Maggie's Garden
Carina Giacomelli
Maggie’s Garden is about an enchanting community garden located on Lexington Avenue and 101st Street. It is operated by a very inspirational woman named Maria Amurrio, but the neighbors call her Maggie. She has put her heart and soul into creating a small oasis to bring greenery, produce, and fresh air to the neighborhood. The reason why I chose to make my thesis about this garden is because of what it has done for the people in the neighborhood. It has brought the community together through volunteering and has been an inspiration to old and young alike. The garden project rose from an abandoned lot and over the course of the past 17 years, has become a retreat from the hectic buzz of New York City. This remarkable garden is the result of collaboration, hard work, and pure passion, and I want to illustrate the beauty that these elements can bring. This project is a hand painted animation that illustrates the wonders that this magical garden contains and how it has affected the community. It blends watercolor paintings with computer animation and shows the elements of the garden and what makes it so unique, while narrating Maggie’s story throughout the piece.