MOUNT VERNON – A three-year collaboration between Mount Vernon Nazarene University’s Art and Design Department and the Communications Sciences and Disorders (CSD) program in the School of Nursing and Health Sciences produced murals for three therapy rooms that not only add color and life to the walls, but also give therapists a new tool to connect with their patients.
“First of all, the murals brighten the therapy rooms and have made the rooms more child-friendly and welcoming to our pediatric patients,” said Florence Lim-Hardjono, M.A., Ph.D. (ABD), CCC-SLP, assistant professor and program director for the CSD program. “Secondly, our pediatric patients with speech and language impairments enjoy exploring the murals. Oftentimes, the murals serve as therapy tools to elicit verbal communication from them. Our patients, families and clinicians love them and enjoy them.”
The three murals were planned and designed by students Liberty Lutes, a farm scene (2018); Lauren Forney, a child’s toy room; and Olivia Huth, a three-dimensional ocean scene; as part of their independent study under the direction of art professor John Donnelly.
The projects required the students to think creatively, plan and maintain a schedule, adapt to discern the needs of the clients and be able to work with the public, Donnelly explained.
“These murals provided the opportunity for students to learn the process of mural painting and receive course credit,” he said. “From meeting with the client, planning, preliminary sketches and adapting their ideas to the clients’ needs for the mural, the students did an excellent job. Each style was different, as requested by the audiology department based on the age group of children they addressed.”
The first mural, painted by Lutes in 2018, includes a farmer and his family, as well as cows, chickens, pigs, dogs, ducks and a sheep.
Forney’s mural was based on the request of the client and was another familiar scene for children.
“My idea was to create a scene filled with several objects of differing textures, colors and shapes for the kids to study and respond to when asked to identify what they see,” Forney said. “The layout was simplified so that it was easy for children with sensory issues to identify and comprehend.”
Huth’s scene took on the added challenge of being three-dimensional and included visual effects like sand and shiny items. The “under the sea” theme came from children’s books such as “Rainbow Fish” and “Commotion in the Ocean.”
“I decided to use bright colors and a style similar to the children’s books since the mural would be used for children under 10,” Huth said. “The 3-D effects had to be safe for the children to interact with and secure enough to stay on the wall through the course of their therapy.”
Huth experimented with several different adhesives and materials before starting on the mural.
“To make the pufferfish spikes, for example, I ended up molding silicone caulk into bendy spikes so that the kids could have that texture without it actually posing a risk to them,” she said.
Both Forney and Huth were excited about their finished projects and what they will be able to do for the clients.
“It was a rewarding experience for me, because it taught me a lot about the process of working with clients and how to properly manage my time when working around a company’s busy schedule,” Forney said. “I hope that mural provides kids with pleasure, comfort and excitement whenever they enter a room.”
“I was very happy with the finished mural and I hope that it will help the children with their learning, as well as the students who will be helping them,” Huth said.
So far, the murals have been a hit with the staff and patients at the Hunter Hall CSD clinic.
One additional mural is planned, Donnelly said, and he hopes this will lead to more opportunities for his students to learn the craft and provide more beautiful artwork to the MVNU campus community.
For more information on MVNU’s Communication Science and Disorders program, visit mvnu.edu/undergraduate/academics/csd.
To read more on MVNU’s art program, visit mvnu.edu/undergraduate/academics/art.
