Conway, Arkansas (November 9, 2021)-An artist’s recent 13-day residence in Conway provided brighter views for people living and working in a state residential care facility near the Hendricks College campus. environment. 

Emily Mente, a 2014 graduate of Hendrix and the artist behind Austin, Texas-based Studio Mente, arrived in Conway in early October to implement a delayed project at the Conway Human Development Center (CHDC). 

The three CHDC murals were originally planned to be completed as works for the 2020 Hendrix summer course, but the coronavirus pandemic caused interference. However, CHDC's desire for mural paintings exceeded this barrier, so the center and its volunteer committee reconnected with Mente in 2021 to push the project forward.

CHDC staff performed a strong cleaning and primer treatment on the surface before Mente arrived, and prepared a blue-green background that allowed her to make the most of the 13 days, including being able to restore the downtime caused by several rainwater systems passing through the area CHDC also provided Mente with on-site housing during the project.

"We are ecstatic about the final result," said Sarah Murphy, head of CHDC. "This mural is located above the CHDC's'snack shed' and below our chapel. It really brightens everything in the center of our campus! We heard a lot of positive comments from our employees, and many residents passed by They all raised their heads and smiled to express their approval."

This 7-foot-tall triptych occupies nearly 800 square feet and requires Mente to spend several hours a day on scaffolding. 

"The original schedule was unsuccessful, and it turned out to be a good thing because the project was more ambitious than I expected," Mente said. "For this reason, I am really happy to involve the students of Hendrix." Mente looks forward to using what she has learned to create another project in order to more easily attract high school students to summer courses in the future.

While in Conway, Ment also spent some time on the Interstate in Hendricks, talking to senior art majors and junior painting classes about her full-time job as an artist. Three of the artists-Adaja Cooper '23, Michaela Thaibinh '23 and Jalache Davis '23-worked with Mente on part of the CHDC scaffolding project. 

"Working with Emily and learning from them is very enjoyable," said Taibin, who worked with Mant for two days. "From the beginning to the end, I learned a lot about the process of making murals. We talked about her experience as a working artist, which gave me a lot of ideas, suggestions and insights about making a living from art." 

Funding for the mural comes from the CHDC Volunteer Committee, a non-profit organization that, in addition to the content covered by the national budget, is also committed to meeting the long-term needs of CHDC residents. Their project aims to improve the overall quality of life of residents and raise the community's awareness of the needs and abilities of individuals living in CHDC. 

“The committee includes many relatives of residents who are not only committed to meeting their physical needs, but also committed to adding brilliance to the surrounding environment, just like this mural,” Mente said. "It can be seen from several other buildings in the CHDC park, so even if residents can't go out, they can still enjoy it."

In the months before her visit, Mente worked with members of the volunteer committee to choose paint colors and improve the mural design. She strives to include native and native-style flowers in the design, which also includes butterflies and bees.

"It was a very good experience for us," said Jan Fortney, a member of the volunteer committee. "Emily's enthusiasm for this project is the same as our excitement. This mural is perfect. I heard many positive comments, saying that walking through it can make everyone's day better."

Janice Hanlon, another volunteer committee member, agreed that the work of Mente and Hendrix students illuminates the CHDC campus. "I look forward to pointing out flowers, rainbows and butterflies to my son Andy," she said. 

Volunteer committee member Deborah Rainwater said that the best part of completing this mural was seeing the reaction of her son Kirk, a 20-year-old CHDC resident who has no language and Autism. "Kirk looked up at the mural and smiled so brilliantly," Yushui said. "It's so precious to see this makes him so happy." 

View more photos of the CHDC Mural Project, taken on October 8, 2021

Hendricks College is a private liberal arts college in Conway, Arkansas. It has always been recognized as one of the leading liberal arts colleges in the country and has a life-changing university: 40 schools that will change your view of colleges A place. Its academic quality and rigor, innovation and value make Hendrix an important part of many university guides, lists and rankings. Hendrix was founded in 1876 and has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. To learn more, visit www.hendrix.edu.

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