The Student Activities Board held “Board and Brush Art,” an event where students crafted handmade coffee boards while sipping a coffee of their choice Nov. 17.
The event was held alongside a local creative studio, Board and Brush, which specializes in decorative wood projects.
Junior President Trey Massingill said that the event came to life after members of SAB decided to go to the creative studio for an end-of-the-year celebration.
Massingill and others found that the concept would be an amazing addition to their lineup of yearly events.
This is the second annual Board and Brush Art event on campus.
Junior Haley Whitman said, “It gets [students] out there, getting to know the campus and the people who work here while they get to make new friends. You come here for academics and stuff but you know, your social life needs to be important to you too. It’s like a mental health thing.”
During the event, students were given a wide variety of iced coffees to choose from, as well as other offerings such as Gatorade and water.
Sophomore Megan Rowton said she is currently addicted to Starbucks’ sugar cookie flavor, whereas junior Imani Mbong stuck to a classic toasted white chocolate mocha.
After choosing their beverage, participants were given a choice of gray stained wood, natural brown oak or dark cedar, as well as a choice of word or shape stencil.
After picking these, students chose colors they would like to use on their coffee boards.
Diana Van Allen, owner of Board and Brush Creative Studio said, “I love seeing this. We don’t normally do events like this outside of the studio, but this has been something we’ve enjoyed coming here to UCA for, seeing everybody making different choices. It just kind of brings out personalities when you start seeing different colors and designs. I even have people who chose to not use a stencil and I love seeing that.”
With the help of a Board and Brush employee, students lined the stencil up on the wood, slowly peeling back the protective layer so the design could stick.
After this, participants took their sponges and lightly dabbed their desired paint within each word.
When the students finished painting, they peeled off the stencil, laying the wood panel against a heating fan to dry.
Soon after, participants used a nail to pry off any remaining pieces of the stencil that hadn’t come off.
Eventually, the board would be taken to another table, where employees screwed handles onto the boards, completing the final product.
“It’s a really great way to take a break and just like, focus on something that isn’t school related and just take a mental moment and do something fun,” graduate student Claire Wallin said.
