During Esmeralda’s visit to the Museum she noticed how much the imagery on the sides of the planes stood out to her. Everything from the line weight to the minimal color schemes.Vasquez decided to focus on the iconographic elements of her visit because she thinks it relates very closely to symbolism, which is a common theme in her work.

Each of the icons in the design represent a form of flight. She created each of these icons from scratch with a style that is reminiscent of traditional Mexican talavera designs. This is a style that is very close to her and uses a bold color palette to convey a certain feeling of warmth and vibrancy. Vasquez placed each of these small designs inside of a bordered circle to create a frame against the fluid line work in the background. These graphics are much like the artwork she noticed on the sides of the older planes at the Museum as well.

Vasquez’s inspiration for choosing these icons comes from flight and more importantly, the feeling of freedom. The feeling that comes with flight and the environmental connection to it.

To her, each of these icons depicts a certain playfulness and wonder that also relates to her entire experience at The Museum of Flight.

The Freedom of Flight was painted by Esmeralda in partnership with Urban Artworks as a community mural project with help from the local community, Museum members and visitors on Saturday, July 22, 2023.