Student artists bring Marine Lab walls to life
The 做厙AV Marine Laboratory has recently welcomed murals depicting Guams native marine life, painted by UOG undergraduate and graduate students.
The first mural completed, designed and painted by Constance Sartor, a marine biology student studying coral genetics, and Nina Peck, an alumna of UOGs and now a graduate student in , elicits the feeling of being immersed in a school of fish. They chose to incorporate some of Guams most iconic fish, such as jacks and ma簽ahak, at the suggestion of Raymundo and other Marine Lab professors.
The murals design was largely influenced by its location in an outdoor breezeway. Its important to think of the flow of the building, lighting, foot traffic, etc., Peck said.
The second mural is the work of Justin Berg, a student studying sedimentation effects in Fouha Bay. An over-under style painting, the mural depicts a Guam sunset above the surface, the boat on which the Marine Lab conducts research, and an ocean landscape below the surface.
Berg solicited suggestions for species inclusion from advisors, students, and boat captains.
The most interesting part for me was the ability to encompass a wide variety of native Guam marine life into one image that accurately represented the ongoing research conducted at the UOG Marine Lab, Berg said.
Though combating humidity while painting in the wet season, Berg takes advantage of every sunny day and hopes to complete the mural by early December.
Sartor is a self-taught artist and has been painting murals for five years. She said she hopes to blend science and art in her career, as she believes art helps a broader range of people connect with and understand the intricacies of science.
Pecks experience as an artist has been informed by both formal studies at the University of Guam as well as learning and experimenting outside the classroom setting.