“Art is something that always comes from the heart and soul,” says Art Club member, Esmeray Salgado. “Art can be found in anyone, and is always seen as a great passion and will always be respected if you’re around the right people.”
Art Club has been running for decades, but sponsor Wes Gonzalez has been running it for 7 years now. Mr. Gonzalez describes it as a great way to get involved in the art department, even if you aren’t taking an art class. “It gives a lot of students a place to be with like-minded creative people and to be able to make their own art apart from what we make in class,” he states.
Students have complete control over what they make; there are no assignments. Mr. Gonzalez is incredibly inspired by students. “They are always coming up with ideas that I might never have thought of, and we work together to make it happen,” he said.
Carl Sandburg’s Art Club conduct their activities in all of the art classrooms, but mostly in the Ceramics Room (N110), the Drawing Room (N218), and the Jewelry Room (N223). “We meet every Tuesday in N218 after school until 4pm,” Gonzalez explains. “We have about 60 in the club currently, but take new members all year long.”
Having a club community is very important to the mission of the group, since seeing others make art is what mainly inspires Salgado. “It sparks up that urge, as it makes me think about what I can create,” Salgado explains.
Club member Zoe Bautista also speaks to the value of club community, stating, “It’s a space for me to be myself, chatting with friends while also engaging with shows or games I enjoy by drawing things from them.”
Art club allows students to learn and create new things. Mr. Gonzalez further explains, “Just being around others that are creating rubs off. I had several students see a couple of my jewelry students making rings and wanted to try it out, so I gave them a quick lesson on ring making, and they walked out with their own rings.”
Bautisa adds that you can learn, “Communication skills, and if you hang out with people long enough and draw with them, you start to learn art skills from them.”
Art Club offers room for innovation, creativity, and uniqueness, which is what makes it so special. Students work, “alongside others like teachers and students who are also fascinated by the prospect of portraying their thoughts onto physical projects,” says Salgado.
In sum, “Art Club is a time where students who have a keen interest in the flow of lines and colors all in their own hands can test and practice their abilities in a comfortable environment,” Salgado also says.
From Salgado’s experience, at Art Club, “There is every single style, guaranteed. Every art piece is purely from the participant, which can be an incredible amount. I do sketches in a journal or sketchbook, digital art, or art pieces from the class itself.”
Art Club is a significant part of the Sandburg community; you can see their work all around the school. For example, “In the past, we created the murals in the pool. There used to be a mural in the South Gym we painted, and the painting outside the Lit Lab. We occasionally are asked to do things around the building; otherwise, the students use the time to make whatever they want,” says Mr. Gonzalez.
Art Club is marked by the energy and friendships that students create within it. Bautista expresses how Art Club gives, “people opportunities to express their artistic hobbies and also find people with similar interests.”
Salgado adds, “There is no necessity for skill or directions. It’s all you. A participant in the club doesn’t feel pressured to reach any standards in the club, or follow rules when it comes to the creation of their art, because there are no rules.”
Art Club is a group that offers students the freedom to create what they please and to design what their hearts desire — a powerful outlet for all students as they grow their passions and identities.