Why?

The education of children is VERY important to me, and with this project, I combined my love of creating art with my desire to support educators do the best job they can. I also happen to love Marshall University: my mom taught there, and I'm an MU graduate. I've also been very impressed with the MU campus...it's beautiful! And the wide range of programs available to students is exciting and impressive. 

I started working on the map in April, 2025. I studied the MU maps online, walked the campus with my camera many times, and researched to add details accurately. After weeks of preliminary sketches, I re-drew everything in permanent black ink, and then painted in watercolor. 1000 piece jigsaw puzzles were made from the image of the painting, but other products too! 

We had a puzzle competition, aka the BIG EVENT at the MU Student Center  and the profits were donated to the Cabell County Schools Foundation. This organization is not part of Cabell County Schools, but they support Cabell County teachers: the money the foundation raises is given to educators through mini-grants for things that they need, field trips, guest speakers, or projects that need money to accomplish.