Image by Dan Ham / Ellison Hotel

Alaina Hunt speaks on her creative process, creating a floor-to-ceiling mural (and then doing it again), and the need for accessible public art.

Alaina Hunt is an artist, web designer and developer, model, florist, jewelry creator—what can’t she do?—and she also happens to be the Experience Designer at Cooper House.

If you were sitting across from her, like I am today, you’d find an impeccably dressed, incredibly warm, and unassailably cool woman who knows her stuff without coming off as even the tiniest bit pretentious about it. She knows something about everything, and she knows a lot about most things. She’s like The Most Interesting Woman in the World, if that person had a chilled glass of cabernet in her hand and a classy Cabriole perched between her fingers.

But enough of my musing about her. Let’s get to the questions.

When did you first know you were an artist?

I’ve always felt really creative. And I’ve always felt a draw to visual art—even when I was little. In my coloring books as a kid, I would go for realism. Other kids would make, say, a blue face and yellow hair. Not me. Plus, both of my parents were creatives, so I think I’ve always felt like one.

First medium you experimented with?

I started with graphite portrait drawing.

Tell me about the process behind the reader. What was your inspiration?

As we worked with KNA Design, we knew we wanted a big focal display. And as far as subject matter, it needed to be something easily recognizable.

We wanted to create something that would reveal itself as you walked into the space and activated it. Obviously, literature is a huge tie in with the branding of the hotel. And a mural of someone reading felt like a perfect metaphor, because it depicts someone entering another world. It’s a bridge between the real world and fantasy–and that space in the lobby is the portal between the restaurant and the rest of the hotel.

Ok, I love that symbolism. That’s very cool. What was the most challenging part of the process?

Oh my god, the math. Trying to think in linear feet while ordering three-dimensional objects was very challenging. Plus physically lifting the books was hard. The first time around was a lot of work.

Speaking of that, can you talk about why you had to construct the mural twice?

The fire at Canton caused a lot of smoke damage. But doing the mural twice was cool because we changed our approach. Before, we had painted all the books a solid base color. This time, we left the books their natural color. A lot of the spines have foil on them, so in the morning it catches the light and changes the way the mural looks.

What about the most fun part?

Painting! Shout out to Jesse Howell for her help.

How did that work, logistically? How did you get the painting to the right scale?

Basically, I made a mockup of the bookcase to scale. And since it’s a grid, I gridded out the preliminary drawing, and then I uploaded that scale drawing and drew over it. Then I assigned letter and number values to each shelf… It sounds a lot more complicated than it was.

I know there were some Easter Eggs hidden in the mural originally. Are there still?

There is a copy of Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. And there’s a copy of Old Man in the Sea in honor of Jordan Hayes. And then there’s a weird one. There’s a book called Who Moved My Cheese? And I happened to find another book called I Moved Your Cheese. So, naturally, I placed them side-by-side on the shelf. It’s high up, so people can’t see it. But I was chuckling as I did it.

What’s your favorite book?

Honestly, Lord of the Rings trilogy. I’ve read all of them like three times.

What about the works of Ralph Ellison?

I read The Invisible Man as an adult for the first time. He touches on some very subtle things that are specific to the Black experience. And it felt very personal, to have those experiences spelled out in the way that they were. I felt seen. It’s been fascinating to learn about him and his outlook on art and writing—as an artist, I connect with his spirit.

What’s inspiring you these days?

Mostly jewelry and gemstones. Animated, digital work is really inspiring me, too. And of course, large-scale art installations. I’m hoping to get into more public art. I’m really interested in how art transforms spaces.

That’s very cool. In your opinion, why should we prioritize art in hotels?

I’m really interested in finding new ways to connect artist’s work with the general public. It’s disappointing that there aren’t a ton of galleries where artists can get their work seen, and people can engage with it. But there is a barrier of entry. You kind of have to know people to get your work out there in a space like a hotel. It’s a very closed community. I would like to see that change.