As students returned to campus for the fall semester, an eye-catching new mural in the Triad awaited them. 

The postcard-style mural was designed by Christy Kilgore, director of marketing and communications, and Ryan Boske-Cox, senior graphic designer in marketing and communications.   

Boske-Cox and Kilgore contacted Chris Kahler, the department chair of the art department, who then reached out to Eastern alum Grace Otzwirk.  

Otzwirk was originally intended to start the mural last October. It was supposed to be done in a weekend with the help of other students in the art department, but the process halted until the spring.  

The mural was open to student participation, Otzwirk said. Naturally, students participated, as well as alumni by writing their names on the surrounding border of mural.   

The lettering on the mural, Otzwirk said, was an obstacle to overcome. She deals with more freestyle types of work, and with this being designed prior to Otzwirk’s painting of the mural, some parts proved challenging.   

With her mother, Christina West, being a scrapbooker, Otzwirk has been making art since her childhood. While growing up, she had an endless supply of art supplies such as stencils and inks that pathed the foundation for her journey, she said. 

“I started before preschool age and have always had an interest in it to today,” Otzwirk said.  

Otzwirk said she is no stranger to working with large canvases.   

While she was an undergrad, Otzwirk saw large banners being thrown away in Doudna one day. She reached out to the administration and asked for the banners, which she was able to take.  

After obtaining the banners made of vinyl material, she sewed them together to make one big canvas to work on. 

“I really enjoy large scale work,” she said. “It’s not intimidating.” 

For Otzwirk, she said it’s difficult to have a mural sit undone, which helps motivate her for the next day to go out and get the job done one paint stroke at a time.   

Even though she worked on the mural throughout the summer, she said there was still a lot of foot traffic that could see the unfinished work.  

After completing the work, she said she was proud to leave her mark on campus.  

“I’m so honored to leave something behind because I feel like I’ve gained so much from being here and learning so much,” Otzwirk said. “Now I get to take all of that knowledge and present it on a wall that’s going to be here for who knows how long.” 

During the summer, Eastern also added the Spirit Rock, located at the back end of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union. The Eastern community can leave messages painted on the rock.   

“There is this air of I guess passion for this school,” Otzwirk said. “There’s an air of excitement because students are becoming more involved in the actual footprint of Eastern. We’re leaving something behind.” 

Overall, Otzwirk said she was happy to be able to paint the mural for Eastern students to see in the future. 

“That’s kind of what I want to leave behind as an artist is something that people can relate to,” she said. “But also, a selfish reason, to leave my name on something is kind of cool.”  

Cam’ron Hardy can be reached at 581-2812 or at cahardy@eiu.edu.