Closing Homecoming week, Rowan After Hours (RAH) hosted Art After Hours, an instructional painting class with “Paint Tyme” in the Student Center Pit on Saturday night, inviting both students and alumni to attend.
After an exciting week filled with various homecoming events, Art After Hours gave students a chance to wind down and relax, said Tom Marsella, graduate coordinator for RAH.
“We thought it would be a good homecoming night and a way to invite alumni to get involved and come to Rowan After Hours,” Marsella said. “It’s a chance for people who don’t paint a lot or have always wanted to get a free class to paint a cool picture and have a good time.”
The event was held on a first come first serve basis, admitting the first 100 students and 25 alumni. Canvases, paint, brushes and even smocks were provided to those in attendance.
For some, like alumna Erin Callahan who graduated in 2016, Art After Hours gave her a chance to relive her days of attending RAH.
“I’m meeting one of my friends who I graduated with so we can paint,” Callahan said. “We used to come to Rowan After Hours craft nights all the time so we’re reliving our younger years.”
At 9:30 p.m., the painting for the class was revealed to be a Prof holding a torch, to commemorate the theme for homecoming this year: the Olympics, or in Rowan’s case, the PROFlympics.
An instructor from “Paint Tyme” stood on a platform and instructed people using a microphone as well as a projector to display her canvas as she walked through the steps to paint the Prof.
People began by painting the background, which was a combination of the colors brown, white and touches of orange. From there, the instructor taught people how to draw Rowan’s mascot using simple instructions involving circles and lines.
After two hours, attendees had a completed painting, though not all depicted the Prof that the woman instructed. A few students decided to take the supplies available to them and make original creations of their own, including sunflowers, the New York City skyline and a character from Futurama.
“I liked that you could listen and do exactly what the instructor said but also add your own personal artistic choices,” said Allison Gilbert, a sophomore math education major. “I really enjoyed the event. My painting turned out way better than I thought it would and I’m very proud it.”
A few people in attendance were RAH staff members who had a night off and wanted to enjoy an event they would typically be working.
“It was a lot of fun,” said Steven Magown, a junior mechanical engineering major. “It was the first time I ever did it. I’ve worked a lot of these events and I’ve seen a lot of good artwork so I figured I’d make one for myself.”
As intended, many people, such as freshman psychology major Amanda Malnick, found the event calming.
“Painting is a nice way to relieve stress,” Malnick said. “I thought it was pretty fun. It was pretty frustrating at some points, but overall I think everyone did really well.”
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