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Macy Noll stops for a photo while she works on the mural. (James Greco)<\/p>\nThe beginning of the spring semester saw the completion of the Library Mural Project, a new tradition at FGCU. Macy Noll, a fifth-year dual major in art and biology, was selected to design and paint the mural last December.<\/p>\n
To find artists, the library issued an open call inviting anyone majoring in art to apply. There were 13 applicants who submitted concept sketches, a brief written description and examples of previous work.<\/p>\n
The work, set to the theme\u2019 Knowledge in Motion\u2019, depicted scientific divers conducting surveys in the ocean.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first thing I thought about was, now at college, you\u2019re learning all these things in these classes, but my favorite way to learn is through hands-on experiential learning,\u201d said Noll. \u201cFGCU does a great job of championing this and providing students with opportunities to engage in experiential learning, and some of the ways that I\u2019ve been able to is through a two-year research assistantship with Vester Marine Field Station studying benthic ecology on our artificial reef.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The FGCU Vester Field Station is a newly reopened base of operations for marine biology majors. Noll is also a student instructor for the Scientific Diving Program, which helps students prepare to conduct safe underwater research.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had the opportunity not just to learn about benthic ecology and fish assemblages in marine science and biology classes, but also to actually go out there to experience field work, to get into the lab, experience what it\u2019s like to process samples and handle and analyze data,\u201d said Noll.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause those are the most vivid experiences I\u2019ve had at FGCU, that\u2019s what I immediately thought of when I heard the theme knowledge in motion. Even though it\u2019s very marine research oriented, I kind of wanted it to be representative of the myriad opportunities that FGCU provides.\u201d<\/p>\n
Noll is inspired to become a marine biologist, so it\u2019s important for her to immerse herself in the field. She also has 20 years of experience in art because she never stopped coloring.<\/p>\n
\u201cArt is a skill that you learn just like anything else,\u201d said Noll. \u201cWhen my parents handed me a crayon, I started coloring in all the coloring books, and I just never stopped, because I love it so much.\u201d<\/p>\n
Macy Noll stops for a photo while she works on the mural. (James Greco)<\/p>\n
While she was working on the mural, she received several comments from students walking by asking about the design and her experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne girl said to me that she would never have the confidence to paint a mural like this,\u201d said Noll. \u201cPart of what I love so much about this project is showing other students [that] I\u2019m a student too, [and] encouraging other students to have the confidence to do something that might have a pretty big learning curve, but is not beyond them.\u201d<\/p>\n
This was the first time Noll had worked on an artwork live in front of an audience. She noted the difference in reactions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard a lot of people would make little comments as they were walking past, either kind of talking to themselves or talking to other people,\u201d said Noll. \u201cOnce I got the first major thing, the boat painted, a lot of people would walk past and they\u2019d be like, \u2018A boat!\u2019, which I just thought was hilarious.\u201d<\/p>\n
Susan Bernier, the director of collections at the Library Archives, had the idea to create a mural after her department merged with Customer Services. This expanded her responsibilities to include the furniture and walls in the library\u2019s public areas.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe idea of an annual student\u2011designed mural emerged as a way for students to leave a visible impact on the library while also giving the University Archives a way to document the lived experience of FGCU year by year,\u201d Bernier said.<\/p>\n
The mural took 30 hours for Noll to complete, and Bernier is currently discussing options to keep the work on the wall for at least another year.<\/p>\n
An event to celebrate the mural will be held at the Library\u2019s Data Visualization wall on March 12 from 4-6 p.m. Students who attend will have the opportunity to vote on the theme for the next competition.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt felt like the perfect opportunity to create something that both enhances the space and reflects student voices,\u201d said Bernier.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The beginning of the spring semester saw the completion of the Library Mural Project, a new tradition at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":186053,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[209,211,210],"class_list":["post-186052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral-headlines","tag-cape-coral-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=186052"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186052\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/186053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=186052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=186052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=186052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}