New Mural Proclaims: “Dream Big!”
Ashley Gottlieb is an art student at TMCC who has painted a colorful mural in the Red Mountain Building on the Dandini Campus. The mural, located across from TMCC’s Culinary Arts lab, features colorful swirls of colors beneath the words “Dream Big!”
Gottlieb, who started painting two years ago, said that she feels a strong compulsion to paint murals. “I just love abstract work on big scales,” she said. “I’ve always been someone who likes to be up and physically moving, and a large canvas really allows me to do that. My process is planned out, but there is also this feeling of getting lost in the immensity of it, and that can be surprising and colorful… and that kind of experience brings me joy.”
Although the swirling colors are aligned with TMCC (and include the college’s signature lime green), the swirling design is inspired by Gottlieb’s other work, which will be on display in the Red Mountain Student Gallery during the Fall 2021 semester. Having her work on display—and painting murals—is a dream come true for Gottlieb who enjoyed a 15-year career in marketing and event planning when she and her husband relocated from Chicago to Reno.
“I always wanted to do something creative. I was actually going to take classes in graphic design, but I took a drawing class my first semester at TMCC and I knew I wanted to stick with art,” she said. “TMCC is a school where there is so much opportunity and that’s why this mural says what it does. I want students not to hold back, and to do what you want to do.”
Although Gottlieb—along with former TMCC art student Ashley Frost and Ashley Brock (who is currently in the Bachelor of Fine Arts program at UNR)—has been painting all summer in preparation for her exhibition, she finds mural painting especially rewarding and hopes that the “Dream Big” mural will not be her last. She credits TMCC Visual Arts faculty, especially Candace Garlock and Rossitza Todorova, with helping her to navigate the administrative side of art that includes writing a proposal for a mural project and the steps needed to curate and organize one’s own exhibition.
The lesson? Gottlieb said, never be afraid to ask for what you want. “I got this mural project because I asked for it. So, whether it’s a mural or you want to do a science experiment or an internship… it’s not going to hurt you to ask. There’s a big chance at TMCC that someone will say ‘yes.’... and then, you never know where that journey will take you.”
TMCC Donates Over 500 Pounds of Food in Time of Need
This summer, TMCC hosted its first-ever summer food drive. “This time of year, the Food Bank of Northern Nevada is in desperate need of donations,” said Cameron Tuttle, Counseling Coordinator who also manages the TMCC food pantry, Wizard’s Warehouse.
The Super Summer Food Drive ran from June 10–July 3, and collected an impressive 534 pounds of donations that were picked up graciously by the local food bank. According to Tuttle, the annual TMCC Food Drive held during the fall semester typically collects around 800-pounds of food. To have collected so much during a six-week period in the summer speaks to the giving nature of the TMCC campus community.
“Almost every barrel was full,” said Tuttle, who mentioned the Pennington Health Science Center, where the Emergency Medical Services and Paramedic Programs competed to see who could collect the most food. “They requested a second barrel,” he said.
Given the success of the inaugural Super Summer Food Drive, Tuttle envisions this becoming an annual event that can help support our local food bank during a time when not many organizations host food drives.
The Super Summer Food Drive also raised awareness of the presence of Wizard’s Warehouse; Tuttle mentioned more students stopped by to utilize the TMCC food pantry at both the Dandini Campus and the Meadowood Center as a result of seeing the donation barrels at TMCC locations.
“It was really great to have students stopping by who need this important resource,” he said, noting Wizard’s Warehouse will be in a new location on the Dandini Campus starting in the 2021 Fall Semester. “We will be located in RDMT 115...along with several other resources for students on campus. It will be easier for students to find.”