Multimedia visual artist Shari Tobias, a post-baccalaureate student who earned her K-12 art teachers certification at Moore, is making murals that draw attention to ocean pollution and its impact on the environment.
Tobias this summer completed her second Save Our Oceans mural, located at Texas and Fairmont avenues in Atlantic City, N.J. The mural, which references the iconic Japanese print The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai, was painted on the walls of Ocean Auto and Repair in Ducktown. It's approximately 100 feet long by 20 feet high. Within the mural, Tobias listed organizations that are devoted to fighting the global crisis of plastic pollution for a community resource.
"I was raised a South Jersey beach girl, and enjoy traveling to coastal regions throughout the world," Tobias said. "Ocean pollution is more prevalent now than in my youth."
Tobias said she attempted to create an appealing composition while firmly stating her thoughts about pollution, and she had some detractors.
"During the work on the mural, many outspoken individuals made a point to stop and express their disgust with how I was addressing this topic, while others offered food, drinks and transportation," she said.
Tobias, a graduate of the University of the Arts, is a teacher in the Philadelphia School District. Her mural was part of the Atlantic City Arts Foundation’s 48 Blocks mural project.
She recently won first prize in Stockton State College's annual Coastal Science Fair for her Plastic Ocean Gown, a wearable sculpture made of plastic garments. See a short video about it here.
