FREE ART. FREE FUN.The Wisconsin Union provides a space for students to reduce stress levels through particiapting in free art crafts, and student Izzy Fradin frequently takes advantage of the opportunity.

Izzy Fradin dedicates her first Friday of every month to doing something creative. Once a month, Fradin, a sophomore at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, attends Free Art Friday, which is an open studio even held by Wheelhouse Studios, a division of the Wisconsin Union that offers art classes and studio spaces. On the first Friday each month, the studio provides space in Memorial Union for giving students the opportunity to get creative and use their facilities, free of cost.

Fradin found out about Free Art Fridays when her freshman year roommate received an email from the Union advertising the event. Each month, the studio provides the materials for a differ-ent craft, anything from painting ceramic pots, to making jewelry, to making snow globes. “I would never go out and just buy a ceramic pot just to paint it. So they give you those tools that you wouldn’t have had lying around at home,” Fradin said.

Each month, Fradin and her roommate

check online to see what the craft of the month is ahead of time. She tries to go to all of the open studios, but if the craft doesn’t seem like something she’d enjoy, she sits that month out.

The craft offered changes monthly, and Fradin has a variety of projects to show for it. Her projects are displayed around her apartment, ranging from a terra cotta pot painted with a cactus, to a canvas

“I think it’s a funalternative to sitting

at home watching Netflix”

covered in melted crayon wax, to a cus-tomized snow globe created during the holidays.

The Wheelhouse Studios also offer discounted classes and open studio time to UW-Madison students. Fradin has yet to take advantage of all the studio has to offer, but hopes to get more involved

in the future. “I think it’s intended for students as a space and a workshop area, ‘cause you can’t keep ceramic things in your apartment, you know? So it provides that space for students who want to get involved in something creative.”

“I think it’s a fun alternative to sitting at home watching Netflix,” Fradin said, “and I like having some outlet for creativity.” Fradin is majoring in Psychology and Communications, and doesn’t necessarily have the chance to express her creativity in those classes. Free Art Friday provides her with a way to take her mind off of the stress of school.

“You spend so much time focused on your classwork, so this is an opportunity to sort of let go of that and give yourself some space. And for me personally, I would say it relieves stress, and gives me a space to articulate if something’s been on my mind.”

In addition to attending Free Art Fridays, Fradin works at WSUM, the UW-Madi-son student radio station, which gives her the opportunity to be musically creative. She also writes music and makes art on her own time.

“Having some sort of creative outlet is something that I value and put impor-tance on, so I try and find any means possible to do that.”

by Simone Greblo

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