Mural Painting 101: From Concept to Community—A Model for Scalable Public Art Programs

Jamie Gerhold is an artist, muralist, arts educator, and Art Program Coordinator for the City of Frederick Parks and Recreation Department. With over a decade of experience across government, education, and the private sector, she specializes in developing communitycentered public art programs that bridge creative practice with real-world application.

She is the creator of Mural Painting 101, a municipally supported public art program that equips emerging artists with professional, portfolio-ready experience and clear pathways into the public art field.

Jamie holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration from the Savannah College of Art and Design. She teaches workshops and classes throughout the region for students of all ages and experience levels, including at the Delaplaine Arts Center, Give Rise Studio, and with the Maryland Art Education Association. She also serves as the Art Education and Curriculum Chair for Amplified Change, a nonprofit organization focused on empowering youth through art and education.

Jamie has created murals across Maryland, Washington, D.C., and beyond, collaborating with public arts commissions, municipal leaders, and community stakeholders to bring large-scale, community-driven public art projects to life. Her work is grounded in the belief that public art can transform shared spaces, strengthen community identity, and expand opportunities for artists to thrive.

Carly Lederer is a charismatic multimedia artist who loves living in Frederick, MD and being a part of an engaged and energized community. A lot of Carly’s art is inspired by and created for local nonprofits. She says that her favorite part about creating is having continued evidence that what she sees in her imagination is real and can be made physical.

Carly is Reiki Level 1 & 2 certified, is a Gateless Writing instructor, and taught group fitness for almost a decade. She has a passion for helping people see and love their gifts, and feel comfortable in their own consciousness.

Her dream is to utilize her uplifting personality, her creativity, and the connections she’s created through Gateless Writing, Leadership Frederick, Rotary International, and other nonprofits, to bring light, art, and creativity to underserved communities all over the country and the world. She wants to see and experience as much as is humanly possible.

Karissa Scaffidi is a visual artist and botanist based in Silver Spring, Maryland. She has shown pieces in several local group shows, including at the Delaplaine Arts Center and Pyramid Atlantic. Her artwork expresses her love for flowers and the connections people have with nature. She is inspired by her background in environmentalism and flower farming. Spending time intimately studying plants and our ecosystem gives Karissa an in-depth understanding and appreciation for the details of nature. She creates decorative and intricate designs that are botanically accurate. Karissa’s illustrations are translated into a variety of mediums such as murals, prints or underglaze paintings on tiles and vases, all connected through the repetition of motifs and decorative embellishments. Art and nature have the power to inform people and spread a mentality of understanding. Her work celebrates the connection between nature and our human spaces, inviting the viewer to dive into their own understanding of plants and our local ecosystems.