Since May, the signal box at the corner of Victorian Avenue and Victorian Plaza Circle West in Sparks has been a lot more noticeable. It’s now brightly colored and adorned with the words, “Let’s go outside.”
The signal box, located at the Sparks Transit Center, a busy bus station, served as a canvas for Reno artist Ashley Gottlieb, where she showcased her eclectic, colorful style.
Gottlieb, 42, is originally from Chicago, where she worked as an event planner. She and her husband moved to Reno in 2018 in search of mountains. She remembers feeling that something creative was missing from her life.
“Painting was always reaching out to me,” she said. “I was always a fan of the art museums in Chicago.”
In 2022, she earned her associate’s degree in fine arts from Truckee Meadows Community College, 17 years after she’d received her bachelor’s degree in communications. Now she works remotely for a nonprofit based in Chicago, which affords her time to make art.
Gottlieb is partial to abstract work and using colorful pastels and organic shapes. When she arrived in Northern Nevada, she noticed that landscape art is often prioritized here. She’s glad the signal box project creates space for abstract artists to gain exposure—although on her recent box, which is her second in Sparks (her first, from November 2024, is on the corner of Oddie Boulevard and 12th Street), her images are less abstract and more decipherable. On each side of the box, she depicted outdoor activities like hiking and sports, along with desert mountains.
While Reno’s signal box painting program, Art Signals, has existed since 2008, this is only the second year for Sparks’ program. Twenty artists, including Gottlieb, were selected this year through an online application reviewed by the city’s Arts and Culture Advisory Committee. Each artist received $1,000, allocated from discretionary funds secured by Mayor Ed Lawson via the Regional Transportation Commission.
The project’s goals include beautifying the city, promoting local artists and deterring graffiti.
“Only one of the boxes has needed graffiti removal in the past year,” said Raquel Monserrat, the special events supervisor for Sparks. The city provided artists with graffiti-resistant materials, as well as guidance along the way.
With no set theme, the artists had full creative freedom to design works that reflected their personal styles. Jesse Jentzen painted a realist portrait of a woman surrounded by abstract shapes and colors at Victorian Avenue and 15th Street. Iain Harrison used neon colors and abstract designs for his box at Prater Way and I Street. Kendel Leslie created a portrait of a great blue heron at the intersection of El Rancho and Greenbrae drives.
Gottlieb appreciates signal box programs because they give artists a chance to put their work somewhere very visible—right out on street corners, both in downtown areas and more suburban neighborhoods.
While she usually works indoors, she said painting on the street, in such a public setting, didn’t change her artistic process much. She noted the joy and connection it brought—cars honked; people waved; many stopped to express their appreciation.
She sees this project as a valuable entry point for emerging artists. “The signal boxes give newer artists a chance to get out there and do something that feels impactful,” she said. “They are a lot less intimidating than taking on a giant mural.”
In such a heavily digitized world and era, Gottlieb is pleased this project gives drivers and pedestrians more chances to see an artistic image that isn’t on a screen as they go about their day.
This article was originally published on Double Scoop, Nevada’s source for visual arts news.