Last Friday night, artists and non-artists alike sat in John Brown University’s Walker Student Center and listened to the soothing voice of 1980s-‘90s art legend Bob Ross while painting some ”happy little trees” at the Students Events and Activities (SEA) Bob Ross Night. The student center was bustling and full of chatter.
“We estimated around 250 people were in attendance,” SEA Student Director Ainsely Lafferty said.
While students settled in, a quick introduction and note about housekeeping was given by Lafferty. Several key changes were made from last year’s edition, which helped the turnout.
“Something that ran smoother this year is having each table/group clean up after themselves. In years past, the SEA team has taken care of all cleanup, which meant that we were not done for the evening until around 10 p.m. This year, we instructed each table to throw everything away themselves! This greatly assisted me and my team with our cleanup and efficiency,” Lafferty said.
After the announcement, the painting commenced. Students were provided with paint, brushes, pallets, canvases, napkins, snacks and printed sheets for color-matching with Ross on the TV. He assured his audience that anyone can paint, and while some students followed Ross’ steps, others created their own designs.
The first video followed Ross as he painted a snowy cabin in the woods, which was followed by an autumnal cabin or barn surrounded by trees speckled with orange and yellow. A large portion of students followed the first tutorial, but by the second video, many decided to experiment and play with the possibility presented by a blank canvas.
Initially conceived as a way to relax after the first week of classes, the event has been going on for years.
“This is a long-running JBU event, and I am not sure of the inspiration behind it. However, the intention is clear! We seek to provide a calming atmosphere where students can come and, as we like to say, ‘paint some happy little trees,’” Lafferty said. “Sometimes, SEA events are crazy, chaotic and fun. There definitely is a time and place for that, but it's nice sometimes to slow down and enjoy good quality time with friends.”
Freshman Shiloh Smith echoed Lafferty’s sentiment about SEA events.
“I think my highlight was having an opportunity to do a fun craft with my friends and bond after the first week of getting back into the routine of classes and homework,” Smith said.
The full student center echoed with chatter and the sound of Ross’ paintbrush knocking against the easel. Faces from different majors could be seen across the room.
“Coming to the whole event, I like seeing that there are all sorts of people that come. Like, I recognize people I know from different years, backgrounds: international, missionary kids or Siloam folks. You know, we’re all here, and that was kind of fun,” Freshman Kate Enoch said.
The event brought different areas of the student body, and served people in different ways, whether or not they would consider themselves artists.
“There are Freshman artsy chicks, and there are Junior and Senior ‘gym bros’, and it’s just kind of nice. It was either an individual event or a group event, so it felt conducive to a lot of people’s weekends,” Enoch said.
Smith felt similarly to Enoch regarding the community aspect of the event.
“I think what stood out to me most about the event was the community. There were a lot of different groups of people that I don’t typically get a chance to talk to. I noticed that others and I loved to share what we made with anyone around,” Smith said.
SEA is now gearing up for their next event, Late Skate on Ice on Jan. 30..
Photo Courtesy of David Camacho Padilla
