"Hi, my name is Madelyn Monzelowsky, and I painted the mural in front of you, titled Nat Geo. As a young girl, I grew up watching my mother paint. She looked so free and so happy. It wasn’t long before I fell in love with art myself. I would spend hours a day cutting paper, drawing, and coloring. My mom had every art supply imaginable, and it was available for me to use at all times.

It was obvious then that into my school years I would take every art class I could sign up for. It wasn’t something that I felt I needed to be taught, it was something that I felt I needed to express. I don’t consider myself to have one style or one medium in particular that I like to use. Some days I wish I would, but other days it’s so fun to have such a wide range of things that I enjoy.

When I was presented the opportunity to submit artwork for this alley project, I was beyond excited. I wanted to do something related to North Dakota because everyone here has such a strong love for our state. But the part of me that loves the moon and the stars and the bright, fun colors had to shine through as well. That’s how I came up with the idea to do this deer, one half with a prairie rose and one half with a geometric deer in space.

This is the largest piece that I’ve ever worked on and it definitely had its challenges, but it was such a great learning experience that has left me wanting to do more bigger pieces in the future. I will never forget the late nights in the alley with all the aromas coming through the dumpsters and lots of people passing by or just stopping for a smoke break. I felt really connected to my city in the long months I spent painting this piece. At the time, I was a full-time college student and planning my wedding, so I definitely had a lot on my plate. But I made time for this piece every day if I could. My favorite part is walking through the alley after I’ve gone out to eat downtown or seeing pictures of my piece posted on Instagram. There is no greater feeling for an artist than seeing that your art brings joy to others. "