The Prairie newsroom currently has a group of art students working on an art mural. Associate Professor of Art Jon Revett is the project manager, and May Truong, a studio art major focusing on painting with a minor in printmaking, is the lead art student for the project.

Revett was approached by Assistant Professor of Media Communication Dr. Nancy Garcia to form a team to paint the art mural, which has been a long process of early mornings and late nights for the art students. Often, the art students will be in the art room painting from 7-9 a.m. on weekdays, and 7-10 p.m. on weekends.

“Nancy Garcia approached me about doing a mural,” Revett said. “She really just wanted to do something with the First Amendment because it was that smaller piece on the wall.”

The art students have to use mathematics for the design wall, due to getting the text exactly right.

“When we work with Revett, most of his art is patterns,” Truong said. “A circle on top of a circle, when you get the math, you know which circle to apply on the wall. It’s easier than projectors, they are a little tricky.”

Planning is also a very important part of the process, as there is a process to finding materials and getting the math right. There are also some design challenges with the wall, which can affect the speed of the job.

“We planned for it to be student-led, so we did about three designs that weren’t fitting,” Revett said. “So, when I went and spoke with Nancy we came up with another plan and so it’s more of an adaptability.”

The art mural students have also worked on other projects at West Texas A&M University, including the mural in the Jack B. Kelley Student Center.