By Isabella Cordell
Photography by Charlise Norris
To fulfill the creative needs of Agnes Scott students, a space for artistic expression has been established in Alston, in the former bookstore space. The Creative Student Access Workshop (C-SAW) gives students the chance to escape the monotony of academic work and instead work on artistic projects in a collaborative space.
Resources include sewing machines, a 3-D printer, various art supplies, an abundance of yarn and fabric, a photobooth, wire tools, drills and a copy camera. The space is completely free and accessible to all students. If you don’t finish a project, there are work-in-progress bins for you to store projects.
During the open house the space was bustling with students. The interior itself can best be described as bright and inviting, with colorful supplies and decorations. Some people were regulars to the space and others had never visited before. One student was making a skirt. Another couple of students used sewing machines. An area that seemed especially popular was the knitting station, with a wide selection of yarn and knitting supplies for students to use.
C-SAW is run by the LDR 200 Making Space: Innovation Lab class. The class is taught by Professor Nell Ruby, who views the space as a place for artistic invention.
“I have a theory about making,” said Ruby. “The notion of making something noticeable and tangible that we become completely engaged with is what we do when we invent. I see this spark in here when people come in. There’s no grading or preconceived standard and the whole idea of taking risks and making stuff and making it again and getting input means you have a relationship with that thing which is your thought, which is the thing I’ve been trying to do for 25 years in my art classes. When someone takes an art class, it’s loaded. They have thoughts about is it good enough. They do things formulaically, which is different from in here- which is about experimentation. There’s no judgment. That’s the biggest killer in art is judgment. It’s not the single thing you make, it’s the practice of making. It’s so incredibly empowering”.
Within the class, students learn about their own leadership styles while maintaining a space for the student body. These students work as stewards, answering questions, helping students with projects, and maintaining the space.
“The class is about finding your strengths,” says August Fisk ’25. “I like the aspect of community and I like the ability to exchange information and teach but also learn at the same time.”
These students work as stewards, answering questions, helping students with projects, and maintaining the space.
“I like that it’s a place where the community can come and create things and that there are shared materials,” says Belinda Grace Brooks ’24.
C-SAW builds bridges between like-minded students who might not have had an opportunity to meet or get to know one another on a personal level.
“I really like that I’ve met so many people in the Maker’s Space I never would have met otherwise,” says Allison Aguilera ’23. “At Agnes we have our groups and especially know people we have majors with but here, there are many different creative people who collaborate. We all get to collaborate over the fact that we like making things and being creative.”
Get involved in the Maker’s Space by stopping by Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the bottom of the ramp between Mollie’s and Black Cat in Alston.
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