Ft. Washington's newest piece of fine art

The Medical Clinic at the Ft. Washington Men’s Shelter has a new piece of fine art!
Volunteer artist Katie Reidy, a student at the noted art school Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) painted a mural depicting an optimistic city scape wi…

The Medical Clinic at the Ft. Washington Men’s Shelter has a new piece of fine art!

Volunteer artist Katie Reidy, a student at the noted art school Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) painted a mural depicting an optimistic city scape with the words:

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love, 1963

Katie Reidy Bio:

I was born and raised on Long Island in a little town called Brentwood. I currently live happily in Yonkers. It’s got a lot more beauty that people just don’t give it credit for. As far as my art career is concerned, I feel I’ve only just begun. I did art as a student in High School, and enjoyed dabbling, but never took it serious until my dad told me I was accepted to SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design). I was threatened and inspired by the skills many of those students had that I simply did not. I couldn’t (can now!) draw a tree and make it look real like they could, or an apple, or a metallic surface. But what I had was my unique style and years of drawing out graffiti style behind me.

I decided that I wanted to go into a career where I can use that funky style. I got a BFA in computer arts to pursue that dream. While in school, I developed a program in which I teach children to draw graffiti style art using fine arts lingo intertwined. That class opened many doors for me. I was asked to develop a new mural for the town where I teach, which I did and received so much positive feedback. I was humbled by that but I also grew more confident in my work, and realized that the reason I like my job so much, is because my job is to make people feel good. I love painting to bring a smile to someones face.

A student said to me “it’s just so nice that I always see you go out of your way no matter what, just to make people happy…” it was wonderful to hear but I replied “I don’t know how much I am going out of my way, since that has always been the direction I was looking to go…” I think art should be done to make the world better, and that is my goal.