Two recently unveiled murals welcome students to the college’s Westminster Campus.
Two new pieces of student artwork are brightening the walls at FRCC’s Westminster campus this semester. Both are murals painted by students, designed to welcome their fellow students into two high-traffic spaces on campus.
“Our students spend a lot of time on campus—it’s their second home,” said FRCC President Colleen Simpson, EdD. “We want to cover our spaces with colorful representations of who our students are, their vibrant cultures, the many places they come from, and their hopes and dreams. Both of these new pieces contribute to creating a sense of belonging for our students.”
One mural is located directly outside the campus Multicultural & Identity Center; the other in the College Hill Library. The public is invited to come celebrate this new artwork with the artists—join us for our mural celebration!
When:
Thursday, October 17
10 am – Noon
Where:
FRCC’s Westminster Campus
College Hill Library—3705 W. 112th Avenue
Second floor
The Making of a Mural
Art faculty member Javier Flores worked on the library mural with four FRCC students:
- Jose Perez Alonzo – Sociology major
- Preethi Kumar – Undeclared
- Brandon Martinez – Associate of Arts in studio art
- Kyley Tipton –Associate of Arts graduate
To get started, the team worked on ideation—figuring out what they wanted the subject matter of the mural to be. “They asked themselves questions like, ‘Is it relevant? Is it beneficial for the student body and for the library?,’” he recalls. In the end the theme they chose was banned and inspirational books.
Then the budding artists moved on to imagery, brainstorming what books and scenes would be meaningful to include. “In doing their research for this component they felt it was very sad to see so many beloved books on the banned list,” Javier recalls.
The group wanted the mural to have an aura of hope, so they also decided to include a few of their favorite books and graphic novels—as well as some other literary influences—to give the artwork a more uplifting feel.
Then the real work began: preparing the wall, sanding where necessary, masking the edges with tape and beginning to transfer the image to the wall. The actual painting took around six months due to the students’ school schedules. (Two of them graduated before the mural was finished, so the other two were left to complete the work with Javier’s assistance.)
A Love of Literature
For those who cannot see the mural, Javier describes what it contains. “It is a vertically oriented image that depicts figures from books such as Alice in Wonderland; Of Mice and Men; Peter Pan; The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes; Avatar: The Last Air Bender; Fahrenheit 451; Moby Dick; It; Dracula; and the Harry Potter series.”
“There are characters or scenes from these books, and they are laid out compositionally, giving each image enough room for each to be present,” Javier sums it up.
“For the artists the mural represents the love of literature and the outrage of knowing that there are some communities in the United States that are limiting their citizens from being able to participate in these worlds.”
Learning About More Than Painting
Javier says the project was powerful because the students got the opportunity to learn about collaboration and experience it firsthand. “They had to come up with ideas, discuss them, and figure out which ones were going to be kept and how they would be positioned aesthetically.”
“This also required them to be selective in the scenes or images depicted. They got the chance to work with each other—which is no easy feat—and finally they got to taste the victory of completing a piece of art that will last.”
A Multicultural Mural
The latest mural to be unveiled on campus adorns the wall outside of the Multicultural & Identity Center. This vibrant piece of student art is titled: El Sol Lumbre Sobre Todos. (“The Sun Shines on Everyone.”)
The process of creating the piece was a whirlwind journey for student artist Jose Perez Alonzo. After creating the design, strategizing the techniques he would use and what materials he would need, Jose spent two and half months painting almost non-stop from 6pm-4am.
Representation Matters
El Sol Lumbre Sobre Todos is based on the artist’s personal experiences at FRCC—the people he met and learned from, as well as the ones who helped push him forward and get things done.
The brightly colored mural includes visuals of a diverse group of people surrounding a blazing sun. “The people in the painting are not one-to-one sketches, as I didn’t want to make them feel any different,” Jose says. “They are all amazing.” He also added to the painting depictions of wolves, the official FRCC mascot.
“For me Jose’s mural is a powerful reminder of intersectionality,” says Javier Flores, who worked as an advisor on the piece. “It conveys the idea that we all have a common goal of making the world a more just and thoughtful place. Everyone has a role to play in that.”
“I hope people who see it passing by either stop to think about the art or simply smile as they go about their day,” says Jose.
A Learning Experience
Jose says he learned a lot from the experience of working on the mural—his first official mural commission.
“This was an eye-opener for me, not just in the amount of time and effort it takes, but also how to really value your art and how to promote yourself as an artist,” he says. ”It also helped my creative process, ironing out which parts from the sketch I wanted to leave in and which I had to change.”
“For the most part my experience with murals has been working on them solely for passion’s sake,” he adds. “I can’t thank [my FRCC staff and faculty supporters] enough for believing in me and for giving me this opportunity.”
Come check out both of these inspiring pieces of student art at FRCC’s Westminster Campus!
You can find the murals:
- On the second floor of the College Hill Library
- Inside Entrance 2 next to the Multicultural & Identity Center
About Front Range Community College
Front Range Community College offers more than 200 degrees and certificates in a wide variety of programs from locations in Boulder County, Larimer County and Westminster—as well as online. FRCC is a member of the Colorado Community College System.
About the Colorado Community College System
The Colorado Community College System (CCCS) is the state’s largest system of higher education, serving 114,000 students annually at 13 colleges and 35 locations across Colorado. Our open access mission ensures all Coloradans who aspire to enrich their lives have access to quality higher education opportunities.
