Drivers heading into downtown Longmont this summer may notice something new taking shape on the side of Jester’s Dinner Theater.
What was once a plain black wall is becoming a vibrant mural featuring oversized butterflies and native Colorado plants, created by Front Range Community College art students through a partnership with the Longmont Downtown Development Authority.
More Than a Mural
The mural is not only a vivid public art installation. For the students who designed and painted the 1,800-square-foot wall, it has been a lesson in collaboration and professional practice.
“This is an attempt to bridge the gap between the college world and the working world,” says Makenzie Davis, lead of Front Range’s Larimer and Boulder County campus art departments.
She is also the facilitator of the project.
This transformational partnership began through Makenzie’s work with the Longmont Creative District and the Longmont Downtown Development Authority. As plans for Front Range’s future downtown campus develop, the three organizations saw an opportunity to connect students with the city’s growing public art scene.
The Downtown Development Authority sponsored the project, covering materials and connecting the college with Jester’s Dinner Theater, whose south-facing wall serves as a gateway into Longmont’s Creative District.
Want to attend the unveiling? Join us Saturday, August 8 from 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. at Jester’s Dinner Theatre at Main Street and First Avenue in downtown Longmont.
An Overlooked Space
At roughly 20 feet tall and 90 feet long, the mural spans about 1,800 square feet. For many of the students, it is the largest artwork they have ever helped create.
“We wanted to make people notice the wall again,” Makenzie says.
Bringing the Design to Life
Studio art major Chris Ortiz helped develop the system for transferring the digital design onto the wall. He recently retired after a long career working with NASA and the National Weather Service and enrolled at FRCC to pursue his passion for art.
“My role in the project was woodworking and mapping out where things go on the wall, so the design would scale and fit,” he explains.
Making It Pop
Graphic design student Caroline Behnke led the mural’s design, transforming initial concepts into a finished composition featuring native butterflies, wildflowers and flowing organic shapes.
“We wanted butterflies, an abstraction of butterflies and local plants and fauna,” she muses. “We researched a lot about what butterflies we wanted. We wanted it to pop.”
The finished design features orange-and-black painted lady butterflies, yellow-and-black two-tailed swallowtails, the purple-blue Colorado hairstreak and a honey bee among native plants including blue-and-white columbine, pink milkweed, and bright yellow black-eyed Susans.
Small Creatures, Big Scale
Creating artwork of this massive scale presented challenges the classroom couldn’t fully replicate.
“I didn’t know anything about how to paint an actual mural,” Caroline remembers. “Trying to scale up a design on an iPad to a big wall… that was a really good learning opportunity for me.”
“When you design something on the iPad, it’s pretty small… then you realize that that circle is now 14 feet across,” Chris adds.
Collaborate and Listen
The project also required students to work as one team rather than as individual artists.
“Collaboration is a big part of it,” Chris says. “And trying to make sure that the finished product is all the same style, like it was all done by a single artist.”
Studio art major Neo Cruzado says the experience taught him how much planning goes into a public art project.
“We learned how to collaborate. We’re all like a bunch of ants,” he laughs.
Letting It Out “Into the Wild”
And recently, after weeks of painting oversized butterfly panels in the studio, the students transported them to the wall and installed them on the mural.
“One day we had to let them out in the wild,” Chris remembers. “We drove them here, we got up on the scaffolding, and we put them on the building. We released the butterflies.”
What They Learned
Beyond painting, students learned about scheduling, logistics, client feedback and the business side of public art. They met with professional muralists, revised designs based on community feedback and adjusted their plans as unexpected challenges arose on site.
Five student interns worked on the mural throughout the summer, supported by five to seven student volunteers.
“We couldn’t have done this with just the five interns,” Chris says. “But with all the volunteers lending a hand, it’s going quite well.”
More Than a Landmark
“I find myself at night sitting in the parking lot after a long day and just looking at what we accomplished, seeing it get built layer upon layer,” he marvels.
The students hope the mural will become more than a landmark.
Fueling Future Artists
“I hope people get inspired by it to create art,” Neo says. “Whenever I look at it, it lights a fire in me. I want to stop what I’m doing, go home and go paint.”
Caroline hopes visitors experience a sense of wonder.
“A word that kept coming up when we were designing is ‘whimsical,'” she recalls. “It’s like you’re kind of part of the world of a little bug.”
Letting Students Lead
For Makenzie, the greatest success isn’t just the finished mural but watching students take ownership of a professional project.
“Originally the idea was that I would get hired as the artist, and I would design the whole thing, and they would just help me paint it,” she says. “But I had complete faith in them… They totally rose to the occasion.”
The experience also created something that will last beyond the mural itself.
“We’re all friends,” Neo says. “This project—and Front Range—has brought together people who never would have met to become such close friends.”
The Takeaway
The mural is expected to be completed in early August, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony scheduled for Aug. 8. As the mural nears completion, the group already finds itself reflecting on the experience.
“You always think about the good old days,” Chris says. “This is one of those. We’re going to remember this forever.”
Long after the paint dries, the students hope the artwork will continue welcoming visitors into downtown Longmont while showcasing what FRCC students can accomplish together.
“I want people to recognize that we can do large things as a community college,” Makenzie says.
