Mural Project

Faculty, Staff invited to Inauguration Mural Participation Workshops

Faculty, staff and students are invited to participate in a mural collaboration that will commemorate the inauguration themes for Chancellor Don Betz.

A series of painting workshops will be coordinated by Art Professor Lynn Jermal and be held in the art laboratory in Room 120 of South Hall. Workshop dates are March 28, 8-9:30 a.m.; March 29, 5:30-7 p.m.; March 30, 7-8:30 p.m.; April 4 1-4 p.m.; (students only); and April 5, 3:30-5:30 p.m.

The themes to be expressed are globalization, inclusiveness and service in the St. Croix Valley.

The completed mural will be three circles of canvas mandalas that will be a collage of individual squares. Participants will paint 5-inch-squares with either acrylic paint, permanent markers or paint markers. The themes can be reflected by individuals or by groups of painters.

This project is conceived as a way to allow anyone in the university community to collaboratively create a beautiful visual artwork to communicate their feelings and visions as they relate to one of the themes addressed during Chancellor Betz¹s Inaugural week. It also gives everyone an opportunity to take a moment of their lives for a creative endeavor, which will turn them toward themselves as well as offer a gift to the community.

The workshops will lead participants into the process of creating an individual painted mandala or circle on canvas board. To create these mandalas we will draw within a circle on the 5-inch-square canvas. We can fill the circle in spontaneously, letting the drawing emerge step by step in a creatively unpredictable way. Or, we can fill in the circle with special images that have come to us in reflection or planning.

Within the circle we can capture important scenes from everyday life, symbols, designs or objects of fascination from the world of nature. There will be prompts to help participants to think about the mural themes, but people are invited to bring resources and designs with them to incorporate into their piece. No experience, only interest, is necessary to be involved. People will experience the satisfaction of adding to the fabric of our campus celebration in a tangible way.

Mandala is Sanskrit for whole world or healing circle. It is a representation of the universe and everything in it. Circles suggest wholeness, self, unity, completion and eternity are expressed in many civilizations, including Ancient Rome and Greece, Gothic cathedrals, Tibetan Buddhist monk artistry, Native American medicinal practices, and the work of Carl Jung.

The completed mandalas will be assembled into their final forms on April 10 and April 12 from 1-4 p.m.

For more information about the Inauguration Mural, contact Lynn Jermal at 3375