By Lexi White
Features Editor
Graduate assistant Kelly King and art and design major Alex Setzler, a senior, showing off the Halloween bookmarks made in the Makerspace.
Spooky bookmark creations, expressiveness and originality in the Makerspace got students in the Halloween spirit.
The Makerspace, located in the basement of the Buley Library, hosted a Halloween bookmark making event on Thursday, Oct. 31 to give students the ability to demonstrate their artistry.
STEM Librarian Diana Hellyar is the head of the Makerspace and said that she wanted to host this event to spark creativity within students.
“At this point in the semester, students get really stressed out,” Hellyar said. “Making a bookmark is something fun for them to do while also taking a break from academics.”
Students made bookmarks inspired by ghosts, zombies, vampires, sharks and pumpkins.
Although, these were more than just a decorated piece of paper; students got to learn how to create origami Halloween bookmarks.
To start, students folded a vibrant piece of paper into a triangle shape. Then, they folded it into a diamond.
After that, students folded two of the corners to create a hook that holds onto the pages of a book.
Once students were done with the origami portion of the bookmark, they got to cut out eyes, ears and mouths from other colorful pieces of paper to create the faces of their characters.
“We wanted students to be able to do something different with their time in here because usually they come in to use our other equipment,” Hellyar said.
The Makerspace provides sewing machines, 3D printers, all sorts of arts and crafts, LEGOs and crochet materials.
Hellyar said that the main mission of the Makerspace is so students can have easy access to equipment to express their artistic sides.
“This is a space where people could come in and do whatever it is they need to do or want to do without having to purchase the equipment on their own,” Hellyar said.
Kelly King has been a graduate assistant in the Makerspace for about a year and said that they came up with this event so students can get something other than free candy. Students were given the opportunity to create something Halloween themed and participate in a good time.
“Some people don’t even come in the library as it is, so this event gives them a chance to see that studying is not the only thing that happens in this building,” King said. “This gives students a break from all the schoolwork they have.”
Art and design major Alex Setzler, a senior, is another worker in the Makerspace who wanted to give students a creative outlet.
He said through doing his job, he is able to express his own creative nature.
“Whoever comes in here and participates gets to express themselves with creative craft,” Setzler said. “Having access to all the fun things that this place has to offer gave me the time to work on my Halloween costume.”
Setzler used his own 3D printer to create his custom Spartan costume inspired from his favorite video game, Halo.
After using his own supplies to print his costume, he used many materials in the Makerspace to add details to it.
“I used the hot glue guns, foam and so much more stuff in here that would’ve cost me a lot if I made this anywhere else,” Setzler said.
Tourism, hospitality and event management major Mackenzie Broderick, a freshman, also utilizes the materials that the Makerspace has to offer.
Broderick comes regularly but decided to stop by specifically to make her own bookmark.
“I love the free resources that they have here, and it’s great that I don’t have to spend extra money to create this on my own,” Broderick said. “Creativity is so much better when you don’t have to pay for it.”
