who completed her 100th mural in 2019. Since then, she’s worked on several more murals that can all be found around the city of Dayton.
After hearing about the vandalism from her daughter’s art teacher, Clark and her sister, Ashley Ark, went to work on fixing the mural on Monday.
“I’m a mom and I had a day planned with my kids. They came first, but as soon as it stopped raining today, I came out,” Clark said on Monday.
While she does feel bad about her piece being vandalized, Clark said that she felt even worse hearing how it affected other people.
“I heard from another person how they found out during breakfast that morning and the woman said she burst into tears when she saw it,” Clark said. “That’s the part that’s upsetting when you make public art. You know nothing is permanent, but this was pretty fast.”
The mural was completed on June 5 with Clark receiving help from her partner, daughter, Ark and Ark’s daughter
Credit: DION JOHNSON
Credit: DION JOHNSON
Rather than lamenting about the work that has to be done, Clark has found fun in repairing the vandalism.
“I’m enjoying erasing this person’s tag from existence,” Clark said. “It’s less difficult than the first painting because the wall was very porous, so I’m just adding onto the layers. It’s an opportunity to make it a little bigger and maybe add a little more.”
This wasn’t the first time Clark’s artwork was vandalized. A mural she worked on at the Fairborn Library was once vandalized just shortly after it was primed.
This Dayton piece had been an idea in Clark’s mind since January, with her wanting to make something that would speak to the community and rally those who were feeling frustrated regardless of what side of the political spectrum the viewer was on.
The flowery imagery surrounding a message that she considers to be a “protest piece” is an idea she got from a shirt she bought from Heart Mercantile.
As for the use of a line from “The Handmaid’s Tale,” Clark said that she had recently watched the finale and loved the show’s use of street art to show change in the community.
“We all have a special something that we can do to add to the community and to make the world a better place,” Clark said. “‘Action is the antidote to despair.’ That’s technically a Joan Baez quote. I may paint it next to (the mural).”
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