Kendall Aronson, Campus Carrier Asst. Arts & Living Editor

PHOTO COURTESY OF TIMOTHY WOOLEY

Junior Alex Sanchez, junior Erin Bassett, and freshman Lauren Halloran paint at the KCAB canvas event on Sept. 1st. Students painted the old Gate of Oppurtunity with the instruction of Val Featherston and Holly Chaffin. Chaffin and Featherston own Swerve Art Studio on Broad.

KCAB hosted their third instructed canvas painting event on Sept. 1 in the Krannert Ballroom. 

Students were led in the painting of the old Gate of Opportunity by former Berry graduates Val Featherston and Holly Chaffin. Featherston and Chaffin are owners of “Swerve,” an art studio on Broad St. which opened last year. 

All materials for the class were provided if participants signed up in advance for the event. If students did not previously sign up, smaller canvases and assorted materials were still provided. In addition, snacks were available. 

“My friends and I wanted something to do that night other than sitting in our rooms, and it was something different,” said freshman Addie Easton, an animal science major. 

Featherston and Chaffin gave step-by-step instructions so that everyone could easily follow along. Easton did not think she would be very good at painting, but said she was more proficient than she imagined. 

“I learned that I wasn’t as bad as I thought. We all did better than we imagined,” Easton said. 

Freshman Lauren Groseclose said she is artistic and went to the event in hopes of broadening her artistic talents. 

“I love to paint and draw, mostly with watercolor and ink, so I wanted to branch out a little and try some acrylics,” Groseclose said. 

Groseclose said she learned how to loosen up when painting due to the class’s instruction. Easton particularly enjoyed how the event was more interactive than previous events she had attended on campus. 

Sophomore Julie Belvin, a programmer for KCAB, said she loved co-planning the event with junior Tessa Pendergraft. They picked what the subject of the paintings would be, the decorations, and organized the food. The event took around two weeks to plan. 

The event was originally going to take place on the Krannert lawn, but due to inclement weather it was moved inside to the Krannert Ballroom.

“I think that really made it better than if it had been on the Krannert lawn,” Belvin said. There is more light inside, and even hair dryers which allowed students to dry the paint quickly. 

Groseclose and Easton both enjoyed the event, and would go to another like it if it’s offered in the future. Belvin says KCAB will likely offer another canvas event in the spring due to the success so far with this and previous events.