Every Tuesday at 12:55 p.m. following the end of sixth period, Art Club members log into a Zoom meeting. Typically, art club president Lily Yang starts with a few ice breakers before moving onto fun art activities such as drawing your ideal type of person, Christmas wishlist or cartoon character. Club leaders then proceed to talk about different types of art styles and art projects.
While many clubs have struggled to maintain participation during remote meetings, Art Club has seen a reverse trend: higher participation with a consistent 15-18 members due to the new club calendar and numerous freshmen spreading the word and bringing their friends. Additionally, the officers, consisting of Yang, junior Eileen Lee, junior Sumin Park, junior Ashley Ko and senior Eva Ji, have been initiating a lot more projects.
Originally, the club planned to paint a mural on campus, but they could not find adequate resources to complete the project. Instead, they transitioned to a recycling bin project in collaboration with Green Club: Club members will paint bins with themes such as the four seasons, nature, smiley faces and “Among Us.” Currently, they are planning to paint 10 to 12 small recycling bins over winter break.
“I think it is a good concept and a fun way to get involved and raise awareness for the environment,” art club member sophomore Jackie Ryu said.
Besides these larger projects, club meetings also consist of small activities such as self-portrait activities, where club officers give drawing tips and members upload their artwork to a shared drive folder to evaluate each other’s work. Members also get to choose their own music to play.
“Over the summer, we’ve had monthly art challenges for boba and a sticker fundraiser with stickers designed by club members,” Yang said. “We also made Thanksgiving cards to teachers.”
In the coming months, the club is hoping to do an “under the stars” gallery of art members’ artwork. They’d also like to pursue club activities such as drawing mosaics, self-portraits and presenting two-minute topics.
“I think the club is running very smoothly and is a very accepting place,” Ryu said. “It does not matter where your skill level is at, as long as you have an interest in art.”