Use art, multimedia to relieve stress during midterms
Buildings on campus, convenient phone apps help distract from work; unwind with paintings, drawings, other forms
BONNIE JAMES | DAILY EVERGREEN FILE
Take a break from studying for tests to unwind with art. Many places on campus, including the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, exhibit art which students can view for free. Cell phone apps also provide art in a more convenient form, for those needing immediate relaxation.
March 7, 2019
With midterms sneaking up on the student body like a predator to prey, the stress in the air is almost palpable.
Students and professors alike are checking emails hoping for classes to be canceled, in the end having to trudge through two feet of snow to get there. Tensions are high, and while drinking on Monday nights may be fun, there are better ways to relieve the stress of school.
Whatever your major, most courses are scheduling mid-semester tests. If you’re taking a lot of classes or are employed on top of school, it may seem like the blank white walls around campus are caving in right before your eyes.
If you’re in need of productive distraction, pop by the Fine Arts Center once in a while. You’ll feel like you’ve been transported to another world — a place where life is quiet, students are painting and there is color on the walls.
Taking small breaks during study sessions and looking at aesthetically pleasing art may help combat the dullness of studying and refresh the mind.
The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, the shiny red building known as the “crimson cube,” is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays if you need a quiet place to unwind. The Schnitzer museum is displaying selected works from the Elwood Collections until Aug. 2019, with different styles of multimedia art and diverse styles of paintings for any mood. Their next free event is at 6 p.m. April 12 and will exhibit work from fine arts graduate candidates.
The Fine Arts Center is also hosting events, such as its Open Figure Drawing lessons. If you are enrolled in any fine arts course, figure drawing on Wednesdays from 5-7 p.m. could be a brief respite from midterm stress. The lessons are held weekly in Drawing Studio 7024.
If you don’t have time to go to a random building on campus, there’s always your phone.
You know those hand-held bricks you keep attached to your body like an extra appendage? There are apps to help relieve that stress — no, not Mathway, cheating on ALEKS homework doesn’t count.
By using popular apps like Instagram and Pinterest, the calmness and serenity of the Fine Arts Center can be yours.
Searching the word “art” on Pinterest will produce thousands of results onto your phone in mere seconds. Even if you don’t have an account or don’t want to register for one — Pinterest does send way too many emails — the website is free to use and you can browse through any type of media, artist or period that can be dredged up online.
Make use of the hashtags on Instagram by looking through art — many of the most popular and up-in-coming multimedia artists post their work there. From classic paintings and film shorts to digitally curated memes by accounts like @chrissimpsonartist, there are ways to detach from the tension of student life and enjoy art, even just for a moment.
