Artists go from sharing slices to creating murals

8/2/2023

Chris Sullivan and Jordan Sandquist both grew up in the Des Moines metro — Sullivan on the east side of Des Moines and Sandquist in Johnston. While their paths into the world of art are from different perspectives and directions, the meeting of the two has resulted in several murals across the city.

The two artists met three years ago at arcade bar Up-Down, where Sullivan introduced himself to Sandquist over a slice of pizza.

“I just kind of swept her off her feet. I always say it was like love at first slice,” said Sullivan with a wry smile.

Sullivan and Sandquist were able to make their passion for art a career, but they took separate paths to do so.

“I’ve been an artist since I was a kid. Jordan is the same. We’ve always been surrounded by it and just in love with it. I just clung to it,” said Sullivan.

At 8 years old, Sullivan knew he wanted to pursue art when he had one of his drawings displayed in his elementary school’s library after a contest.  

“It was just like, I got something here you know, it was like an epiphany. From that moment on, I was always drawing in my free time at school on the backs of notebooks and stuff like that,” he said.

He and Sandquist recently collaborated on the new staircase mural through The Avenues near 2300 Ingersoll Avenue. It depicts a koi fish swimming up the stairs. Sullivan discovered the application for the project through an old friend from high school.

“We both came up with separate ideas. I actually came up with an octopus. She did a handful of ideas including the koi fish. We were trying to come up with graphic ideas that would be read well on stairs and then would read well from far away as well,” said Sullivan. 

A koi swimming upstream is a representation of a struggle and overcoming obstacles. The mythology is of a koi fish that swam up the Yellow River and made it to the top of a waterfall now named the “Dragon’s Gate.” The legend is that any koi fish that shows the perseverance and aspiration to swim up the waterfall will be rewarded by becoming a dragon.

“We explained the core idea and what the meaning behind that was. None of the other ideas really had prominent meanings behind them, and that actually has a built-in story to it. I think they got behind that,” said Sullivan.

Having art and culture on display in public not only brightens up a community, it’s beneficial for artists.

“It’s flattering, in general, to be able to get your art out for people to see and appreciate it. That’s why I love my job so much,” he said, referencing his work as a tattoo artist. “People get to carry my art with them for the rest of their life. That’s why it’s so important to me. With murals, those add to the flavor of Des Moines. We’ve applied for a ton of projects, and the ones we’re lucky enough to get, it’s such a privilege. We just put everything into it,” said Sullivan.

Other murals and art projects the two have worked on include a mural at the Lauridsen Skate Park, where Sullivan organized local artists to paint different sections of the park. This was the first mural Sullivan and Sanders did together. They also collaborated with Jimmy Navarro on a large-scale mural at Paws and Pints. 

Sullivan has a studio at Mainframe Studio downtown where he does tattoos. He noted how beneficial the building has been for artists in Des Moines.

“They make it affordable for artists. I believe it’s the biggest collective of artists in the country under one roof. It’s important for all these artists in this building to have the opportunity to have a space for exposure and promotion,” said Sullivan. 

Sullivan has been helping organize the “Middle of the Map” tattoo convention, which will be the first tattoo convention held in Des Moines in more than 15 years. Taking place in April of 2024, Sullivan says this will be a representation of the Des Moines tattoo scene and hopes this will be able to connect more people with tattooing. ♦