Moravian University students gathered in the Haupert Union Building (HUB) Pavilion to channel their inner artists on Feb. 12 to paint Valentine’s Day-inspired mugs in the Moravian Activities Council, MAC, organized event “Pottery Night.”

The event saw roughly 40 students showing up over the event’s two-hour runtime to paint mugs that featured designs such as hearts, the words “I Love You,” or mugs that were simply blank.

Two long tables lined the pavilion with cups of water and table covers to prepare students for their painting endeavors.

Once the students settled in, the event organizers explained that each student would come up to a table in the back of the room, select a mug design, choose from a limited selection of paint colors to be put on a disposable plate, and pick their paintbrushes of choice before returning to their tables to paint.

Students were advised to paint multiple coats so that the color wouldn’t fade as harshly during the glossing process that each mug would be subjected to in the next few days.

Students painted away to the sounds of pop music, such as Harry Styles, The Weeknd, and The Band Camino, playing over the room’s speakers. Sounds of friendly chatter and laughs scattered throughout the room.

One such student, self-design art and business major Avery Saladino, ‘24, came out to paint her own mug after enjoying a pottery night event from a previous semester. She was coming up from hosting her radio show in the HUB’s radio station when she saw the event was underway and decided to join the fun.

Saladino chose a mug with a heart design over top a tree-like texture.

“It reminds me of tree carvings,” said Saladino when asked why she chose the design.

Holly Roethel, a primary organizer of the night working for the Moravian Activities Council (MAC), described the setup process for the event: “First, we usually contact the vendors and tell them our idea. For this one, we said we wanted to do a Valentine’s-type theme for the weekend before Valentine’s Day and we go back and forth [with local art suppliers] on what we might want, how much we might want, and they give us what they can offer to us. [The art suppliers] really cover all of the technical parts of it and [MAC] just makes sure they have all of the supplies necessary.”

“I hope [students] get to have fun and get out of their rooms and get a break from the stress of school while meeting new people and coming out with friends,” adds Roethel.

Students in attendance will receive an email in the coming days to be notified when their mugs will be ready to be picked up after the mugs are finished glossing.