ALYSSA BUMP
Life & Arts Editor
Every semester, Fredonia art students organize an art sale in the Multi-Purpose Room of the Williams Center.
This semester, it took place on April 19 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Thirteen tables were set up with products to sell that ranged from ceramic pieces, art prints, stickers, t-shirts and more.
Going from table to table, each one had its own theme with unique pieces of art.
Also, 30 percent of proceeds were donated to The Literacy Volunteers.
Angeline Ginsberg, a junior ceramics major, helped coordinate the sale with two fellow ceramics majors: Jonah McGrath and Francesca Olivo.
The sale is not organized through a club, but rather independently by these students.
“Basically the students that came before us last year passed down the paperwork. We just edited it and had a lot of COVID-19 updates,” said Ginsberg.
Last semester, each table could only have one person, but for this year’s sale, two people were allowed to be at a table.
This was the set up for Keri Manne and Kayla Prigg.
Manne, an animation and illustration major, and Prigg, a drawing and painting major, each had their own side of their table with their products.
Manne specializes in using oils on canvases as well as digital illustration.
“I do a lot of commissions with digital because they are more affordable and I can do them faster,” they said.
Manne mostly sold prints and some “studies,” which are small, practice paintings on paper that they create before doing a large-scale painting.
Manne also sold two original paintings.
“I definitely find that the cheaper items are the ones that are selling the most which is totally understandable. It’s mostly students coming in here, and they can’t really afford a big piece,” said Manne.
Beyond finding a buyer who is willing to pay the price for an original piece, it can also be hard for the artist to part ways with their work.
“You put part of your heart into your work, you know? Especially the originals because you’ve spent so many hours on it.” They continued, “My painting professor always encourages us to sell because we are always going to be making more… if it’s in a good home, it’ll be more appreciated.”
As for Prigg, she also specializes in oil paintings. She also had some prints and stickers of her self-portraits from her “FREAK” collection.
The original pieces from this collection were recently featured in the Emmit Christian Gallery.
Getting a chance to sell their work came at a first-come first-serve basis.
“We actually had too many people [that wanted to sell their work] where we had to actually make cuts this semester,” said Ginsberg.
Because the sale raised a bit over $1,400 last semester, which broke the previous record for how much money was donated, Ginsberg believes that more people were interested in participating this semester.
With the high number of sales from last semester, many students also wait in anticipation for this sale.
“There are people who literally look forward to this day… they’ll save their money up for this specific reason and then spend $50 to $100 on everyone’s stuff,” said Ginsberg.
Having a chance to get people to appreciate the hours of work put in to create these pieces is extremely special to these artists.
“It’s great to see people who want to buy it and are interested in it. The community comes in and a lot of the union workers will come in. It’s just great to see the involvement,” said Ginsberg.
This semester’s sale broke the previous record of $1,400 by raising $2,215 for The Literacy Volunteers.
It is great to see that despite the COVID-19 guidelines, the campus and local community came out to support these talented artists.