DJ Nat Soti (bottom middle) and students participating in Paint Jam The Xavierite
Saint Xavier University students attended one of the largest Paint Jam’s in SXU’s Visual Arts Center on Monday Oct. 20 from 3-6pm. The event was student organized yet led by Nathan Peck and DJ’d by Nat Soti, both professors in the art department. The event brought together students from all majors to collaborate, paint, and celebrate art in a fun and music-filled way.
Unlike the last couple Paint Jams, which were typically held on Tuesdays or Thursdays, this one took place on a Monday. When asked about the change, Peck explained, “Every paint jam is designed by somebody else, so this is what they told me the day it was.”
Paint Jams are intentionally unstructured, giving students the freedom to start one whenever inspiration strikes. “You could start a paint jam. He could start a paint jam. She’s started a few,” Peck said while pointing around the room. “Obviously, different people are available at different times. The more you mix it up, the more people can be involved.”
This Monday’s Paint Jam was the biggest one yet. Larger canvases replaced the smaller setups from previous events, giving students more room to experiment with bold strokes and group projects. With more participants invited than ever before, the painting studio was filled with positive energy, laughter, and creativity as students mixed paint, shared ideas, and created works of art together.
The Paint Jam originally started as a casual creative outlet for SXU art students to stay after class and paint mindlessly but has grown into a more well known and even advertised campus wide event that welcomes everyone, regardless of major or artistic background.
For some attendees, the event was both an assignment and an experience. “Uh, my teacher announced it on Canvas,” said Nialana, a studio art major who attended the event. “I think it was like required, but I also just thought it’d be fun.”
This week’s event drew a larger crowd than usual, in part because first-year students joined in. “I invited all the freshmen,” Peck said. “Because the paint jam was happening during our class, we could just mosey right on in there… I didn’t force. I was basically like, ‘Would you rather do this, or would you rather go down and do that?’ And everyone was like, ‘Oh, yeah, let’s just scroll down and check that out.’”
When asked how she felt once she arrived, she smiled and said, “I think it’s really cool.”
Nialana painting on canvas The Xavierite
Paint Jams do not follow a consistent schedule. Instead, students find out about them through word of mouth. “It’s not a consistent thing,” Peck stated. “Part of it is a word-of-mouth thing because we have a really good artist community… I think that word-of-mouth sort of activities are a good type of activity.”
Another student Alvaro, a graphic design major, heard of the event from word of mouth. Stating “I definitely see how this kind of event builds community, cause we’re all just working together on the same canvas.”
Alvaro participating in paint jam The Xavierite
The turnout proved that SXU’s Paint Jam continues to grow as one of the creative events held on campus, blending art and music.
Still, some wonder how students outside the VAC learn about the events. “It’s kind of like any scene,” Peck explained. “You find out what you need to find out. Everybody has a friend of a friend who’s in the art department. It’s almost always the case that the people that should be there are the people that are there.”
Music is an essential part of the Paint Jam atmosphere. “We seldom work in silence,” Peck said. While Nat doesnt always DJ there is always music. “You paint differently to different music, so the more you mix it up, the better.”
In the past, there was even a signature song that marked the end of each session. “For a while, we had this one song that always closed it out. It was called ‘Zoo Eyes’. When that song came on, you knew the Paint Jam was nearly over,” he said.
The event is not just about painting, it is about community. “People slowly developed an understanding that they can do whatever they want to do,” Peck said. “When you are given a certain type of permission… you tell you that you can do it. That’s a hard thing to give yourself sometimes. But when you suddenly realize that you can, then sometimes you do.”
That freedom has encouraged students to start their own versions of the event, whether it is a clay jam or video jam.
For many students, Paint Jam is as much about spending time together as it is about art itself. “Giving people an opportunity to hang out in a space, even if it’s something as stupid as we’re going to paint over this thing again… it’s not permanent,” the organizer said. “Building artwork together regardless of the thing, it’s just the time spent actually making it.”
Paint Jams were simplified to the Joy of being together. Peck stated “Like, a hand of cards doesn’t matter, but I’m really glad every time I get to sit down and play cards with my friends.”