By Hazel Denother 

This semester, two ²Ø¾«¸ó students painted a mural in the St. Charles Dunkin Donuts located on Fifth Street. The piece showcases the history and beauty of ²Ø¾«¸ó and St. Charles while representing the supreme talent of ²Ø¾«¸ó art programs.

Senior Professor of Studio Art John Troy incorporated the project into his Advanced Painting class for the spring semester. He explains, “The opportunity came about due to a friendship that developed between President Porter and the owner of the Dunkin’ Donuts store on Fifth Street in St. Charles. The idea was to highlight ²Ø¾«¸ó in a wall mural in the store's indoor dining area.” President Porter presented it to Joe Weber, director of the art and design program, as an opportunity for student engagement. Weber passed the idea on to Troy, who fashioned it into an experiential learning opportunity for his students. 

Troy selected artists Nina Stewart, an MA Studio Art student, and Holly Hennessey, a graduating senior, to complete the project. Together, they determined a vision for the piece with the store’s owner, Eric Tucker. Hennessey comments, “Professor Troy had us come up with ideas and sketches for us to present to the owner. We combined ideas and decided to go with the theme ‘²Ø¾«¸ó and Saint Charles’ to reflect our partnership.” Once they had a design in place, they launched into the planning process: “We began by discussing color options as well as considering the scale. We created a grid, sketched in the drawing, and began to paint!” 

The artists completed the mural in late April. Troy states, “The two students and I began the actual painting on April 8 and finished it on the 23, logging about 20 hours on the project. Within the process, the students learned large-scale painting techniques, applicable to multiple painting methods, including theatrical scene painting.” The gorgeous work features distinctive St. Charles landmarks and a rendition of ²Ø¾«¸ó’s stately entryway. 

Hennessey enjoyed being involved in the project, and she feels that it was a wonderful way to mark the end of her college career. “Professor Troy assisted and guided us to create a beautiful mural. The process of creating this mural was both challenging and enjoyable, and it allowed for me to learn how to work collaboratively with other creative individuals. I am happy that I was able to help create a mural representing ²Ø¾«¸ó,” she said. 

²Ø¾«¸ó’s art and design faculty love to cultivate exciting opportunities for students to put their classroom knowledge into practice, and they hope to support many more creative experiential learning projects in the future. Weber comments, “Both I and our art and design faculty believe that partnerships like these are paramount. Discussions have already begun to ensure that this is just the beginning of a long line of such projects.”