Terrance Osborne uses jazz and magnolia motifs for Louisiana sticker

Terrance Osborne uses jazz and magnolia motifs for Louisiana sticker

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Terrance Osborne uses jazz and magnolia motifs for Louisiana ‘I Voted’ sticker

Artist Terrance Osborne designed the “I Voted” sticker for Louisiana voters this election cycle, incorporating deep cultural symbols ranging from jazz instruments to state flora. In an interview with The Lens, Osborne explained how the artwork serves as a visual bridge between state identity and the specific cultural heartbeat of New Orleans.

The sticker features a trumpet emitting a “jazz bouquet” of flowers, a concept Osborne says was inspired by his mentor, artist Richard Thomas. Thomas, who operated the Visual Jazz art gallery, instilled in Osborne a philosophy of seeing music through a visual lens. By imagining what jazz would look like as it exited the bell of a horn, Osborne created a piece that functions as both a civic marker and a piece of local art.

While the state requested a design that represented Louisiana as a whole, Osborne layered specific regional nods into the composition. He utilized the magnolia, Louisiana’s state flower, to anchor the piece in the broader state identity. However, he also included a string of gold, purple, and green Mardi Gras beads that travels southeast across the design. Osborne noted that this specific placement—running toward the southeastern corner of the state—was a deliberate nod to New Orleans, a gesture he felt was necessary to express the city’s unique importance.

The tension between civic incentives and state regulations

The process of distributing the sticker also highlighted a friction between individual artistic expression and state-level election administration. During the early voting period, Osborne shared on Instagram that he intended to give autographed prints to voters who presented their “I Voted” stickers. This move was intended to celebrate civic participation through a personal connection to the artist.

However, state officials intervened, informing Osborne that as a private citizen, he could not provide items of value in exchange for a voting sticker. Osborne expressed confusion over the ruling, questioning the logic of the restriction when the state itself provides stickers as a form of incentive for voting. While the state maintained its authority to distribute stickers, the regulation prevented Osborne from following through on his original plan to reward voters with his artwork.

“I thought the whole thing was strange because they are giving stickers to people for voting. It’s an incentive. So I said, ‘Isn’t that the same thing?’ They said as a private citizen, I can’t do it, but they can.”

A palette shaped by Xavier University and mentorship

The aesthetic choices in the sticker are not merely decorative; they are rooted in Osborne’s formal artistic training. The specific color palette used in the design was developed during his time in a painting class with Ron Bechet at Xavier University of Louisiana. Osborne credits Bechet with teaching him to refine his color sense, moving from a disorganized approach to a disciplined system of eight core colors that he continues to use in his professional work.

This disciplined approach to art is a theme that traces back to Osborne’s upbringing in the Tremé and 7th Ward neighborhoods. His journey from a student in Richard Thomas’s “Pieces of Power” afterschool program—where he completed his first mural at Hunter’s Field—to a gallery owner on Magazine Street reflects a lifelong engagement with the community’s visual landscape. Osborne, who graduated from the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts and Xavier University, has spent decades translating the spirit of New Orleans into public and private works.

See the sound of Louisiana: new "I Voted" sticker from artist Terrance Osborne

For Osborne, the act of designing the sticker is an extension of the civic advocacy he learned early in his career. He attributes his drive to participate in the democratic process to the influence of Richard Thomas, whom he describes as a constant fighter for the arts and for ensuring community voices are heard. By placing these symbols of jazz, Mardi Gras, and the magnolia on a sticker worn by thousands, Osborne has turned a standard piece of election ephemera into a medium for regional storytelling.

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