New 'Seascape' mural brings to together science, art

 A collaboration between the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences division of biological sciences, Lamar Dodd School of Art and the department of marine sciences, a new “Seascape” mural in the Biological Sciences building, will be formally unveiled on Friday August 31 at 4 p.m. in the third floor hall of biological sciences.

“Seascape” is the first in a series of murals by scientific illustration students in the school of art to adorn the Biological Sciences building on the UGA campus. Long recognized for their accuracy and commitment to detail in creating drawings and illustrations for medical and other scientific media, the students are engaging their skills to enliven the halls where so many take classes, but also bring attention to the different areas of biological study on the UGA campus.

During summer 2012, Regina Milner, O.C. Carlisle, Matt Sandoz and Kimberly Tiernan have worked to complete the first mural.  The mural project is part of an elective course, ARGD 3340, Scientific Illustration. The students worked with professor Gene Wright, but also with faculty in the department of marine sciences to decide just what should be depicted and then, how to accurately do so.

“We were trying to get some organisms or systems that you might not typically see in a mural, but we tried to make it representative of a lot of different marine ecosystems,” said Brian Binder, department head of marine sciences, who worked with the students on their plans. “For us especially, marine sciences is a little bit under the radar, and a lot of biology students don’t know that they can study marine sciences here at UGA. So it’s great to have such a beautiful advertisement that perhaps nudges them in that direction.”

Author's photo of art student Regina Milner at work on the mural this past July.