The art honorary Alpha Rho Tau will be hosting an embroidery night on Tuesday, Nov. 5 in the student union TV room.
If there’s one trait that a spunky heroine in a fantasy or historical novel possesses, it’s that she probably hates doing needlework when she’d rather be secretly practicing swordsmanship. But embroidery enthusiast senior Sarah Garfinkle said she finds this ancient art form the perfect outlet for stress and even aggression.
“It’s a great way to get out your aggression in a way that’s beautiful and productive, plus a really easy gift for your mom,” Garfinkle said. “For me it’s fun way to experiment with being artistic, and you get to stab something a lot.”
Garfinkle is not alone in this sentiment, as Juniors Caroline Hennekes and Heidi Yacoubian will teach basic stitches and provide materials to anyone who wishes to try their hand at the craft.
This is the first event hosted by ART in an ongoing effort to incorporate more of campus into Hillsdale’s artistic community.
“We wanted something that would draw people in and see art for what it is, which is a creative endeavor that opens your eyes to the world,” Hennekes said. “Embroidery is fun to do, and its practical. You can treasure what you make, and it’s very relaxing because it makes you focus on one thing that is beautiful and will last for a long time. It’s also fun to do as a community.”
ART president Joshua Pautz said the event is in response to a demand for more casual artistic events like SAB’s Bob Ross and Bubbly.
“We saw a lot of interest in textile crafts, and embroidery is a very accessible way to get into that,” Pautz said.
Yacoubian was inspired to start embroidering by the print “Lake Worth” by Thomas McKnight.
“I found the print hanging on my sister’s wall and thought it would be fun to copy it in embroidery,” Yacoubian said.
Both Pautz and Hennekes have done embroidery since childhood, learning from their mothers.
“My mom taught me when I was really young,” Hennekes said. “She has an Etsy store where she sews pillows and does embroidery, so I’ve always been around sewing. In high school I started doing it for fun.”
