From Spaghetti to Spray Paint: How a Facebook Post Landed Me at the National Building Museum

Kristin Fiorvanti
3 days ago
4 min read

A few weeks ago, I did something a little impulsive. I posted in my local “What’s Happening in Your Neighborhood” Facebook group offering to paint a mural—for free. I’ve been painting for years and have experience working large, but I’d never painted a formal mural before. I wasn’t sure what would come of it—I just hoped it might lead to some experience or a community connection.

At the time, it felt a little like throwing spaghetti at the wall (literally and figuratively). But to my surprise, it stuck—quickly. Many local businesses reached out —a local hardware store, a coffee shop, a retirement home, and a friend who has a farm and a tattoo shop. One offer stood out, and it needed to be done fast. Mark, the CEO of American Parkour, emailed and told me he was working on a project for the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., and there might be a spot for an artist like me. National. Building. Museum. My heart raced so fast my Apple Watch alerted me while I was mid-bite at breakfast with a friend.

That’s when the voice in my head said: “Holy crap. What have I done?”

I was simply hoping for a chance to gain experience—but what I got was something far more meaningful than I expected.

Building the Work (and the Confidence)

Mark and I quickly decided to move forward, and I started creating digital mock-ups of my vision. That became the core of my workflow—because the panels are so massive (14 of them, each 96 inches long), it’s nearly impossible to step back and see the full design at once. The digital models help me plan the composition while still giving me room to improvise on the panels themselves—throwing some paint, trying things out, letting it breathe.

At the same time, I’ve been experimenting with materials on smaller blocks to test out techniques. The style blends street art, pop art, Renaissance references, and architectural elements—tying together art, structure, movement, and community. I’ve even made custom stamps featuring the American Parkour logo, which I’ve used across the panels to create a “branded wall” effect reminiscent of urban textures.

I’ve also been helping the team build and paint components of the interactive parkour installation. That includes massive boxes designed for both adult and children’s movement courses. I even learned how to build a custom Lazy Susan to spin the boxes while painting them. And since it's right down the road, in a way, it's become an innovative artist residency.

Mark and Kathy gave our Lazy Susan a spin.

Learning the Language of Parkour

One of the unexpected joys of this project has been learning more about parkour as an art form. Before this, I hadn’t spent much time thinking about it beyond what I’d seen in movies or The Office. But being around this world has opened my eyes to how much skill, grace, and expression lives in the practice.

I’ve been watching footage of top athletes like Sébastien Foucan—who’s not only a pioneer of parkour but also an artist in his own right—and David Belle, whose work shows up in major Hollywood films. I’ve also learned about OLLO shoes, the Dame du Lac, Lawrence Halprin and Freeway Park. There’s a whole visual and cultural language here that I’m just beginning to appreciate—and it’s influencing how I think about movement, body, and space in the mural itself.

The more I learn, the more I see parkour not just as a sport, but as a form of storytelling—using the body to map new paths through urban space. It’s a perfect complement to the visual narrative I’m building on these panels.

Racing the Clock, Finding My Rhythm

A big part of the pressure is the timeline—we’re installing next week. That meant my ideas had to go from sketch to execution very quickly. But honestly? I’m finding that pressure brings out the best in me. I’ve always known that about myself, but this project has brought it into sharp focus.

Being in a collaborative, creative space with others—trading tips, sharing critique, building together—feeds something in me. I can't create without some essence of evolving.

And now, another exciting opportunity has emerged: I may get to use my experience in filmmaking to help create a video showing how to navigate the parkour course. The idea that my creative work might live not just in the space, but also in how it’s documented and shared, is incredibly energizing.

What the Public Will See

The final design is still taking shape, and some parts have shifted as we’ve gotten deeper into the process. But my vision remains rooted in movement—silhouetted figures in action, dynamic shapes, bold colors, stencils, and brick-like texture. There’s a tension between the geometric and the organic, the structured and the spontaneous—mirroring both the architecture of the space and the freedom of movement parkour celebrates. As always, you can see my process in more detail on Patreon ---come learn and play with me through the experiments and the artistic delulu while supporting my craft!

Sneak Peak

What started as a spontaneous online post has turned into one of the most expansive, exciting projects I’ve ever worked on. I took a risk without a full plan—but with openness, curiosity, and a paintbrush in hand. And somehow, that was enough to land me in a creative studio surrounded by other makers, prepping to install my first "mural-ish painting" (as Mark called it) in the National Building Museum.