During fall of 2023, Caroline Clure became a familiar figure seated in the middle of Windsor Mall while drawing the east end of the campus corridor. Just one human figure is drawn into the entire project. Once the exhibit is installed, she hopes viewers will find and identify the figure.
Photo by Nicholas Hummert
By Laura Veach
Caroline Clure ’24 arrived to a quiet Austin College campus four years ago. COVID-19 safety protocols had rendered the walkway traffic and classroom attendance sparse. Although the campus was quiet, many facility updates, renovations, and even new buildings were either in progress or in line to begin, including Jerry E. Apple Stadium, Hughey Gym, Hannah Natatorium, Caruth Hall, Wynne Chapel, Ida Green Communication Center, and North Flats. Most recently, major landscaping has transformed Windsor Mall, the main artery through campus. Caroline saw this happen firsthand, and she wanted to capture the beautiful campus in a unique way, with large-scale line drawings comprising her senior art project.
Windsor Mall
Caroline, who will graduate with double majors in Business Administration and Communication and a minor in Art, first learned about line drawings in middle school. It’s an art defined as the creation of illustrations using evenly weighted straight or curved lines against a background. What makes Caroline’s skill and line drawings unique is that she is able to draw continually, without lifting her pen.
“I find it fascinating to draw this way, as it reflects an imperfect world, yet it is beautiful,” she says. It involves keen hand-eye coordination, but not necessarily the need for perceived perfection that she says once stressed her out and made her think that art might not be for her. Line drawings can range from objective to abstract, leaving room for artistic expression with nothing more than a Sharpie®.
Wynne Chapel and IDEA Center
Per academic policy, the minimum time commitment for a full credit of independent study is 11 hours per week. When Caroline sets aside time to work on the drawings, she tries to make it for as long as she can—up to a whole day. “It works best if you can get into a ‘zone,’” she explains. “It’s not something you can work on here and there.” In fact, Caroline says time management is what she’s learned most from the project. In addition to Windsor Mall, other campus scenes for the final installation include the interior of the ceramics building, a view of North Flats, Wynne Chapel, and IDEA Center. The art shown here is in progress; her finished work was exhibited on campus.
Mark’s Miscellaneous Items
Caroline says the support she’s received pulled her through and kept her on task. Fellow students have offered to carry supplies or get her something to eat. Kayla Brooks, from the Center for Student Success and Access Services (CSSAS,) has held her accountable when she needed an extra push. Caroline says the freedom her faculty advisor, Associate Professor of Art Mark Monroe ’81, has helped her rediscover her love of art, and the project overall has made her appreciate art again. “When art is an assignment, or too directed, it can take the joy out of it,” she says.
Caroline’s senior art project could be considered a homage to how, much like herself, the campus on which she has grown in skills and confidence has blossomed in the past four years—and she has captured it.
Beauty is in the Details
Photo by Nicholas Hummert
The thoughtfulness with which the new landscaping along Windsor Mall has been planned ensures it will remain beautiful for years to come. The recent landscape upgrades and creation of Austin College Commons were designed by Chris Tronzano of Studio Green Spot Inc. in Allen, Texas, and completed by Williams Landscape Inc. of Melissa, Texas. Work began May 30, 2023, and was completed August 15, 2023.
The scope of work included tree pruning to allow unobstructed views of the distinctive architecture and improved long-term health of the trees. Patchy, uneven lawns around Caruth Administration Building were replaced with 84,800 square feet of turf sod—enough to cover 1 ½ football fields.
Photo by Cary S. Wacker
4,675 square feet of synthetic turf under the large pecan tree north of Wright Campus Center allow year-round usage in all types of weather.
516,800 lbs. of river rock—equivalent to about 13 dump truck loads—was spread into new dry streambed features to improve drainage and prevent erosion around Windsor Mall.
Due to their hardiness and low maintenance requirements, 22,420 Asian jasmine plants and 29,620 mondo grass plants were added as contrasting ground coverage.