Music is one of my biggest inspirations, and with the poem's mention of Jazz, I instantly got this vibe on the colors I could use—lots of blues and purples. I knew I had to put in trumpets, and I thought I'd throw in a lot of people and movement. I knew that the front musician would be a woman with a lot of power. I was thinking of having guys in the background. And I was like, No. I started thinking of The Shirelles and The Ronettes. I looked up photos with different poses, their cool costumes, and I referenced them.

Jazz in the City is a musical event here, so I needed to bring in Syracuse. I went to a whole bunch of places downtown, looking for buildings that people would recognize. I was first thinking of the Niagara Mohawk building, but then I went to Clinton Square and saw a bunch of buildings, and I thought they might be better. It was a lot of fun.