{"id":101965,"date":"2019-08-19T11:59:44","date_gmt":"2019-08-19T15:59:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=101965"},"modified":"2019-09-26T06:33:09","modified_gmt":"2019-09-26T10:33:09","slug":"get-to-know-the-grad-behind-ucf-downtowns-new-mural","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/get-to-know-the-grad-behind-ucf-downtowns-new-mural\/","title":{"rendered":"Get to Know the Grad Behind UCF Downtown\u2019s New Mural"},"content":{"rendered":"

The new UCF Downtown campus has many eye-catching features, but there\u2019s an especially vibrant one on the third floor of Dr. Phillips Academic Commons \u2013 the Unleash Your Potential <\/em>mural. In a study space, Harry Foreman \u201918 <\/strong>worked for eight days to transform white walls of an entire room into a colorful masterpiece intended to inspire.<\/p>\n

Creating the mural was a personal experience for the Parkland, Florida, native who studied graphic design and emerging media management<\/a> at UCF, where Foreman says he was able to unleash his own potential.<\/p>\n

Keeping in mind the downtown campus serves both UCF and Valencia College students, he worked with an abstract design and used elements with references to both academic institutions. Yellow and red represent Valencia\u2019s colors, while the stars symbolize UCF\u2019s motto of \u201cReach for the Stars.\u201d Oranges are a classic Florida staple and two wings on the side walls reference the swans at downtown\u2019s Lake Eola and the Pegasus, a UCF symbol.<\/p>\n

Foreman shares more about his work and what it was like creating the mural:<\/em><\/p>\n

How did you become interested in art?
\n<\/strong>I went to a high school up north to play hockey and I went to college up there, too, on a lacrosse scholarship. My major was psychology, but that only lasted a semester because I wasn\u2019t happy with what I was doing.<\/p>\n

So I came back to home in South Florida at 19, started working three jobs and drawing every day. It was just something I knew I wanted to get into and saw infinite potential in. You can put bits of your intellect and creativity on a wall, T-shirt, paper or whatever you want\u2014and I think that\u2019s really liberating. Art made me want to learn, develop a passionate mindset and see life through a different lens. A lot of the determination I put into it came from my rigorous training as an athlete.<\/p>\n