Get Crafty With a New Club on Campus

Did you used to get together after school with friends to do arts and crafts? Do pipe cleaners, popsicle sticks, glue, and glitter bring back warm and fuzzy memories? If you miss those days (or never had the chance to experience them), we have good news for you.

Edwin Acosta ’11 and Abigail S. Brown ’11, co-founders of the Crimson Crafts Club, a recently founded student group, said they want to give fellow students a way to reclaim the carefree spirit of childhood. “I want this to become a chill space for students to create in the company of friends,” Brown said. “It is a de-stressing community-building opportunity.” Not that it’s just about being silly, Brown explained. “To me, it’s more like the art of craft, not ‘arts and crafts.’”

Acosta said that “fond memories of doing arts and crafts activities” with his nieces and nephews kick-started the idea. “I’m a senior now, and after this year, I apparently have to get serious, so I thought to myself, why not be silly, and do something I like to do? And then I thought, why not make this available for everyone?” He added that the crafts will be more “industrial and utilitarian” than what he would make with his nieces and nephews. Projects, for instance, might include light bulb terrariums, deconstructed T-shirts, and rope-knit rugs.

Jack L. Turban ’11, co-director of the Harvard Student Art Show and editor-in-chief of The Harvard Art Review, said he believes the Crimson Crafts Club “will be a great new way for artists to come together, creating a social environment based on artistic expression. I can’t wait to see what the group creates!”

The club, which will meet every two weeks, has its first meeting scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 22, at 10 p.m. in the Bullitt Room in Quincy House. Acosta said he is looking for a big turnout. “I feel like my time at Harvard has been wasted,” he said. “This is one of the last chances I have to leave my stamp at Harvard. I want to do something good for our community.” He added that the club has a place for everyone. “I bench 240 lbs and I still love arts and crafts,” he said.

But what if people, in typical Harvard fashion, are too busy to show up? “If this doesn’t work out, then I guess I’ll start the job search,” Acosta said. “I hope it doesn’t come to that.  I don’t want to grow up.”

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.