Mother Nature was a section of a mural recently painted in the 800 building in Room 816. The painting was completed by sophomore Hunter Garrett and alumna Shelby Robertson.
Photo and story by Dom Brown
Lantern Staff
Hunter Garrett is a sophomore art major and has attended Butler since the 2015 summer semester. At her time at Butler, Garrett has been an outstanding member of the art community on campus submitting work for student show cases, promoting student art sales and even leaving her mark on campus with the help of Shelby Robertson, a Butler alumna, by painting a mural in Room 816 in the 800 building. However, Garrett was not always an art major.
“When I first attended Butler, I thought ‘Oh, this is a community college, what all could it offer’, like I didn’t even know there was an art scholarship available,” Garrett said.
It was not until the 2016 spring semester that Garrett became an art scholarship student and enrolled in her first studio class.
“It’s fun, and I like the teachers and in studio is where I make some of my best work,” Garrett said. “I’m able to bounce ideas off of my fellow students and be in a creative environment.”
Beginning her sophomore year, Garrett has stayed busy well before school even started. Balancing work and being commissioned to create a mural kept her plenty busy.
“I was basically working three jobs over summer, and we also started two weeks off schedule, so everything felt rushed,” Garrett said.
It took the two about a month to complete the project, according to Garrett.
“Renovations were going on when the students were scheduled to begin work,” Professor of Art Valerie Haring said. “There was new carpet and everything.”
Despite working around the remodel and a rushed deadline, the pair completed the mural before school started.
“I’m very proud of Hunter, apart from being naturally gifted and passionate about her work, she has an excellent work ethic and that goes hand in hand when driving her creativity,” Haring said.
While Haring was available for counseling and critique of the pair’s work, the students really took to the task and really made the work their own.
Rather than paint something that would appeal to native Kansas students like sunflowers and wheat fields, the duo wanted to paint something that would appeal to a diverse group of people. The mural depicts Mother Nature looking amongst the continents of Earth ready to embrace everything. Within her hair, there are flowers and fruit gifts to her children walking the Earth, and there are animals from both the land and sea to further portray diversity.
“I think that this mural is brilliant in its incorporation of multiple elements of nature,” said sophomore Emily Rishel who has a class in Room 816. “It shows that everything is intertwined and connected.”
Garrett is, without a doubt, an invaluable member of the Butler community. Her hard work and passion for art is evident and shows in every work she produces, whether it is her submissions to gallery shows or her mural, Garrett has definably left her mark at Butler.
The mural is located in Room 816 for those interested and the art department is preparing for their first fall show, “Teaching and Making” with work from Northeast Magnet Art Faculty, which will be held in the E.B. White Gallery of Art in the 700 building. The show opened to the public on Friday, Sept. 1 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.