Cardinal Forest Plaza Gets Artist's Touch With New Murals

WEST SPRINGFIELD, VA — A West Springfield graduate is leaving his mark on the community with a new mural at the Cardinal Forest Plaza.

Zak Goldwasser, who grew up in Springfield and graduated from West Springfield High School in 2013, completed murals with fellow artist Rodrigo Pradel. They were tapped by shopping center owner Edens to complete the murals with the intent of enriching the community.

"They like to get local artists and artisans to work on their shopping centers," said Goldwasser.

The mural, showing a cardinal surrounded by flowers and plants, could be seen as a visualization of Cardinal Forest Plaza's name. A larger mural can be found on the side of the shopping center building, and a smaller mural is located near the shopping center entrance.

Goldwasser said that while many things are made with a focus on efficiency, a unique piece of art adds something that doesn't exist anywhere else.

"I think adding art...and making it part of the community, it makes it special. It increases that community pride," Goldwasser said.

Goldwasser is an artist's assistant and has worked on other murals in places like DC and Pittsburgh. Pradel, a painter, muralist and illustrator, has done murals in DC and Winnipeg. For their creation at the Cardinal Forest Plaza, it took three to four days to complete the smaller mural and about a week to complete the larger one.

The artists are part of Refract Studio, a mural agency specializing in building art for clients in the DC region. Refract Studio is also starting a YouTube series of artist battles where artists dual to create the best drawing for the theme. Viewers decide the winner by commenting on the videos.

For more information on the mural agency, visit refract.studio.