Emery Wainscott
Lifestyle Editor
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What used to be an Einstein Bros Bagels out-of-date coffee advertisement is now a roughly 3-by-1 foot collaborative painting, a creative commission by the Organization of Murray Art Students.

Einstein Bros Bagels Senior Supervisor Audrey Kellett contacted OMAS President Ella Curran with the idea. 

Kellett said she thought it would be a good opportunity to display student artwork as a sign of appreciation for customers, as a lot of them are students. She said there was no assigned theme and let Curran and OMAS have free reign over the painting.

Curran’s goal was to create the perfect introduction into her first semester as president.

“The project required us to combine our individual styles to make a cohesive piece,” said Curran. “Working through the process was representative of community.”

Murray State mascot Dunker drinks a chai tea latte amid a blue background, framed by multi-colored brush strokes with a bagel, cookie, egg and sandwich.

During the painting sessions, Einstein’s workers brought food for the workers to use for reference. Curran said the group thought it would be meaningful to give thanks to Einstein’s by featuring them in the painting.

“We’ve always loved the workers at Einstein’s,” Curran said. “Since it’s right across from our building, they know many of us by name, and some of us have become great friends outside of school and work.”

The painting took eight in-meeting hours plus outside work to complete.

Fifteen OMAS members started with a sketch on canvas, then layered acrylic paint over top with brushes and pallet knives. Both new and returning members, all art and design students, joined the two sessions it took to complete the painting.With each meeting, different crowds brought new ways of contributing to the project, Curran said.

For both herself and other students, this painting was about having fun, Curran said.

“When you’re an art student the pressure is on to make work that shows your best conceptual and technical skills,” Curran said. “It’s a major that often requires you to look inward and be vulnerable, so I think it was good for everyone to work on a project where we were able to set that aside and just enjoy making together.”

The painting will most likely be up for as long as Kellett and other Einstein’s workers are there, Curran said. OMAS may update the painting in the future.

“I’ve been working there for two years, so I’ve seen a lot of students come and go but there’s these people that have been going there since Einstein’s opened two years ago,” Kellett said. “It’s just nice to be able to build those kinds of relationships with people and get to know them and see how that grows.”

Among the group’s other projects is an ongoing bi-monthly creative magazine called OMAG. The magazine features artwork and interviews with students, faculty and alumni from the art and design department.

The next event hosted by OMAS is Monster Mash on Oct. 28. On that day, student organizations in the art and design department will be selling print, T-shirts, stickers, buttons and other items in the Old Fine Arts lobby.

To purchase a copy of OMAG or catch more of the group’s upcoming events, visit the handle @OMAS_MSU on Instagram.