The Studio Art Club Revamped
Studio Art Club meets to exercise their creativity. Photo submitted.
By Devon Wilkinson// Staff Writer
Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the High Point University studio art club has completely redefined itself under new management. The current president of the club, Brandon Owens, said that the club was essentially dead in previous years. He recalls meeting only four times within the year. Because of his passion for creative outputs, four meetings in the span of a year was just not enough. Owens wanted to make art club something more worthwhile. “I wanted a club where people would have the artistic liberty to make what they wanted to make, learn what they wanted to learn and to not only better their trade but to make connections and have fun while doing it,” Owens said.
Owens next step was to find HPU students and staff with a common passion for art. With the variety of undergraduates HPU has to offer, this task was not as challenging as Owens originally thought. Mark Brown, advisor of the club, has a very similar view of what art can do for students. “Art is a vital means of communication,” Brown said. “More than words, art expresses a complex range of human emotions and feeling. It can tell us a story, but in addition to that narrative, a work of art can actually change the way you view the world.”
Studio Art club was on its way to being the organization Owens and Brown knew it had the potential to be. Now, with 40+ members, the club provides an environment where creative and artistic students have the opportunity to celebrate and imagine their craft in a supportive and judgment-free zone. Breaking down a common stereotype of what art club is, Ari Lawson states, “We do more than just sit around and draw.” In fact, the club offers workshops and demos where local artists volunteer their time to assist with projects or to simply inspire the creativity within the students. But it’s not just the local artists that inspire the students, it is the students inspiring each other.
Since the changes have been put into action the members of the club have responded positively to the reformations. “ I think the art club is great as well as the arts in general,” Andrea Carrara said. “It is one of those few activities where students can express their creativity and themselves through their creations. And whether you have a natural talent or not, it doesn’t matter because we all have a lot of fun by simply creating.”
From casual “Drink and Draws” where students have the opportunity to enjoy a hot beverage and sketch, to planned presentations from artists in the triad area, the HPU studio art club has something to offer for the creative voice that everyone is capable of having.
“By being creative, young adults can learn a lot about who they are and then use that to share with others how they see the world,” Brown said. “Being creative is the ultimate form of problem-solving and that ability can translate into everything you do.”