A progressive student mural adorns the side of Harvest Fresh, a local organic grocery store located in historic downtown McMinnville.
The Introduction to Studio Practices class, taught by Totem Shriver, adjunct professor of art and visual culture, is painting the work of art for a project. Town residents can see the painting as they drive along Third and NE Cowls streets.
Vines, bumble bees, a flower, a rabbit, a teapot and abstract shapes cover the side of a building. Vivacious students listen to music while brushing their colorful paints on the historic cement wall.
Shriver’s class is painting the mural on the side of Harvest Fresh as a way of breaking out of the classroom. The students are learning how to collaborate with each another instead of sitting in a room working independently.
“Downtown McMinnville is going to wonder who painted the mural,” Shriver said. “And they are going to find out that it was Linfield students.”
Shriver said the project causes students to venture outside the classroom and into the public eye.
After searching for places to create the mural, Shriver asked the owners of Harvest Fresh, whom he knew. The owners were ecstatic to work with him and his class, he said.
But Shriver said there are still some concerns.
“Anytime you put something in the public [eye], you have to have an explanation for why you did what you did,” he said. “You take the risk of someone not liking it.”
Shriver also said that he tried to get out of the way and let his students paint, while remaining a mentor to them.
April 29 was the third day the class worked on the mural, and it came a long way in that short time. It began as a black-and-white design on paper and has slowly morphed into a colorful work of art.
Each student adds his or her own style to the mural. When Shriver asked what or who their inspiration was for the mural, junior Asa Jones replied Salvador Dali.
Dali’s artwork is random and contains objects that seem misplaced. It is clear that most of the objects in the mural, such as a teapot and a rabbit, are “out of place.”
“It’s fun working on a wall because there is a lot of room,” Jones said. “I’ve taken a class with Totem before, and he does classes in a collaborative way. Projects are always fun and off the wall.”
The class plans to finish the mural as quickly as it can. Weather is an obstacle for the students.
The mural features a large white rabbit at the center, which was there before the students began the mural. The rabbit was a part of our old mural that had been on the side of Harvest Fresh for years.
Shriver said he decided to leave it there in memory of the last mural that was created on the building’s wall about five years ago. He also said that it’s like keeping a piece of history within a modern work of art.
Lauren Ostrom
Features editor Lauren Ostrom can be reached at [email protected]