Mural mercenaries

WSU students decoarate campus walls

By Julie Rausch

If you notice walls in some campus buildings that look distinct, it’s likely they were designed and painted by a team of WSU students.

WSU’s decorative and ornamental painting and design students already have been glazing, marbling, gilding, stenciling, friezing and fresco painting local public projects and businesses as well as several Kansas churches. Through word-of-mouth about their talent and work ethic they’ve been asked to unleash their creativity on some of WSU’s walls.

Last spring, the students, led by Diane Thomas Lincoln, assistant professor and program director, painted the Grafly Gallery, which is the ground floor entrance to the Ulrich Museum of Art.

"The museum’s ground floor entrance was rather institutional, drab and cold," said David Butler, museum director. "I wanted to create a warmer, more welcoming environment.

"Diane and her students were able to translate that general desire into specific colors and textures, presenting sample after sample until we came up with the right combination. I was very impressed with the students’ level of professionalism and their work ethic. I was a little nervous about how things would come out, but the results were spectacular."

Students applied shades of gold and orange glazes to a white base coat using a rag-rolled method, which created unique non-repetitive patterns. Fabricated rag-rollers are sold with different types of layered materials to give a desired texture and effect. The painters rolled the paint using varying pressures, also to create distinct patterns.

Last spring Jenny Anderson, facilities manager, WSU Board of Trustees, was looking to replace the dark teal grasscloth covering the hallways and alcoves in Woodman Alumni Center. Six students redecorated the center’s walls in May.

"The students see the value in putting their skills to good use as a team, as well as the practical necessity of applying their classroom knowledge," Lincoln said. "The students very much welcome the opportunity to paint WSU walls and environments, and we hope this could turn into a work study program or cooperative education experience."

When interested parties contact Lincoln, she goes with the students for the initial meeting at the job site. Measurements are taken and materials are determined.

Once the client approves a written bid, including materials, labor and a timeline, Lincoln matches students’ talents with jobs.

Then students create color samples and maquettes, which are small models, of what is to be painted to show the client.

"First and foremost the jobs are used as a teaching instrument," Lincoln said. "The work also gives the students the chance to make a little money and to gain much needed practical experience."

On the Woodman Center project, "Diane and a few students brought over some paint sample colors and we picked several different combinations of colors," Anderson said. "They returned in a few days with at least seven sample boards, using the different color combinations with different techniques."

They selected a special blend of gray, teal green and soft yellow. The paint was applied to 9,000 square feet of wall space in less than one week. Even though the students again used rag rollers, the effects are totally different from the Ulrich Museum walls.

"These students were very meticulous and very quick," Anderson said. "They were very cognizant of the fact that we still had to work while they were here. They were neat and cleaned up after themselves. I was ultimately impressed with their work."

Anderson also wanted to improve the atmosphere in Woodman’s basement. A recent decorative and ornamental painting and design graduate, Deborah Turner Dimmick is creating a three-dimensional diorama mural for the basement window wells at Woodman, which should be completed soon. Dimmick was the team leader on the Ulrich Museum and Woodman projects.

The mural will include campus landmarks, such as Eck Stadium, that could be visible if there was a basement window.

Dimmick, a freelance artist, calls the painting process trompe l’oeil, because it creates an illusion. It draws the viewer into the painting, Dimmick said. Dimmick, who has degrees in both graphic design and painting, said there’s a lot more to decorating walls than just thinking about color.

"When people think of painting they tend to think that most anyone can mimic a particular effect," Dimmick said. "A lot of problem-solving including science, mathematics and physics goes into the process of creating a decorative illusion. Artists have to think about such things as perspective, proportion, lighting and viewpoint, as well as which painting technique will create the desired effect."