As chilly autumn nights approach the Wisconsin area, residents seeking creative and social stimulation showcased their skills with origami art and paper-based crafts the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater’s Geometric Paperwall Art Workshop.

Students from all branches of the creative spectrum employed their artistic talents at the event, hosted from 5 to 7 p.m. on Sept. 28 in James R. Connor University Center. They had the opportunity to flex their artistic muscles and potentially discover a hidden talent within them they never knew existed.

One of many workshops scheduled for the 2017-2018 academic year, the The Geometric Paperwall Art WorkshopArt indulged Warhawks with a platform to produce creations, entice imagination and connect with peers in a fresh and intriguing manner.

Workshop leader Brittany Soboleski said she feels as though each student conveys different abilities which can be honed and ultimately strengthened through participating in artistic events like these.

“The workshop is open to everybody- students, faculty and staff are all more than welcome to attend,” Soboleski said.

“For Paperwall, we offer a variety of instruction methods, so we’ll have packets enclosed with step-by-step directions if people like seeing it more,” Soboleski said. “I think the different ways people learn or make a craft is unique; we try to meet everyone’s needs.”

UW-Whitewater alumna Chloe Rettinger, Arts Manager for the University Center said, “It’s really cool to have an art workshop held on campus that just allows you to let your for a couple hours and create some art,”.

“Our staff provides visual aids for students who haven’t tried this before and give them an opportunity to create something totally original,” Rettinger said.

Beyond Paperwall, Rettinger, who lead a variety of art showcases in 2016, also provided introspective into the new venture offers compared to last year.

“It’s also great to see that our department is building partnerships with other offices on campus,” Rettinger said.

“For example, there will be a maple seed dragonfly workshop held next Wednesday here in the UC, which is in collaboration with the campus sustainability office in their month long sustainability awareness initiative. So it was really interesting to put our heads together and ultimately contrive this event.”

Passionate about catering to the artistic motor of all Warhawks, Rettinger also illustrated the importance of consistently exercising one’s creativity for the purpose of developing real world skills and sought after attributes, as student slowly begin to enter the workforce.

“You don’t need to be an artist to have that outlet and practice a craft.” Rettinger said. “Have that place to relax and trigger imagination. I think people underestimate that. Markets are looking to be a creative problem solver, and events like these help you hold some great skills and most importantly, have fun.”

Art workshops allow individuals a platform where they can openly showcase their creativity and individuality in a lively and poetic manner, Rettinger said.

Attendees of Paperwall were offered a sublime platform to contrive their own crafts at an event which is likely to return next fall given the reception from staff, as well as patrons. Events like these are ones college students shan’t pass up if they look to grow intellectually, artistically and professionally in a practical fashion.