Jan. 30—PITTSBURG, Kan. — Art students at Pittsburg State University have completed a 12-by-29-foot tiger mural on the south exterior wall of Main Street Axe Company, 216 S. Broadway.
The mural was conceptualized, designed and painted by students in Jamie Oliver's mural painting class. Past classes have contributed to "Southeast Kansas Love Story" at 310 N. Broadway and colorful crosswalks at Lakeside, George Nettels, Westside and Meadowlark elementary schools.
"Students in this course learn how to develop ideas, create scale versions of their work, collaborate with clients and begin to understand how being grant-funded works," Oliver said in a statement.
The tiger mural was funded by a grant from the Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas. It was designed by Hannah Kinsey, from Grove, Oklahoma. Students then spent several months turning Kinsey's design into several panels that were painted on campus in Porter Hall and then transported downtown.
"The tigress embodies inner strength and courage, the cacti and succulents that border her serve as a reminder of perseverance, the circuit board that weaves between the other elements symbolizes the support and connections of the community, and each is important to the functionality of the whole motherboard," Kinsey said in a statement from the university. "The lizards provide a pop of fun color and a reminder of good fortune."
Also contributing to the mural were Alexis Hoftiezer, George Hatcher, Abby McCoy, Samantha Moua, Emma Stachowiak, Amber Smith, Deanna Korthals and Morgan Cravens.
"I'm so excited to get to drive by something I had a small hand in creating every day," said Smith, a creative writing major from Fayetteville, North Carolina.