A lecture presented by Mickey Abel gave students a look into her project of piecing together what the faade of Mazillezais Abbey would have looked like.

The abbey, located in Western France, was a once “hub of economic activities” due to its location, but is now in ruins.

Faculty and students from varying departments, listened to a lecture by Abel, an associate professor of art at the University of Northern Texas, on the Mazillezais Abbey in France on Thursday.

Abel collected data from various abbeys in order to render an image of what the Mazillezais Abbey used to look like.

Abel has been working on this project for at least three years and is planning to return to the abbey with a group of students and geography professors to study the geography of the area.

“The most fun and interesting part of working collaboratively is that you get to experience what other professors are doing and take their knowledge and apply it to your program,” Abel said.

The presentation showed photos of different abbeys as well as drawings of what the Mazillezais Abbey is thought to look like.

Towards the end of the lecture she presented photographs created on Photoshop of what the abbey would have looked like by piecing other photographs of similar building together.

Nyssa Watts, a junior art major, said, “It was nice to get a general idea of what it should look like,” Watts said.

Watts said she thought the lecture was interesting, but a lot more students would have understood the presentation if it were in simpler terms.

“I feel like it would have been more relevant for the students if we, you know, not that I’m proud to say this but, dumb it down a little,” Watts said.

Latasha Warren, a sophomore graphic design major, agreed with Watts and would have liked to have known more background information on the abbey before attending the event.

“I got a little lost; drowning in the water for a little bit,” Warren said.

Katie Lowery, a freshman graphic design major, also would have liked to have known more before attending.

“I liked it a lot and I would have been more interested if I would have known more,” Lowery said. “It was a lot to follow.”

Sam Bohne can be reached at 581-7942 or shbohne@eiu.edu.