Colorful foliage at the library
A vibrantly colored mural of Georgia’s native leaves has spruced up the retaining wall at the Rome-Floyd County Library, thanks to a group of first-year students from Berry College.
The mural was designed by Berry College associate professor of art Brad Adams and represents the passage of time in nature. Adams was inspired by Georgia’s own natural foliage and decided to create a piece that represented the changing cycle of the seasons.
“Because the mural is so long, I really wanted to incorporate the passing of time, so I started one end of the mural with leaves that were decaying and then progressed into spring and summer leaves toward the middle. Then that cycles into decaying leaves at the other end of the mural to show the changing of the seasons,” said Adams.
To make the foliage of the mural as natural to Georgia as possible, Adams consulted with Berry College professor of biology Martin Cipollini. Together, the two came up with five plants that were native to Georgia to feature in the mural: the sugar maple, the white oak, the American chestnut, the sour gum and the tulip poplar.
The painting of the mural Saturday was part of First Year Day of Service, which was an effort to familiarize new Berry students to the local community and introduce them to the service of the community that is a core value to the college.
The entire project was organized by senior animal science major and first-year student coordinator Blake Petty. “We really wanted our new students to see how we dedicate time and effort into the community,” said Petty.
This event sent out 35 different groups of students to various work sites around Rome and Floyd County where they performed tasks such as gardening, landscaping and even dog washing.