Georgia College & State University graduate Maggie Morgan gave back to the Baldwin and Putnam communities through her senior CAPSTONE project.
Morgan is a studio art major with a concentration in graphic design and recently presented her CAPSTONE project at the Paragon exhibition on April 18 at the Leland Gallery inside GCSU’s Ennis Hall.
CAPSTONE II is referred to by name as the Senior Thesis Exhibition class. Students in the class work throughout the semester to develop and refine creative research into a “substantial cohesive body of work” that will be professionally exhibited.
For her CAPSTONE project, Morgan sought to pursue work related to her freelance job as a muralist. She connected with two nonprofit programs, one in each county, to work with and create murals for.
“I knew I wanted to create murals, so beginning in August I began to research potential subjects,” said Morgan. “I wanted to focus on nonprofits and organizations that make a difference in Baldwin and surrounding counties. It was very important to me to give back and offer my project as a sort of donation to these organizations that do so much for their communities.”
In Baldwin County, Morgan met with leaders of the Bright House to plan a mural that would be housed near the counseling services inside the building. The Bright House is a nonprofit that provides advocacy and forensic services to victims of sexual violence and child abuse.
“The Bright House mural was planned to be a combination of simple illustrations that could represent hope, restoration, transformation and growth,” said Morgan. “The Bright House mural was meant to illustrate their message and offer a positive message to people who see it in the hall. It’s an uplifting visual and resides in the middle of two doors where people come to tell their stories.”
In Putnam County, Morgan connected with Habitat for Humanity to create a mural for the Habitat Re-store. Habitat Re-Store sells products to the local community and uses the profit to fund the construction of homes.
“I connected with Habitat with Humanity through some volunteers and met formally with them to plan the mural for their Re-Store. We decided on a mural that would visually define their mission to build homes,” said Morgan. ‘The mural is located inside the Habitat Re-Store and it shows off a few people building three homes.”
Each of the murals took approximately 15 to 17 hours to complete and individually, both were completed in a single weekend. Through this work, Morgan was able to assess her work with large scale-painting and show how graphic design can expand from technology into physical art.
“I became interested in murals through social media and believed it would be a good way to integrate graphic design into a physical form,” said Morgan. “So, it’s been a long process learning how to create murals from scratch and applying skills I learned from GCSU to the murals I was creating.”
With graduation behind her, Morgan is moving to North Carolina for a graphic design position. She plans to continue her freelance work as a side job and hopes to make an even greater impact in her new community.
“I hope to get connected with my community in Asheville and create murals there as well,” said Morgan. “I’m excited to work with new nonprofits and businesses to make an impact on the community.”