ECU art students showcase work, practice business skills

Dozens of East Carolina University art students opened their studios and practiced their entrepreneurial skills by displaying and selling their art during the School of Art and Design’s second Studio Crawl.

Launched in 2025, the spring event complements the School of Art and Design’s (SOAD) annual holiday sale, held in early December. The two events allow community members to see students making art in their Jenkins Fine Arts Center Studios, as well as purchase student art, a frequent request to the school.

Freshman art student Lily Evans hands a live portrait to a friend through the custom booth she and fellow art freshman Taylor Rayson created for the School of Art and Design’s second Studio Crawl on April 8.

SOAD Director Kate Bukoski said she regularly receives requests for student and faculty artwork to purchase or display, and directs them to these events. Art enthusiasts can find prints, textiles, ceramic pieces, jewelry made of various materials, stickers, paintings, zines, and so much more, all in one location.

Bukoski described a great “buzz” leading up to this year’s event, with nearly double the number of students signing up to participate — more than 70. She said one of the most impressive aspects of the debut crawl was the way first-year students presented and sold their work.

“They are enthusiastic and are already demonstrating the professional skills we teach in SOAD,” Bukoski said. “Long term, this will impact their future careers and professional trajectories, as well as instill in them the confidence to pursue a life as a creative maker.”

Bukoski anticipated the same energy this year, and a second-floor studio buzzed with energy, music and first-year students early in the evening.

Lily Evans, a freshman art major with a drawing and painting emphasis, drew a friend’s portrait live. Between the two stood a handmade booth with a purple awning made by Evans and fellow freshman Taylor Rayson, who has a graphic design emphasis and whose dad is an ECU alum. They got the idea on TikTok and made the booth with found materials.

Evans said the two wanted to create something together, and decided on-site drawing would be the most effective

“We all do prints,” Rayson said. “The building is saturated with prints. Doing something live is more personalized and gives us time to speak to them as we’re drawing.”

Both said they enjoy the social aspect of the crawl, and are working on the business aspect. Both created self-portrait art to promote their Instagram accounts and were ready to chat.

“Speak to a lot of people, talk to them about our major, maybe,” Evans said. “I like the social aspect of it, and to be able to try out the business side in a low-risk situation like this.”

Back on the first floor, sophomore art student Clara Menzo explained the way she combines her animation emphasis and marine coastal science minor in her art. Pieces she brought to the crawl included mystery boxes of stickers portraying different ocean species.

“I’m really big on incorporating animals and biology into my stuff,” she said. “I hope my art encourages people to look into more biology.”

Menzo hoped the crawl would give Jenkins and its art students more exposure.

“We have a lot of really great opportunities here,” she said. “Especially for the younger artists, like the freshmen, hopefully they get the experience of having people come in and look at their art.”

Sophomore Brooke Morgan, who has an animation emphasis, hoped the community would see the different types of art students make. She spent the evening trying out new drawing styles through a doodling art exercise.

“I wanted to do something simple, so blindly drawing a line on a paper, and I have to draw around them,” Morgan said. “It makes me draw out of my comfort zone.”

The SOAD Studio Crawl is sponsored by the Friends of the School of Art and Design. Find future event dates on the school’s website and by following the SOAD on Instagram.

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