Material exploration becomes artful surface design in Terrene, an Astek mural collection that blurs the boundary between craft and elevated design.

As part of a hands-on workshop series I initiated called Crafternoons, Astek’s design team explores unconventional materials and techniques to expand their creative skill sets and inspire new approaches to surface design. These sessions emphasize curiosity, cross-disciplinary thinking, and creative growth, often leading to technique-driven collections, such as Terrene.

For this collection, we used a plaster-like material as a sculptural base, applying it with palette knives, scrapers, and other tools to mold and carve dimensional forms across rigid boards. I personally created Earthen I, a mural born from the intuitive, rhythmic motion of spreading and sculpting material reminiscent of frosting a cake.

Captured in high resolution and printed on textured grounds, the resulting designs preserve every gesture and groove, transforming walls with the illusion of tactile depth. Terrene is an homage to the elemental, offering tonal murals that echo the warmth and texture of carved clay and desert landscapes.

As Creative Director, I led the curation and refinement of the collection, working closely with the creative leaders by my side to select the most compelling studies. I then collaborated with the team to shape a cohesive visual narrative. We perfected a grounded color palette to bring warmth and tactility from the earth to the wall, ensuring each mural felt intentional, elevated, and immersive.