Purchase Paint and Swap Encourages Students to Take a Break

By Olivia Summer

While only a month into the new semester, many students are already stressed about the school year and could use some relief. This week, several students gathered in the Fort Awesome lobby to color blank canvases and mingle.

Natalie Mainor enjoys painting (Photo by Olivia Summer)

This event, called the "Paint and Swap," was hosted by residential assistant (RA) Conor Picard, a junior majoring in theater and performance, as a way to kick off the semester. "I just wanted to do a nice program where people can sit, chill and paint and not have to think about college for two seconds," said Picard.

(from left to right) Riley Sullivan and Natalie Mainor hard at work on their paintings (Photo by Olivia Summer)

The event was designed not only to provide a relaxing and de-stressing experience but also to foster connections with others on campus and encourage collaboration through a low-stakes activity, such as painting.

Freshman Zoë Vanderzandt, an arts management major, talked about what they were hoping to get out of the Paint and Swap. "Meet new people. I thrive on being social and meeting new people."

"It's nice to mix and mingle with people you wouldn't ever talk to," Samuel Smalls Jr., a sophomore theater and performance major, said as he listened to the music playing throughout the lobby. The event advertised itself with the idea of a three-minute timer for each person to paint on their canvas and then send it somewhere else in the room for others to add to it. However, as the evening progressed, it was clear folks were content with painting on their own canvases without the swap, and the event continued to spark interest.

When Smalls was asked if he was planning on swapping paintings with anyone, he turned to friend Mary Grace Rumley, who was painting her version of "Truffula Trees" (from the movie The Lorax), and proclaimed he didn't want to mess them up.

One of the many works of art made at the paint and swap event (Photo by Olivia Summer)

"You'd better not," replied Rumley, laughing as she added more pink to her canvas.

Picard sat and watched the event progress and encouraged the participants to let go of judgment and have fun, "as long as a space is being created for people to relax and do something fun like painting, I think I've achieved my goal," said Picard.

The students left the event satisfied with their work and had the ability to have forget about their daily stressors, if even for a few hours.

Future events that Picard is hosting are spread throughout the next month, including custom sticker making and fan bedazzling events.