When Jake Messing stood in front of the mural he had just completed for Russian Riverkeeper (RRK) on the north side of the nonprofit’s headquarters at 139 Healdsburg Ave., he had finished more than another mural. The subject matter was clear, unambiguous: the course of a river from its point of origin to the sea, with the birdlife and salmon surrounding its journey.
Perhaps oddly, perhaps not, the water on the right side of the wall seems to come from Pomo baskets, not springs. The artist had the answer.
“The amazing thing about those Pomo baskets is that they were so tightly woven that they could hold water,” Messing said. And if one thinks about it even briefly, the ability to transport water opens up a lot of opportunities.
He segued into an obligatory if still meaningful speech of respect, “To acknowledge the Pomo people and that they’ve been here for thousands of years, and their deep-rooted connection to the land and ecosystems.”…