Patterns of Home: The Making of Ashley Akerson’s Artwork on Royal Street

WRITTEN BAILEY HUGHES
PHOTOS BY MADDIE MCMURRY

“Patterns of Home,” a three-panel asphalt mural painted directly onto the street between the historic Neely House and Jaxon Station, is bold, vibrant, and very much on purpose. 

Last year, the City of Jackson installed a new crosswalk on Royal Street, a push toward pedestrian safety in a stretch of downtown that has always deserved a second look. Now that effort has a colorful new neighbor. The mural installation started on June 1, and by June 3, color spewed across the asphalt. 

To really understand “Patterns of Home,” you have to understand the ground it's painted on. Royal Street is one of the most historic stretches in all of downtown Jackson. The Jaxon Station building at 580 S. Royal–now home to the Soul Collective–was built in 1907 as the city's NC&StL Railroad Depot, a focal point of movement and commerce that helped solidify Jackson's identity as Hub City. Just steps away, the Neely House at 575 S. Royal, a neoclassical structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is the city's only remaining railroad hotel–a place where travelers arrived, rested, and moved on to their next destination. Today, it's home to Skillet Junction, one of Jackson's most beloved restaurants, and on a weekend morning, you'll find it full of people doing exactly what some of the designs in “Patterns of Home” portray: gathering, laughing, belonging.

This is the corridor that “Patterns of Home” lives in, and Jackson-based ceramic artist, Ashley Akerson, built every decision in the design around that weight.

"Normally, I work in ceramics which is much smaller and more intimate," she said. “That's actually part of my ceramic story, to help the audience just slow down. And now moving to a larger scale for this project, I'm hoping to do that same thing.” 

Ashley came to Jackson at eighteen from Atlanta, Georgia, spent nearly a decade in education, and more recently launched the Dreamers & Makers Art Club — a free after-school arts nonprofit for middle schoolers. She has since built her life here, and that radiates deeply in this piece. “Patterns of Home” is art made by someone who actually calls this place home.

"I was just telling my dad this," she said in awe. "But I've been here [Jackson] almost as long as I lived in Georgia now. So it really is home now. It’s nice to see that my art story has really taken shape here."

Royal Street is at the heart of what has long been a known location for Black entrepreneurship and community life in Jackson. Ashley knew from the beginning that the mural needed to honor that. Beginning with the color palette, it actually started with a problem. She'd planned to use reds, greens, yellows, and purples, but quickly realized street safety regulations ruled out shades too close to traffic signals. So she pivoted and found her answer in something more meaningful: the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. She pulled five or six colors from the Smithsonian's visual identity and shifted each one slightly, creating a palette with intentional ties to a broad cultural movement.

The shapes carry just as much meaning. Their clustering and rhythm are influenced by traditional African patterns.

Look closely, and you'll find hands reaching toward each other, symbolizing families heading to Skillet Junction on a Saturday morning. A chef's hat, mouths with lines radiating outward like laughter, and a camera–a specific nod to Trunetta Atwater, who has spent years documenting the joy and resilience of the Jackson community through a lens. And running through it all: sets of bold orange horizontal lines.

"The orange patterns throughout the mural give a nod to the railroad tracks," Ashley said. "But also, its meaning speaks to the moving of the times and moving forward."

Ashley wanted to make sure the mural gave a symbolic shoutout to the depot, the Neely House, and the labor and movement that built this neighborhood from the ground up.

Getting the mural on the ground was its own story.

Ashley had prepared meticulously, projecting every shape in the design, tracing each one onto craft paper, cutting them out by hand to create stencils for the entire mural. On the first installation day, she laid them across the asphalt like a puzzle, chalked the outlines, and then everyone picked up a brush and got to work.

The week leading up to it had been nothing but rain. When I spoke with Akerson beforehand, the weather was her biggest worry.

And then it just stopped. The skies cleared, the street dried, and the volunteers showed up ready. Ultimately, with the weather cooperating and the volunteers' fiery work ethic, they finished a day earlier than expected. 

"Both days, there were times when I was like, 'Wait, we are already finished?'" Akerson said, laughing, relaxed. "It has just been so smooth. Everyone had a great attitude. It's been so fun. People have been meeting new people and talking, I love it.” 

Ashley believes that the community turnout for the project made all the difference. 

"I always say this about Jackson, but the community here is truly what makes Jackson special — and that just showed through in this project."

When the tape came up, and the finished panels were fully visible, Akerson's reaction was pure satisfaction. It looked just like her design.

“Patterns of Home” is on Royal Street now, and ready to guide you toward the surrounding businesses—a subconscious invitation Ashley was hoping it would provide. 

On Friday, the crowd gathered for the big reveal. Even people waiting for a table at Skillet Junction looked across the road with visible curiosity, stopping mid-conversation to take it in. 

Ashley spoke at the reveal, explaining her motivation for the piece. 

“When I spend time in this space, whether it be at Jaxon Station or the Neely House, with friends and family, it's always just such a bright and joyful experience,” she said. 

Lizzie Emmons, Our Jackson Home's program director, spoke on another dimension to the project that gives it even more weight.

"The ultimate goal that the selection committee of the Public Art Commission wanted out of this project was to put vibrant colors on the ground," Lizzie said. "It's a very busy road. There have even been speeding accidents. People have flipped cars over the train tracks here. Our hope is that people can walk safely—with the crosswalk and the art on the road combined—and that the art catches your attention as you drive by. And Ashley did such a good job meeting that goal."

The mural, in the most literal sense, is now a safety measure dressed up in joy. Bright colors doing serious work. 

“Patterns of Home” is located on Royal Street in downtown Jackson, between the Neely House and Jaxon Station. Slow down, and visit.