By Alyssa Roat | Echo
For those who braved the cold of J-Term, the Student Activities Council put together a night of art and music to brighten up the winter doldrums.
According to junior J-Term Student Activities Council President Carlee Svec, Coffee and Canvas has been a J-Term tradition for the past couple of years. Students are invited to come to LaRita Boren Student Center, paint canvases and sip coffee from the Jumping Bean while watching student performances.
This year, the event was held on Jan. 18 from 7-9 p.m. With highs for the week averaging in the low 30s, Coffee and Canvas offered warm beverages and inside activities.
"I attended Coffee and Canvas because I enjoy doing artsy things but do not often make time to do it," junior Amanda Fleischmann said. "Coffee and Canvas is great because it is an event where I can spend time with others and do something I enjoy but do not normally do."
Svec reached out to those who had performed in MyGen, Nostalgia Night and other events to recruit talented students to perform, as well as searching through announcements and word of mouth.
Svec was not alone in her efforts. Taylor Student Organization Graduate Assistant Nathan Mortensen and the members of the SAC Cabinet were also instrumental. Mortensen, for example, coordinated logistics with the Jumping Bean, and the SAC Cabinet put up posters and decorated the student center for the event.
"I couldn't pull off this caliber of an event without all the help I received from various people in TSO," Svec said.
Students like Fleischmann were well satisfied with the event. Fleischmann is a Coffee and Canvas veteran. She proudly displayed this year's Coffee and Canvas creation on her dorm room wall, right beside her artwork from last year.
Junior Katie Hart enjoyed the fact that attendees weren't given instructions on what they could paint. After receiving a canvas, painters could choose whatever colors they wanted and paint as they were inspired. The wide variety of creativity was demonstrated in the difference between Fleischmann's butterfly, full of motion with bold orange and yellow, and Hart's serene night sky with stars twinkling over a lake.
Fleischmann and Hart were not the only attendees. Just under 200 tickets were sold to the event, where others like them enjoyed a drink from the Jumping Bean, live music and creativity, all for a $5 ticket.
Svec was happy with the turnout.
"Because of the success of this event, it seems there will be Coffee and Canvas for years to come!" said Svec.
