鈥淥h wow, that looks amazing!鈥�
A driver offers praise to the Texas Woman鈥檚 University mural painting students, stopping to look at the northern side of the now-empty Marketing and Communications building on Oakland.
A dozen TWU students stand, squat and stretch to dab paint onto the stucco wall. The man behind the wheel grins at TWU staffers who have gathered in the parking lot, across Third Street. The art students started to transform the stained, blank 70-by-17-foot wall on Oct. 7.
The emerging mural is a riot of color and metaphor 鈥� Oakley the owl, Minerva the Pioneer Woman, the Little Chapel in-the-Woods and a collection of symbols, color and motion.
Giovanni Valderas, the professor who leads the mural class, said the class conducted the project like a formal public art proposal. Four teams submitted requests for proposals, mural designs and budgets. A panel selected the winning design. The whole class has been painting it.
鈥淚 think the best thing about it has been that they have really worked together, and they鈥檝e gotten to know each other,鈥� Valderas said. 鈥淎nd they鈥檝e learned some really important things through this. They鈥檝e learned that when you鈥檙e an artist, you can鈥檛 always be too precious about your work.鈥�
Diane Cox, a sophomore studio art major who is back at TWU for a second time after serving as a U.S. military nurse in Afghanistan, designed the winning mural.
鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 too good in those first efforts,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he process was really good, though. Gio was very direct. If something wasn鈥檛 working, he said so, and helped us understand why.鈥�
WHAT IS - AND WHO ARE - IN THE NEW TWU MURAL
Texas Woman's University mural painting students are transforming the north wall of the now-empty Marketing & Communications building into a work of art. The painting pays tribute to the university's icons, Denton landmarks and diversity. Here's who and what is on the mural:
Minerva - The face of the famous Pioneer Woman, her inscrutable gaze peering across Pioneer Circle and the land west of Denton, looms large on the left side of the mural. Students made her face more lifelike.
Oakley the Owl - TWU's mascot, also known as Minerva's owl, soars above all else on the mural. Oakley references the student body, the school's legacy and school spirit. He clutches oak leaves as he surveys the mural below.
The downtown Courthouse-on-the-Square - TWU is a little further than a stone's throw from the historic downtown Square, but the famous courthouse gets its due near Minerva.
The historic fountain at TWU - The famous fountain that sits near Hubbard Hall and the Blagg-Huey Library. A favorite spot for gatherings, studying and graduation photos, the fountain is on the right side of the mural.
The TWU Little Chapel-in-the-Woods - The panel that gave the mural design a greenlight wanted the mural to be interactive, so the design team put the Little Chapel in the center of the mural, and at a size that is perfect for people to shoot a selfie in front of. The chapel is one of Denton's most important structures. It was designed by Denton's most famous architect, O'Neil Ford. TWU professor and modernist painter Toni LaSelle directed the art in the chapel, including the stained glass windows.
Monarch butterfly & Hummingbird - These creatures honor the butterfly garden on campus that attracts the Monarch and Ruby-throated hummingbirds to campus.
Heart rhythm pattern - A heart rhythm reached from end to end on the mural, referencing TWU's award-winning nursing program and the emotional connections that education inspires.
Diversity - The mural references the different cultural backgrounds of the student body with a kente cloth to acknowledge both African and African-Americans who have attended and earned degrees. A milagro, a traditional Mexican religious charm or altar ornament, references the growing Hispanic student population. There is also a pride rainbow to honor LGBTQ students, graduates, faculty and staff. The Monarch butterfly does double-duty on the mural, also honoring the culture of Mexican and Mexican-American students, faculty and staff at the university.
Books - You'll see a number of open books with TWU-maroon binding that turn into birds. The books pay tribute to education, democracy and the freedom of students 鈥� and Americans 鈥� to read authors and books of their choice.
Rheyna Antoine, a senior studio art major in the class, said she found the process challenging, but found the project satisfying.
鈥淯sually when you鈥檙e doing painting and drawing, you鈥檙e working on your own, so it鈥檚 been really good, really interesting to do a project like this where you work with other people, and you come up with an idea as a team,鈥� she said.
The painters said they know that the mural might be provocative to some people 鈥� especially the Pride rainbow, the African kente cloth and the Mexican milagro that frame the top of the Little Chapel in-the-Woods. The books in the mural communicate that TWU supports the freedom of inquiry and reference the artists鈥� objection to book bans in American public and school libraries.
鈥淲e understand that some people might get offended,鈥� Antoine said. 鈥淭here is a lot going on right now, with certain states, like Florida, making laws about how history can be taught, and teaching that slavery benefited the slaves. We鈥檝e talked about it.鈥�
Senior Felicity Sanders said the class talked about what university leaders wanted, as well 鈥� a mural that seconds the recent for the university鈥檚 125th anniversary. But the campaign is also a celebration of the diversity at TWU.
鈥淲e wanted to do something that recognizes all of the different cultures and identities on campus,鈥� Sanders said. 鈥淭WU is a place for everyone.鈥�
Senior Flor Bejar and Sanders said the mural has taught the class about the reality of creating a mural, which often means changing techniques and designs after the project gets started.
鈥淵ou just don鈥檛 know what鈥檚 going to happen until you start,鈥� Bejar said.
The class had to clean the wall, then prime it. Valderas said the stucco wall soaked up several coats of primer, and the artists are having to press the paint onto the wall.
Colby Parsons, the interim dean of the TWU Department of Visual Arts, said the mural marks an important moment for art students.
鈥淚鈥檓 impressed with what they鈥檝e been able to accomplish together,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檝e been here for 27 years. I don鈥檛 know if this mural is a first, other than the brick murals. But I haven鈥檛 seen a project like this here.鈥�
Valderas said he has listened as students give voice to what they hope will be enduring inspiration for students and for the people who live in the nearby neighborhood.
鈥淚 know that, sometimes, I鈥檒l be driving to campus and I鈥檒l be so tired,鈥� Cox said. 鈥淪ometimes, I find myself saying, 鈥楥an I keep doing this?鈥� But I get here and it鈥檚 like, yes, I can do this.
鈥淚 like to think that other students like me will see this and know that, no matter where they come from or what they鈥檙e going through, they can get through school. That they can look at this mural and see themselves in it and know that. You know? That they look at this, see themselves and know that someone else did it.鈥�