On Tuesday, Jan. 27, Northwestern students were invited to assist with painting a mural in the nursery of Trinity Church. Students could come and go as they had time in the morning between 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., as well as in the afternoon between 12:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. All the materials were provided at the church. The wall had also been prepared to resemble a giant coloring book so that it would be easy for both artists and non-artists to paint inside the shapes. The activity was promoted as an opportunity to volunteer for fun or to earn service credits if needed.
This is the second mural NW students have had a part in creating for Trinity’s nursery, and it marks the completion of a larger project that began last semester. Professor Kali Jo Wacker, who has been leading the painting portion for the murals, said that it all began when Professor Amy Williams set up the project with Trinity as a member of the church as well as the outreach coordinator for the NW art department. Trinity’s nursery coordinator, Audrey Wiese, told Wacker during planning that she wanted the area to have more “color and creativity” than the existing gray walls did. She also “liked the idea of having text on the walls that help remind kids that they are beautifully and wonderfully made by a loving God.” This resulted in murals with cheerful colors, cute animals, and scripture references. The first mural reads “Let your light shine” and sports a bright sun spreading its rays over rolling hills and colorful trees, along with a bunny and a hedgehog. The second mural reads “love God with all your heart, mind, and soul.” Blue mountains and hot air balloons rise into the sky behind a similar scene of hills and trees, this time with a bear and a fox in the grass.
For Wacker, the finished project of the mural is not the only part of the process that has value. She reflects that the act of creating something on such a large scale is “humbling and eye-opening” because the whole picture isn’t visible while working on it up close. She goes on to say that this provides a new awareness of how great God is. “He created the heavens and the earth—what magnitude! If a mural that runs the length of a building or the height of a tall nursery wall seems large-scale, it’s hard to not be perpetually in awe of the big and tiny things he created.”
Student participants enjoyed some additional aspects of the project. Jerusha Srinivasulu, a freshman Bio Health Professions major, was encouraged to come and try it out by several people, including some of her friends who had helped create the last mural. She was not disappointed! Though not an art major, Srinivasulu has always enjoyed painting. When asked what her favorite part was, she responded, “It was so therapeutic to listen to worship music and paint the wall!” She also explained that she enjoyed conversing with “Dr. KJ,” as Wacker is known by her students, and hanging out with others during the time she was there to volunteer.
This mural painting event is one of several NWCore Create activities that have been held around campus. According to Wacker, the NWCore Create initiative exists with the purpose of giving students fun, out-of-class opportunities “to embrace a liberal arts lifestyle and a courageous learning mentality.” Past events have included taking photos with a giant camera obscura, a science-themed Christmas card-making workshop, and a printmaking activity. However, Wacker thinks that there is something special about service projects like the Trinity murals. “To give your time to learn new skills [,] meet new people [,] and be exposed to something different all in service of another; that’s what discipleship and workshop are. I believe we are called to be believers-in-motion, and a project like this does an excellent job of celebrating that.”
