While many people across the United States can see the pride that N.C. State students have in their school by turning on their television and seeing thousands of those students jumping and cheering for their basketball team, that image may not fully capture the diversity of experiences that each of those students have. 

That’s why last semester the Crafts Center sought to give every member of the Wolfpack a chance to show their pride through artistic expression. And earlier this month, in celebration of the University’s 125th anniversary, the Crafts Center showcased a few of the art pieces that people came up with. 

With various arts and crafts on display, including an N.C. State-red rocking chair and a set of soda cans from ‘83, directors at the Crafts Center hope the exhibit, titled “Who Let the Wolves Out!” can offer a cross-section of Wolfpack pride, or at least a small sampling.

“Last year, we were all asked to come up with ideas to help celebrate the anniversary year,” Jo Ellen Westmoreland, assistant director of the Crafts Center, said. “What we did was to offer some classes where we would specifically make things for the anniversary. We did a Bellower class and a ‘Then and Now’ class, among others.”

Featuring more than 20 pieces of art, the exhibit stands in the exhibition area of the Crafts Center and organizers plan to keep the art pieces on display until March 15. Some pieces, such as the two Bell Tower sculptures, came out of the anniversary celebration classes, while others came out of the personal collections of Wolfpack fans.

“It [was] a volunteer thing,” Westmoreland said. “You put the word out and pieces come in, and some pieces are still coming in.”

One of the most interesting aspects of the exhibit was the diversity within the collection, Westmoreland said. Even though all pieces represent the pride someone has in the University, every person chose to express this sentiment in a different way.

Although the entire exhibit exemplifies the diversity of the Wolfpack family, two pieces in particular represent the different backgrounds of students.

One, a collection of tiles, the result of the effort put forth by students of a stress-busting class offered in December, is still being prepared for the exhibit. Given few restraints, students who attended the event were free to do anything with their personal tile so the piece, when taken as a whole, represents the various interests of the students, Westmoreland said.

The other piece is a collection of squares drawn by more than 100 Arts Village students displayed prominently at the center of the exhibit. Participating Arts Village students came to an event specifically to make the display, Westmoreland said. Organizers gave each student one or two tiles with a simple design that they could embellish.

Although students started decorating their tiles with no idea that the tiles were part of a larger art piece, when the students put their tiles together, an image of two familiar Wolfpack representatives, Mr. and Ms. Wuf, standing in front of Turlington Hall, came together.

Alexia Lipscomb, a sophomore in paper science and engineering and an Arts Village assistant, helped construct the centerpiece in the exhibit and contributed her artistic touch to one of the squares that made up the border of the picture.

“Putting together the final product was really interesting because I was a little worried about how the whole piece was going to look,” Lispscomb said. 

However, Lipscomb said she was pleasantly surprised.

“Even if you didn’t think you were a very good artist, it didn’t matter in the end because everything was unified and we got a great piece out of it,” Lipscomb said. “It was really fun.”

“I’m really pleased with how the Arts Village piece turned out and I think the ceramic piece is going to turn out really nice,” Westmoreland said. “[This exhibit] is a little different than what we normally do. It’s nice to have works from students, staff and the general public.”