On Tuesday evening, Anna Segner, assistant teaching professor of art and visual culture, held a presentation regarding the mural she created in collaboration with Naomi Friend, an Iowa State alumna, for the Iowa Lake Park Nature Center, as well as her background in mural painting.

The event began with a reception featuring lemonade and cookies for all attendees to enjoy. Prior to the event, audience members could be heard discussing Segner and her classes, as well as art and murals, while creating connections with other students.

“I mainly came because I just transferred to a BPM major,” Sarah Maroney, a junior in biological/pre-medical illustration, said. “[Segner] was my professor, so I was interested because of that.”

The event began with an introduction from Kimberly Moss, an associate professor for the Art and Visual Culture Department. Moss spoke of Segner’s time in school as well as her time teaching classes. Moss also touched on her personal connections to Segner and gave her many compliments on their time spent working together.

“We feel really thrilled to have Anna’s involvement in the department in numerous ways,” Moss said.

After the introduction from Moss, Segner began her presentation with a history of education, including her background in writing, and how it drove her to paint murals instead.

“When I was a writer […] I started to realize that I wanted to move towards art,” Segner said. “I had a vision, or kind of a dream at this point, that I wanted to move out of my writing career and towards art.”

Segner’s early work focused on the idea of “toying” with nature. She noticed that humans tend to surround themselves with “fake” nature and decided to take that observation in stride. Her early work centers around animals, greenery, water, ice and earth.

While working as a reporter for her local newspaper, Segner took on odd jobs, including watering flowers on the local county fairgrounds. This job inspired her to offer her artistry skills to paint a mural for the county fair. Segner ended up painting the mural two years in a row, both of which were displayed at the center of the fair for all attendees to see.

“I would have never thought that my little watering flower job would lead to some of my earliest art opportunities,” Segner said.

After meeting Jacob Kuperman, a Des Moines artist known for painting murals, she had her chance at a larger job. Kuperman contacted a Des Moines restaurant, Noah’s Ark, and asked them if they were interested in a restoration and mural painting job. The two worked together to paint the mural around the restaurant’s working hours, retaping the restaurant and moving the booths every day.

“There are opportunities in existing communities,” Segner said.

Segner eventually met Friend at an art conference, which led them to another mural opportunity. Friend, an artist whose focus is the environment and wildlife, decided to partner with Segner for a 540-square-foot project for the Sac County Conservation Center at Hagge Park. The mural was set to be completed in three weeks and had been designed to represent the flora and fauna of the Raccoon River through all four seasons.

“I think it’s important to recognize, especially with a nature center, that there’s a lot of people who make it possible,” Segner said.

Finally, Segner spoke on her most recent mural. This piece, which was painted in partnership with Friend, covered two stories and a loft wall and was completed in two weeks.

This mural was commissioned for the Iowa Lake Park Nature Center and was expected to convey the biodiversity of the burr oak tree. The two worked together, using a scissor lift to reach every spot on the wall. They used a limited color palette for the first week of painting and displayed over 200 organisms in the mural.

“We streamlined our process, and we’re definitely open to doing more of this type of mural,” Segner said.

To end her presentation, Segner discussed her on-campus mural, which is located in Ross Hall and was designed for the English department. One of her students designed the mural, and though Segner was in charge of the project, most of the painting was done by her class.

“I really think that murals are so important, especially in these smaller communities,” Segner said. “These murals may be some people’s only art influence. […] Murals have the ability to strengthen community values and identity.”

For more information on Segner or her murals, visit her website.