“Last October at the North River Arts Council (NRAC) Member Art Show, which took place at the Simpson College Gallery of Art and Design, I stood in a group of people admiring a work created by Norwalk artist Evan Hoyt.

Titled Midday Muster, it captured a flock of starlings via hand cut stencils and spray paint. Thirty small black birds were popping to life in the eyes of us in the group.

We discussed ways the birds made us feel, which ones were our favorites, and what were the birds meant to invoke? Hoyt, standing within the group, patiently listened to our thoughts and then shared his vision.

“Murmurations is the name of large formations created by flocks of starlings. Starlings, like some other bird species, fly toward people if you are near their nest. They do it to protect their young and their territory,” Hoyt told us while also connecting that Murmurations is the title of his series of similar work.

“People consider the flock movement as aggressive behavior, and it’s earned these birds a poor reputation," he said. "But it is done instinctively when they detect a threat. It’s not an attack, it’s a defense mechanism, and for me the work is a parallel to humans undergoing trauma and how often their instinctive responses can also be misunderstood.”

Hoyt likes to work with spray paint and stencils that often are seen as the medium of street artists and a form not directly shared or taken home.

A mural on a building is a public thing. A graffiti tag is a temporal thing that, even with its own aesthetic, is mostly viewed as a disturbance. Hoyt strives to display this urban medium on an intimate level and expand the degree of expression associated with spray paint.

One of his favorite reactions to the work is: “How did you do this?” Hoyt enjoys curiosity and sharing his process. Stencils are cut, applied to paper, canvas, or other surfaces and spray painted in layers to create a body of work resembling printmaking in its completion.

“While the overall form and structure remains intact no two pieces can be identical,” said Hoyt. “Each of my works are planned, hand crafted, and unique due to the nature of the process. Some are designed to be standalone works while others are meant to be displayed as a series, such as in the form of tryptic.” 

Hoyt has worked professionally for more than 10 years with several non-profits as an events manager, fundraiser, volunteer coordinator, art class instructor, and personal development coach. He currently specializes in 2D art with an emphasis in stenciling, spray paint, and t-shirt design, but has also worked in 3D media such as ceramics and metal sculpture. In early 2022 he was elected as Treasurer for the North River Arts Council, overseeing the organization's budget, and playing a large role in the Master Arts Plan for Warren County, IA.

Hoyt hopes to create a large enough body of work to exhibit and expand his reach into art markets beyond the Des Moines area through festivals and galleries around the Midwest. His work has displayed and sold at the Valley Junction Arts Festival, the Waukee Arts Festival, Art on the Lake in Pleasant Hill, IA, Art in the Garden at Ted Lare Garden Center, and the Indianola Summer Arts Festival. He worked alongside other NRAC council members on a mural for the City of Carlisle which had its ribbon cutting event in the summer of 2023. Evan is also half of an inspiring artistic duo, collaborating with wife Summer Hoyt who was profiled in the Independent Advocate.

As for Midday Migration, the work that captured attention this past October? It went on to show at the Greater Des Moines Exhibited Annual Juried Show at the Polk County Heritage Gallery where it received a Merit Award and was ultimately sold to a rightfully excited buyer. The birds found their way home, indeed.”