{"id":3742,"date":"2017-01-31T14:51:48","date_gmt":"2017-01-31T19:51:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa-magazine\/?p=3742"},"modified":"2017-05-03T13:18:23","modified_gmt":"2017-05-03T17:18:23","slug":"darias-doors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa-magazine\/2017\/01\/31\/darias-doors\/","title":{"rendered":"Daria\u2019s Doors"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Lara Ehrlich<\/h4>\n
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Banner image: When painting her brownstone’s door, Daria Lugina (\u201919, CAS\u201919) takes her inspiration from cartoons and popular culture. She particularly enjoys painting Disney characters, like Mother Gothel from Tangled<\/em>. Photo by Cydney Scott<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

On any given week, you may have glimpsed<\/strong> Snoopy, Chihiro Ogino from Spirited Away<\/em><\/a>, or the Corpse Bride gazing out at you from the doors of 200 and 202 Bay State Road. The brightly painted characters are the work of Daria Lugina (\u201919, CAS\u201919), who started the popular installation art project on a whim.<\/p>\n

In high school, Lugina volunteered at the local library, where the staff painted the windows in the children\u2019s room with illustrations from picture books, like Eric Carle<\/a>\u2019s The Very Hungry Caterpillar<\/em>. She found the process calming and enjoyed watching the children react when they saw their favorite characters drawn larger than life.<\/p>\n

Now a painting and English double major and computer science minor, Lugina lives in the Trustee Scholarship house at 200 Bay State Road. During her first year at BU, she and her housemates decorated their brownstone for Halloween, and Lugina offered to paint the door with the title character from the film Corpse Bride<\/em><\/a>. \u201cWe got such a good response from it that I\u2019ve been doing it ever since, about once a month,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

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\"Daria's<\/p>\n

Lugina’s doors have included (from left) Rapunzel from Tangled<\/em>, Chihiro Ogino from Spirited Away<\/em>, and the rose from The Little Prince<\/em>. Courtesy of Daria Lugina<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Lugina, who plans to pursue a career in animation or interactive design, takes her inspiration from cartoons and popular culture. She particularly enjoys painting Disney characters\u2014like Rapunzel from Tangled<\/em><\/a>, Lilo & Stitch<\/a>, and Mickey Mouse\u2014which are also the favorites of her littlest fans.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of kids come down the street and get excited when they recognize the cartoons,\u201d she says. While plenty of children go wide-eyed in wonder, \u201ccollege students are equally excited,\u201d Lugina says. \u201cI\u2019ve definitely seen people take pictures\u2014and they weren\u2019t always five. It\u2019s a nice way to get art out into the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

She finds the process as rewarding as the admiration. \u201cIt\u2019s a relaxing thing to do at the end of the week, and it\u2019s fun for me,\u201d says Lugina, who paints the doors to music on Fridays. She uses acrylic paint mixed with dish soap so the illustration easily washes off with water, leaving a clean surface for her next creation.<\/p>\n

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