By Ketia Kamali
Elm Staff Writer
The Art and Art History Club held a Student Art Market during War on the Shore from noon to 2 p.m. at Roy Kirby, Jr. Stadium. The market was for students to sell and promote their art.
Each student reserved a table or shared one with a peer, displaying their art alongside the prices and payment methods like cash or Venmo. Art on sale included digital works, handmade pieces like clay pots, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, scented lip balms, möbius strip fidgets, jewelry with shell pieces, collars and bandanas for dogs, experimental art with broken glass pieces, and traditional paintings.
Art and Art History Club President junior Skye Hass said the event was a way to get engagement and marketing campus-wide for their art.
“We’ve seen some of the amazing work our members make and thought we should give them a chance to sell and promote themselves,” Hass said.
According to Hass, the original plan was to host the event on Sunday, April 16. However, the Office of Student Engagement recommended that they shift the day to gain more exposure from the “size and excitement” around War on the Shore.
Art and Art History Club Social Chair sophomore Morgan Carlson reserved a table because they wanted to sell their art and offer opportunities for other student artists to do so.
“I personally am very excited because I’ve been making beads for a while, and I like to make beads that are kind of quirky and also have personality with my jewelry,” Carlson said. “It just makes me happy to really be able to give it to people for the first time.”
Sophomore Anna Treadway shared a similar first at the market seeing people browse her jewelry.
“This is the first time I’ve actually ever sold my jewelry, so it was a new experience for me and it made me happy to see people appreciate and buy something I made with my hands,” Treadway said.
Treadway said that she made jewelry such as necklaces and earrings specifically for the event.
She also said that she enjoyed the opportunity to look through the other artists’ pieces.
“I love seeing how people’s personalities come out through their art style,” Treadway said. “For example, I wasn’t the only jewelry seller there, but we all had different styles of jewelry making which was interesting to me.”
Junior Fiona Beck was selling pieces that she had made or collected over the years due to their creativity, especially over the 2020 COVID-19 quarantine.
“I am selling handmade jewelry such as earrings, necklaces, bracelets, some bags, and some crochet items that I have made over the years,” Beck said.
Junior Grace Paquin, who owns PearlandGiDesigns on Etsy, was selling the items she makes for dogs at the market.
“I started with the bandanas because I wanted to make them for my own dogs and I moved into making the collars and hair ties later,” Paquin said.
A Shorewomen’s Lacrosse game was being played at the same time as the market, so student vendors could reach Washington College and Salisbury University students, parents, and community members. There were also other tailgate activities around the art market like food trucks, which many vendors and buyers visited after the event.
Hass said that they wanted the students to remember that there are many artists on campus.
“The arts are well and alive on campus,” Hass said. “We have so many talented artists here that I feel like they aren’t acknowledged enough. Ask your friends about their art. Get to know what we love to create.”
Photos by Ketia Kamali
Photo Caption: Many students advertised Instagram or Etsy accounts for those interested in buying art pieces after the market.
