On a sunny Wednesday, Oct. 9, the Guilford College art department presented Art On The Quad. This annual event showcases the artwork of Guilford students. The event included painting, sewing, ceramics, cardboard tower building and live music.

Senior ceramics major Whitley Sink showed Guilford students how to work with air dry clay and build flowers that they were able to take home after they dried off.

“I am also an art thesis student and my thesis had to do with close form poses,” said Sink. “Because I can’t show people how to make close form on a wheel effectively, I thought making flowers still related to my thesis.”

Other students from the Design of Objects course were engaged in a cardboard structure building competition. The students were paired in teams of two, and the goal was to build the tallest and most stable structure using only cardboard. Some students were using tape, staples, duct tape or other resources that they gathered from campus to secure the cardboard.

“My minor is art and that is why I am in this class,” said sophomore Jla Hinson. “But, I like working with objects and building things. I like to go by my imagination and build things.”

Hinson worked with junior Duncan Lawrence on their structure. Every group designed their tower based on a different theme. Hinson and Lawrence decided to design their tower as a palm tree.

“We wanted to make the tallest structure, and nothing is taller than a tree,” said Lawrence. “So we were like let’s make a tree and make it really really tall.”

The structure stayed still for a while before finally collapsing to the ground.

“Honestly, I am going to take some of these for myself because cardboard makes a really good canvas, so I am going to paint over some of the cardboard,” said Lawrence.

In the mix of all the projects presented by Guilford College students, senior Sophie McDowell showcased her wood cut print and gave the opportunity to students and community members to make their own carved wood prints.

“My station is about my wood cuts,” said McDowell. “I carve into pieces of wood and layer them on top of each other and then translate them onto a piece of paper into one singular print. Basically my station is showing that process of layering those different colors and showing how prints are made.”

In addition to the stations present at Guilford’s annual Art on The Quad, lunch was offered. Students, faculty and staff enjoyed their meal while listening to the live band music playing in the background.

“I enjoy Art on The Quad because we get to showcase our art work and projects that we are working on throughout the semester,” said McDowell. “I also think it’s great that the Guilford community can learn how to paint, sew or make prints out of carved wood.”

Editor’s note: This story originally was published in Volume 106, Issue 3 of The Guilfordian on Oct. 18, 2019.