Humble Beginnings
It may sound trivial, but this idea started with a door...
“ When I was stationed on USS Chafee back in 2014, I came up with this design, based on the three major Navy Enlsited Classifications, (NECs) that Sailors in SONAR ratings possessed. Those NECs are painted on the prongs of the trident and the classic SONAR motto “Sagire, Classis, Destructum”, (Latin for search, classify, destroy), is painted on the cloth draped over the trident.
Nearly ten years after painting this mural, and long after any of the original division that was present when it was painted had left, a Sailor giving a tour of CHAFEE showed this door as a symbol of their pride and ownership in the space, onboard THEIR ship. That Sailor’s connection to the symbolism associated with the mural on that door was a testament to the connection that art can build between crews of ships long after some of them depart and a glimpse into what deliberately thought-out and properly executed paintings could do for morale on the deckplates. “
“This was when the idea for PoP was born. Seeing that Sailor’s pride and sense of ownership in that space showed the true power of paint.”
