Illustrator and muralist Emily Balsley peels tape as she finished off her new mural project inside the hallway of the recently finished comfort station at Rotary Botanical Gardens.
Illustrator and muralist Emily Balsley peels tape as she finished off her new mural project inside the hallway of the recently finished comfort station at Rotary Botanical Gardens.
Illustrator and muralist Emily Balsley smiles while discussing the beginning stages of her new mural project inside the recently finished comfort station at Rotary Botanical Gardens.
Illustrator and muralist Emily Balsley holds up the 2D design for her new mural project inside the recently finished comfort station at Rotary Botanical Gardens.
Illustrator and muralist Emily Balsley works on the beginning stages of her mural project inside the recently finished comfort station at Rotary Botanical Gardens on March 7.
Illustrator and muralist Emily Balsley works on the beginning stages of her mural project inside the recently finished comfort station at Rotary Botanical Gardens on March 7.
Illustrator and muralist Emily Balsley works on the beginning stages of her mural project inside the recently finished comfort station at Rotary Botanical Gardens on March 7.
Illustrator and muralist Emily Balsley peels tape as she finished off her new mural project inside the hallway of the recently finished comfort station at Rotary Botanical Gardens.
Anthony Wahl
JANESVILLE — With a sense of anticipation, Emily Balsley peeled green tape from her mural this week in the Rotary Botanical Gardens’ new comfort station, revealing crisp edges and vibrant colors.
Balsley started working on the mural two weeks ago. On Tuesday, she took a step back to admire its salvia flowers and allium bulbs.
Illustrator and muralist Emily Balsley peels tape as she finished off her new mural project inside the hallway of the recently finished comfort station at Rotary Botanical Gardens.
Anthony Wahl
Michael Jesiolowski, Rotary Botanical Gardens’ director of horticulture, reached out to Balsley, an illustrator and muralist from Madison, around last Thanksgiving to see if she’d like to create a mural inside the then newly-completed comfort station.
“We always planned to add art to the interior of the comfort station, to have a space that would be welcoming to our visitors,” Jesiolowski said. “And we thought, no better way than to display the work of a local artist.”
Balsley holds a bachelor’s of fine arts degree from UW-Madison with an emphasis in graphic design. Her mother, also an artist, inspired her to love nature and art.
Illustrator and muralist Emily Balsley smiles while discussing the beginning stages of her new mural project inside the recently finished comfort station at Rotary Botanical Gardens.
Anthony Wahl
“Growing up around her and all her fancy art supplies helped me decide that this was what I wanted to do,” Balsley reflects.
Professionally, she designed bikes and illustrated children’s books before getting her first opportunity to work as a muralist.
The owners of Bowl of Heaven, a now-closed smoothie restaurant in Madison, saw her illustrations on the “Buddy Bench” at Franklin Elementary School in Madison, and asked Balsley if she had any experience designing murals.
“I hadn’t,” Balsley recalls. She accepted their offer to give it a try and completed her first mural at Bowl of Heaven in 2010.
“I did a big wall in their restaurant and just kind of winged it. I didn’t really know how to make something so small fit on a huge wall,” Balsley said. “But you know, I figured it out.”
Taking her creations from a small sketchbook to being blown up and defining a space, was a “game changer,” she said.
Illustrator and muralist Emily Balsley holds up the 2D design for her new mural project inside the recently finished comfort station at Rotary Botanical Gardens.
Anthony Wahl
Normally, Balsley would project an image onto a wall as the first step in designing a mural. The small hallway space she was working in the comfort station didn’t allow that, however.
Instead, she printed out her design on 3-by-9-foot paper, laid a transfer sheet underneath that and traced the design onto the wall.
Life inspires Balsley. Her sketchbooks are full of flowers, birds and wildlife from photos she takes during her walks.
“So when they asked me to do this mural, I was like ‘yes!’”, Balsley said.
The comfort station was intended to reflect some of the plants and wildlife seen throughout Rotary Botanical Gardens, Jesiolowski said.
“Emily’s distinct style incorporates vibrant colors and a whimsical nature that can’t help to put a smile on your face,” Jesiolowski said, noting that her work appeals “to a wide audience from young to old.”
“[Emily] incorporated perennials that we are known for,” he continued, including coneflower, allium, bee balm, salvia, hummingbirds, bees, swallowtail, and monarch butterflies.
Other work
Balsley has other work to her credit in Rock County.
Illustrator and muralist Emily Balsley works on the beginning stages of her mural project inside the recently finished comfort station at Rotary Botanical Gardens on March 7.
Anthony Wahl
She created a pet park of free-standing murals for Art Infusion in 2021 before creating a stairwell mural of children reading around wildlife at the Milton Public Library in 2022. She participated in Art Infusion again in 2022 and created an animal mural at St. Mary’s School in Vlogý.
She’s also created murals for the Stoughton Public Library, done six months apart in the teen and children’s sections.
Jesiolowski said seeing the Stoughton Public Library work was part of the Rotary Botanical Gardens’ determination that Balsley would be a good fit for the comfort station project.
The display at the Stoughton Public Library “had us sold,” Jesiolowski said.
In May, Balsley will be painting a mural at the E.D. Locke Public Library in McFarland
Illustrator and muralist Emily Balsley works on the beginning stages of her mural project inside the recently finished comfort station at Rotary Botanical Gardens on March 7.
Anthony Wahl
“I’ve gotten into the library circuit and it’s nice! I love libraries,” Balsley said.
Balsley said she enjoys painting in open spaces where children can watch her work. She loves when they ask her questions, and hopes to inspire them to be artists someday.
“I love when kids get to see me painting,” Balsley said. “For them to see that this is something they could do when they get older, I love that.”
Illustrator and muralist Emily Balsley works on the beginning stages of her mural project inside the recently finished comfort station at Rotary Botanical Gardens on March 7.
Anthony Wahl
The comfort station, also affectionately called the hobbit house, opened last winter at Rotary Botanical Gardens, just in time for the holiday light show there.
Balsley looks forward to coming back to admire the spring growth around it. “I can’t wait to see it when it’s all really green and tucked into the hill,” she said.
Work on the mural is finishing up just in time for spring events at the gardens including: Story & Stroll on Wednesday, April 3, an Earth Day celebration on Sunday, April 21, and the start of the “What’s in Bloom?” tour on Wednesday, April 24.
“[The mural] is engaging and relatable and something we are incredibly proud to have on display. We hope that our visitors will see how special it is and use it as a backdrop to take pictures with and have beautiful memories of visiting Rotary Botanical Gardens,” Jesiolowski said.
