Thanks to the tenacity of the Geyserville Community Foundation, plus the addition of a 7.5-ton marble carving of a hand, and a vibrant new mural, a long-vacant lot on the corner of Geyserville Avenue and Highway 128 is fast becoming a visual tribute to the community’s deep agricultural roots.

The hand sculpture entitled “Agraria” was created by Portland, Oregon-based environmental artist Larry Kirkland, and stood in front of the Santa Rosa Plaza for almost 30 years. Carved from a single block of marble from Torrano, Italy, it measures 12-feet long, 6 feet tall and 3 feet wide.

The sculpture was gifted to the town of Geyserville, but it was still necessary to raise the funds to relocate it.

In keeping with the agricultural theme, a plaque affixed to the wrist reads, “The hand represents a symbol of the thousands of settlers, farmers, men, women and children who have worked the soil of the Sonoma County area.”

In 1976, local artists Susie Moore and Dini Seanor painted a mural on the building overlooking the same lot entitled, “Geyserville, Gateway to the Geysers and the Sonoma County Wine Country.” It featured a map of wineries in the Geyserville area, as well as vineyards, the cemetery, schools, businesses in town at the time and a brief record of historic events.

Unfortunately, over time, the mural and the cement wall it was painted on fell victim to the elements. According to John Cash, president of the Geyserville Community Foundation, they looked into saving the old mural for historical reasons, but it was peeling off the wall and so damaged that nothing could be done.

Early last year, the foundation board decided to commission a new mural and began an extensive search for just the right artist to bring their vision to life.

“Geyserville is an agricultural community,” noted Cash, “and we feel strongly that this quality be preserved above all else. We also wanted to honor the generations that built the agriculture we see today from the Pomo ancestors to the Hispanic agricultural workers who keep our economy going.”

The foundation selected Petaluma muralist Maxfield Bala of Bala Creative, both for the quality of his previous work and for his high level of engagement in determining what the community would like to see represented.

After an on-site consultation to determine the foundation’s expectations and goals for the project, Bala followed up with a thorough review of the wall and its surroundings to determine the wall’s condition, lift access, wall obstructions and the project’s demands.

The next step was putting together several concept drafts for everyone, including interested community members, to work through. This process took about three development rounds to lock in the final design.

Bala says the best part about painting this particular mural is the beautiful rural surroundings and the community coming together to support this project.

“Every day I paint, I’m greeted by a few members of the community eager to learn more about the process and check out the progress. It’s this excited energy and appreciation that keeps me so motivated to create a mural worthy of its place in the center of Geyserville.”

Longtime Geyserville resident Rita Getzen lives nearby and has been watching the progress when she walks her pups.

“The new mural is vibrant and colorful, fresh and welcoming,” she remarks. “I think it captures the essence of our sweet little town, which thrives on agriculture, tourism and our beautiful Latino community.”

Every artist has a favorite part of their finished product, and Bala is no exception. For him, it is the cornucopia on the right-hand side of the mural.

“The cornucopia includes Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, pears, plums, prunes, and our state flower the California poppy pouring out of a woven Pomo basket. All of these are particularly relevant to the community of Geyserville and its storied history. The size of the images allows for a lot of detail, color, and realistic elements to be featured.”

Daisy Damskey, business owner and former president of the Geyserville Planning Committee, commented, “I love the juxtaposition of the modern sculpture and the mural. It captures the chronologically past to present Geyserville. It reminds me of an old packing box label “

A self-taught artist, Bala never went to an art school and says he really only took art classes as a way to meet the requirements for his diploma and degrees.

“It’s been my friends and family who’ve supported my work and helped hype me up to keep creating artwork and expanding my skills. To the best of my knowledge there’s not very many schools that teach you how to spray paint murals.

He feels self-taught artists have a unique style and outlook on creating artwork, noting they almost always seem to have more freedom, creativity and imagination to learn their own techniques and perspectives.

Founded in 2015, Bala Creative is a family business. His brother, Andrew, is his team member who assists with his mural projects. He may hire additional freelance assistance occasionally, but Bala handles the everyday business, design and painting duties himself.

Recently chosen as Petaluma People’s Choice Artist for 2025, the 32-year-old muralist has come a long way from drawing on the walls of his childhood home to creating colorful eye-popping murals for private collections and display in a variety of public settings.

While his parents were quick to clean up behind him, he says one scribble he drew as a 5-year-old with a sharpie marker was coveted.

“The quick outline of a dinosaur beside a palm tree on my parents closet door was never washed away and was even painted around. You could say it’s my earliest mural work,” he laughs.

Even as a little boy, he knew he wanted to be an artist, a designer or a professional sports athlete when he grew up.

“So far, I’ve gotten to live out two of those aspirations and remain steadfast and content as an amateur sports athlete.”

Bala has designed products with global reach across all of North America, Europe and Asia, and his work has been exhibited in South Korea, Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada and Mexico.

He has painted murals in Mexico, Florida, Colorado, Idaho, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Nevada, Tennessee, and all across California.

Some of his biggest clients include Google, The USGS, Dropbox, Tesla, The NFL, Rivian, and Coca-Cola.

His first big time client was Lagunitas Brewing Company who commissioned a painting featuring a giant armadillo stomping over a collapsing tap house. Neon green laser beams shot from its eyes, which landed on an exploding motorhome complete with the Lagunitas dog logo and Aunt Sally poking her head out the window.

To the best of his knowledge, the mural still stands in the bottling warehouse and is sized at roughly 25-feet wide by 12-feet high.

“Learning to paint murals can be a hard process,” he says. “There is not a plethora of open locations where you can try your hand at creating large scale work on a wall, especially when you lack skill. It’s definitely a practice you have to work up to.

“Some of my earliest ‘murals’ were painted in water tunnels, and at the beaches in Bolinas (when they still allowed this) with my friends as a teenager. These early years allowed for experimentation and granted me a basic foundation to try my hand at a “real mural.”