Iowa’s seasonal transitions are extraordinary and breathtaking. Coming from cool springs to vibrant and hot summers transitioning back into a cool autumn. These transitions from season to season can be hard to describe sometimes, and they’re better off being described through picture or art. A Celebration of the Iowa Prairie by Sarah A. Grant does a tremendous job at this description of the transition from one season to another and depiction of the historical and cultural depth of Iowa’s prairies. This piece of art is definitely an attention grabber in multiple different ways.
The artist, Sarah A. Grant owns a company called Sticks Inc. a nationally recognized company for its decorative furniture, and object art. Grant, being from Ames has given over forty pieces of art to the university. In doing so she has became an honorary alumna of the university. Grant considers herself a “historian artist” and in her work of A Celebration of the Iowa Prairie it clearly has a historic background. This is a piece of object art in which she donated …show more content…
The mural is very unique compared to most murals as it has eight metal panels, each panel representing a part of the transition between the four seasons. The irony however is that the mural is located inside Seasons Marketplace, a dining hall inside the Maple - Willow - Larch Commons. This mural is perfect example of how the seasons transition in Iowa as it depicts the weather, the color, the feeling, and the looks of a typical Iowa Prairie during a certain season. The smooth transitions in between each panel makes it seem as if the mural was painted together on one metal canvas then split into eight different pieces. All of this is on the seating side too, as there is a front side to the mural. On the frontside of the panels it depicts a deep cultural and historical background that one would not have known without extensive research into Grant, or the actual artwork