Celebrating 100 years with MSU Texas: Sheppard AFB murals

WICHITA FALLS, Texas (KAUZ) - News Channel 6 is celebrating a century with Midwestern State University, and we’re continuing our tribute to the university’s past, present and future with a collaboration that brought two new student-made murals to Sheppard Air Force Base.

It was a semester-long project that started with students and staff visiting the base and working with Sheppard to coordinate all the steps.

“We went on base, we visited, we took lots of photographs, I got to sit in the plane which was a lot of fun,” Fisher Seigler, MSU Texas mass communication major, said.

“I think the best part of coming on base was seeing everything like in full size because whenever you see them in the air, you’re like oh that’s so tiny,” Nadia Menchaca, MSU Texas painting major, said.

This was MSU’s way of building ties with the military and community, while also giving their students an opportunity demonstrate their skills.

“Growing up here in Wichita Falls, I’m used to seeing the planes in the air, so it was really nice and get a look of what is going on inside here. We definitely came to catch a vibe, get a feel of the place because that is the most important thing when it comes to our art making,” Natalia Hernandez, MSU Texas sculpture major, said.

Originally a group of 10 students, they were separated into smaller groups to tackle tasks like the budget, contracts and graphic design.

“What was interesting though was within those groups, they formed natural leadership skills where one might have a job for someone else, one might have an idea for another student. As one maybe had to leave for the day, another one would take over for that group,” Jason Bly, MSU Texas assistant professor of art, said.

“It was a learning experience to learn how to work with other artists and make sure they had a chance to put their own spice into it,” Menchaca said.

It was a valuable experience that will stay with the students even after their college careers.

“I think it’s two-fold,” Bly said. “One aspect is that we were interested in furthering their technical skills, learning how to paint, learning how to work on a scale with such materials. And then the other portion of it was working with a client and working with something that fit a business model like you would encounter in the outside world after graduation.”

“We just like to thank the base for this opportunity,” Hernandez said. “We’re here to paint, if someone is going to give us a wall, then we’re going to paint.”

All MSU Texas centennial celebration stories can be found by clicking here.

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