Students clustered around tables at last Wednesday’s (seb) Notebook Crafting event to decorate their own original notebooks. Amid an array of stationery supplies such as sharpies, glue, scissors, colored paper and markers, as well as assorted fabrics and string, students demonstrated their creativity.
While some displayed artistic flourish when crafting their own personalized notebooks, others simply folded paper hot dog style and wrote a few words on them. Participants worked with gusto, taking advantage of all of the supplied materials. They were cutting up fabric and string, gluing paper together and preparing colorful artwork, making sure they created something that was truly expressive of themselves. As the event came to a close, every participant left with something unique and colorful.
Max Trifillis, a freshman mathematics major, was one of the students who got to express his creative side at this event. “It was a fun and new experience,” said Trifillis. “It was fun to use my imagination to try and create something original. It was also cool to look at what other people were doing, find influence in what they were doing and then add their influence onto what I was working on. This kind of activity is one that makes you think more creatively and openly,” Trifillis said.
This activity marks the first time in a long time that (seb) has held a Notebook Crafting activity. According to Charra Wudtee, a junior interdisciplinary studies major and events planner, (seb) “wanted more craft events this semester.”
For this reason, the Notebook Crafting event is quite important because it allows (seb) to determine how best to organize and operate craft events in the future. Wudtee went on to explain that the outcome of this crafting activity will enable (seb) “to get a feel for how people like these events,” which will in turn assist them in assessing the popularity and format going forward.
Craft events such as these aren’t just designed to permit students to show off their creativity and artistic skills. Wudtee believes that creative activities can affect the way students think. “Activities like these help you learn how to make things yourself so you don’t have to spend money on mass produced items. You can make what you want yourself,” Wudtee said. “We hope that students get more creative with everyday items.”
