Playing With Daisies 
our daughter-mother painting...
created by  Kenzy J. Yang & Grace W. Ho
...and the joys of watching our children grow
​
Description
3 feet x 5 feet, mixed media [dried daisies, graphite, acrylics] on backer board
Community Art Project
commissioned by Clinton Main Street Program, Design Committee
[along with several pieces created by other artists for "ART Way" alleyway],
there are 2 access points to view all the paintings on display:
[1] via Connestee Street, and [2] via E. Main Street
located in Downtown Clinton, North Carolina
Theme
what grows in Sampson County

[to learn more, view our process photos below]

This community project to create a public art mural at 321 Vance Street in Downtown Clinton began with site visits in October, 2024 and ended with our *final reveal* on May 6th, 2025

* collaboration * 
NCMA [North Carolina Museum of Art] AIM [Artist Innovation Mentorship] Program
Ashlee Moody, Program Manager
City of Clinton / Clinton Main Street Program -  Design Committee
Mary Rose, City Planner & Tyler Wise, Planning Specialist 
Michael Ray [Clinton High School art teacher] and artists
and all the details of installation by Jeremy Owens and
General Contractors, ​HN Carr, Inc. 

* thank you *
for asking, allowing, and trusting me to take this on as lead professional artist
-- group effort, hard work, lots of fun and generally good vibes --
Together, we learned so much about doing something BOLD, bigger, better, brighter... 
my love for this deeply impactful work of making public art, 
I hope everyone gets the chance to experience it. 
​
* absolutely, yes! * 
with heartfelt gratitude for each person who made this possible,
I'd be honored and more than happy to work with this "AIM + Clinton" team again. 
Grace W.  Ho

Inspired by the sunrise on January 7, 2023 during our flight from "the friendly island" of Saint-Martin/Sint Maarten [SXM] back to North Carolina, I decided to paint this moment on 2 large canvases. Starting with my #2hearts design which I created [summer 2022] from the union of side-by-side hearts, painted for my family: (1) "in memory,  I love him still"; (2) "unconditional love" ...overlapping and intertwined, two became (3) "sweet on you" in the middle. Viewed together, the three paintings represent bonds between people I love. And although as individuals [grandparent, parent, child] we go about our lives separately, when gathered and considered as a whole, it's simply better. 

While working on "island sunrise" I focused on imageries of life beyond a place inhabited by people swallowed up in the messy ups and downs of society. It is a reference to the vastness and beauty that I see in nature and I am grounded in deep appreciation for this chance of being a painter. As the years have shown, I know that creating [writing, doodling, sketching, painting] carries my love for nature, art and enjoying this life. Once again, my heart is full.

"island sunrise" is the focal point in naturally...  art exhibition, April 16 through August 15, 2024. 

With love and gratitude,
Grace ​

Lisa and I first met over 20 years ago while working at the hospital.

Last November, she reached out to ask if I could help preserve [by way of art/framing] her daughter's wedding flowers and memorabilia. It had been a while since we last spoke so I was really happy to reminisce and catch up on life. But, I was also feeling a bit nervous: as much as I seriously love working with natural elements, I know how Nature and it's ever-changing nuances [mold] usually have a way of challenging my tendencies. Fortunately, with the comfort of wrapping my arms around a friend, it took little time to feel at ease and we fell into a familiar working groove. Lisa took care of the hard [unpredictable] part of prepping, drying & pressing the flowers. I found myself immersed in the process of making. Tucked within the steps of granting mother-daughter wishes ...deep breaths. ​

Thank you, Lisa for allowing me to fulfill this request for you and your family.

It is with permission that I share this experience knowing that Lisa's request was received in time for Christmas. As you scroll the photos, I noted one key step where we had much-appreciated help w/ the 11x14" wooden frame. Final art/framing: 2 floater frames [8x8" gold // 11x14" walnut] and 4 ornaments [three 3x3" art canvases // one 2x6" wooden bookmark]. 

Creating each BLUE artwork was intentional, conscious, and deliberate.
Making art got me through the last three years.
In addition to naval SW no. 6244,
we chose Sherwin Williams's "poinsettia" SW no. 6594
as the accent color ​for our signage at 121 Vance Street:
GYang (signature) and Ho Yang Fine Art (logo). 
In February 2022, I started my RED series with no. 1, red chairs
-- in process, not yet signed --
Today, with both YELLOW & BLUE series completed,
a look back to Dragon & Phoenix (2008)
-- blue orb, yellow background, signed GYang in red --
brings me full circle to  RED (ongoing) as my next series and a fresh start.

In 2017 I wrote, "How we met twice in a lifetime..." from the moment he scribbled on my yellow notepad, I was smitten and I remain undeniably biased, Ken is my favorite writer. 

Finally trying out the iMovie app on my phone (old dog, new tricks...). This video, Fine art from sketches includes pages from my sketchbook (art-work created for University of Florida, Masters of Art in Art Education, Summer Sketchbook course 2014) and is dedicated to my husband & our parents, our children, and our community (near & far): thank you, thank you, thank you. I had a lot of help getting here. And I am grateful to be (still) figuring out life with all of you, all ages ...all are welcome.