Partial Eclipse free earring making at Crisp Museum

Blue and yellow crescents and circles were scattered across a table at Crisp Museum, waiting to be made into jewelry. Students did just that, spending an evening designing eclipse-themed earrings at an event designed to bring more foot traffic to the museum and give students a creative event to enjoy.

The Crisp Museum held a free partial eclipse themed earring making class on Oct. 6 for all students and community members.

Curator of education at Crisp Museum Ellen Flentge coordinates events throughout the year meant to bring people into the museum and participate in activities. Flentge wants to boost the amount of foot traffic that comes through the museum, while also interacting more with students, so the Partial Eclipse Earring Making event was a great way for her to facilitate both of those wants.

Students did not have to follow specific directions, as they were given about 50 options of supplies. Between shell, metal and cloth, students can create pieces of jewelry that they enjoy, Flentge said.

Students can make as much jewelry as they want, as long as supplies last. They can also get creative with how they use the supplies, turning them into their own creative pieces.Photo by Molly Phegley

The attendees were provided with supplies that followed the theme of the partial eclipse, including moon and star-shaped jewelry-making pieces.

Flentge plans to do more events like this in the future, including the next event scheduled for Friday, Oct. 13 from noon to 3 p.m.

Junior secondary English education major Makenna Wessell said her favorite part of the event was being able to leave with something that she made and being able to tell people that she made it.

“There's so many different end products that you can make,” Wessell said. “At first I started just being super basic and kind of copying one of the examples, and then I did my own thing, and it was really cool.”

Senior art major Rebecca Byington works on her third pair of earrings.Photo by Molly Phegley

Senior art major Rebecca Byington was excited to hear about this event, as she has been making jewelry since she was 5 years old.

“The best part is that it’s free,” Byington said. “It’s great that the museum can fund things like this, you know, it's very accessible, affordable and enjoyable.”

Byington said she appreciates that the Crisp Museum provides these kinds of experiences for students.

“I really want people to understand that the Crisp Museum is a really great place, and a lot of colleges don’t have a nice place like this. We have the art gallery, and then the history gallery, and we have these events multiple times a week, whether it’s paint nights or good-ole craft events like this one,” Byington said.

“There’s so much opportunity, there’s so much community here, and I think people just need to come out and experience it, and it’s a great place to make friends.”