a photo of the colorful mural created online by art education majors at SFA and student artist participants of the Boys and Girls Club of Deep East Texas

This colorful mural was created online by art education majors at SFA and student artist participants of the Boys and Girls Club of Deep East Texas. It will be displayed at the Judy B. McDonald Public Library in Nacogdoches.


NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Art education students at Stephen F. Austin State University are continuing to explore new and innovative ways to teach art to members of the Boys and Girls Club of Deep East Texas.

In another collaborative effort, the SFA School of Art, the Boys and Girls Club and the Community Arts Center of East Texas helped students create a colorful mural completely online.

“In weekly Zoom meetings, art education students conducted one-on-one tutorial painting sessions with Boys and Girls Club participants in which each student painted a square of a graphed image,” explained Dr. Maggie Leysath, professor of art education at SFA.

Boys and Girls Club children discussed the meaning of “intercultural harmony" and created images that reflected their ideas. Art education students took those ideas and created a central image of helping hands.

“The final result is a collaborative image that highlights the individuals who created it,” Leysath said, “and, it was completely done from remote locations.

“Well done, future art educators,” she added, “and a big, huge thank you to everyone at the Boys and Girls Club and the awesome Community Arts Center of East Texas.”

The mural is being installed for viewing at the Judy B. McDonald Public Library in Nacogdoches.

For more information about the School of Art, call (936) 468-4804 or visit art.sfasu.edu.