Senior Katie Hoffman is excited to run for the student leadership role of FHC’s art club president. 

Elections for president and vice president are coming up, and Katie’s love for art compelled her to join the club during her last year of high school. Katie has always been surrounded by art in her life, and she absolutely loves it. She has taken many art classes here at FHC and is excited at the opportunity to join the art club. 

“I am in AP Art, and I kind of live [in the art classroom],” Katie said. “I love art and having it in my daily routine. [Art club] is another way to add art into my life and meet new people.” 

Forty-nine people attended the first art club meeting; Katie and all the other students in attendance are thankful the new art teacher, Grace Stynes, decided to bring it back into existence.

Last year, due to COVID-19 and virtual learning, the art club was shut down, but Stynes is excited to revive it. It will be a student-led art study hall where students can come and express themselves. 

“The art club was in existence, and then COVID-19 happened and [it] was no longer in existence,” Stynes said. “When it was happening before, it was an art study hall. People were putting murals around the school—you might see them in front of some classrooms. We will be reinventing it a little bit because I had some students come to me and ask me [to bring the art club back].” 

There are multiple murals around the halls of the school building, courtesy of the art club. For example, the freshman hallway boasts a mural of The Great Gatsby. Stynes is excited to bring them back and allow other students to finish these projects. 

Another important factor of the art club is that it will be a student-run club, meaning the students will be the brains of the operation. They will come up with new ideas and find ways to implement their ideas into the club. Stynes plans to facilitate it all while letting the students take creative liberties. 

“[Projects the students want to accomplish] will be decided at the first meeting,” Stynes said. “And then I’ll help facilitate that, but it will mostly be the students themselves coming up with ‘Here is what I want to do’ and ‘Here is how I go about that,’ so [it will be] a little different than class.” 

Junior Ted Weaver is a new art student, and he is excited to use the art club as a study hall and to expand on his art knowledge. He is currently taking the art class Drawing and Painting 1; Ted is enthralled with the passion that this pursuit has opened up to him.

He was debating on whether to join the art club or not, but when his friends signed up, it was a no-brainer. He is planning on using the extra time to work on his current projects and learn new styles of art. 

Currently, Ted is unclear on his own style of art; he is trying to find his voice. For now, he focuses on simply completing the assignments for his art class. He does know that he likes to break the stereotypical art mold and branch into the music side more. Ted is invigorated by the chance to expand his abilities in the art club and even try his hand at a leadership position. 

Ted is excited to continue his art journey by taking a leap in running for president against Katie. 

“Personally, I want to run for president because I’m a very good people person,” Ted said. “I like to get up and talk in front of people, and I think it would be a really fun opportunity to do that, and even better, it’s about something [I’m] passionate about. Getting people together and organizing things [would be fun], and I really look forward to winning.” 

Ted is elated to run for president of a welcoming group of students of all grades and artistic backgrounds. 

Though Katie and Ted come from very different artistic backgrounds, they both agree that they have a strong passion for art. Their love for art is why they are so thrilled at the chance to join the art club as it comes back this year. 

“There has always been art around me in my life,” Katie said. “My mom and my dad have always been doing artistic things around the house. My dad used to draw little cartoons for me. I just grew up loving art, and I like having it in school too.”