Contact: Sharon Fisher
November 30, 2007

Mural Artist Will Instruct Upcoming Classes at MECC

Jim Veenstra’s murals are displayed in private residences, institutions, and commercial spaces across the United States and some other countries, as well.  He has painted these masterpieces, some as large as 12 feet tall, for the past 17 years.  He has also appeared on HGTV’s Dreambuilders program.

In August, Veenstra took on yet another job, this time at Mountain Empire Community College.  Since the beginning of the current semester, he has been working on the project of cleaning and digitalizing the college’s entire art slide library.  In January, he will also assume the role of adjunct professor, teaching courses in both mural and decorative painting.

Veenstra, who grew up in New Mexico, learned of the college and its need for a digitalized slide collection through Alice Harrington, MECC Professor of Art.  Harrington and her husband, Jack, were Veenstra’s instructors when he attended Illinois College as an art student.  He later went on to attend the Hoffberger School of Art at the Maryland Art Institute under the tutelage of well-known artist Grace Hartigan.

After college, Veenstra sold art supplies for three years before obtaining a job with a company that specialized in decorative finishes.  Eventually, he created a mural department within the company.  His murals can now be seen in settings such as the Smithsonian National Museum of American History and Harborplace in Baltimore.

Now, he is bringing his wealth of experience and knowledge about murals to MECC.  Beginning next semester, the college will offer Mural Painting (Art 195-01), held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:25 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in Robb Hall.  The course will feature topics including tips and ideas for mural projects, estimating time and materials, and determining when a mural is finished.  Students will also have the opportunity to design and paint such projects as a particular room in a home, outdoor murals, and commercial murals.

In addition, Veenstra will also instruct Basic Faux Finishing and Decorative Painting (CRF 195) on Tuesday nights from 6 p.m. to 9:15 p.m.  The course advertisement states that students who enroll in this class will learn how to “faux like a pro.”  The class is also open to individuals who may have never heard of faux finishing.  It will focus on the practical application of decorative painting on a variety of surfaces.  Projects will benefit first-timers, as well as professional painters.

As for the task of digitizing all of MECC’s art slides, Veenstra says he has almost completed it, having “digitized” approximately 4,000 images total.  “The project serves two purposes, to help archive the slides and to enable Alice to display them in class.”

After spending the past few months on campus, Veenstra has developed another idea to help the college.  “I could see doing some murals around here.  Maybe, students who sign up for Mural Painting could do a group mural.  Then, the students in Decorative Painting could gold-leaf it.”

For more information about these courses, contact Harrington at (276) 523-2400, extension 247 or aharrington@me.vccs.edu.  MECC’s spring semester begins on January 14.

Artist Jim Veenstra will serve as an instructor for two courses next semester at Mountain Empire Community College:  Mural Painting and Basic Faux Finishing and Decorative Painting.  He is currently finishing the project of cleaning and digitalizing the college’s entire art slide collection.

More Press Releases