On a Thursday night at the end of last quarter, scores of guests, some with no artistic background, attempted to sculpt their own masterpieces with clay. Others tried their luck with traditional paper and paint, or made no attempt at artistry and simply mingled with other guests.

There was something unusual about the scene inside Cantor Arts Center — the anticipation of the crowd was not due to the unveiling of a new Rodin sculpture or Homer Grant painting, but because of the Cantor Arts Sophomore Showcase.

“This event is a collaboration between the Sophomore Class presidents and Cantor Arts Center that came about because of a common goal shared by both groups to allow great artwork to be seen,” wrote Sophomore Class Co-President Durell Coleman ‘10 in an email to The Daily.

As the crowd filtered into the auditorium, there were a myriad of diverse works of art displayed — everything from painting and drawing to digital art and recorded music.

One of the artists, Sarah Macway ‘10, submitted a series of five paintings depicting the beauty of nature.

“The paintings are all based on photographs I’ve taken of landscape from Northern California,” Macway wrote in an email to The Daily. “They show my painting style and my love of nature.”

She described the process of creating her works as traditional.

“I began by painting a bright colorful background, then covering it with small strokes of all sorts of colors to create an illusion of texture, color and shape,” Macway said.

It was student artists like Macway who prompted Coleman to organize the event.

“When [my slate] ran for this position, we asked sophomores to name some things that they wished their Stanford experience included,” Coleman said. “One of the things that we were told was that artists would like the opportunity to display their work.”

For the next hour and half, the crowd witnessed this display of the diverse and highly developed artistic talents of the sophomore class.

Coleman pointed out that the works submitted were of such high quality that every single submission was displayed at the showcase.

“We did not need a panel to judge which pieces would be accepted,” Coleman said. “All of the work that was submitted was so well done that every artist will have his or her work shown.”

As the event came to a close, the crowd moved out of the auditorium with the same excitement they might have felt after observing a Rodin sculpture or Grant painting.

“I thought the art work was all very well done and the program was very well organized and successful,” said Dariusz Wodziak ‘11.

As the crowd exited the museum, several guests left behind their sculptures — a fitting symbol of the inclusive nature of the showcase.