Students are rolling into the seventh week of school, which means things are getting busy! Clubs and organizations are piling up members under their belt, one of them being the John Marshall Art Club. Welcome back to the Club Spotlight Corner!

Senior Lola Suffridge, who is the Art Club Secretary, describes what Art Club entails. 

“Art Club is just about what it sounds like; we meet once or twice per month in Ms. Holland’s classroom to get together and do something art related. This can be anything from making buttons to carving stamps from erasers or to painting birdhouses.” 

Suffridge also shares her personal experience with art and why it matters.

“Art acts as a method venting my emotions, good and bad, and expressing my worldview,” Suffridge said. “Personally, my art often portrays things that I find injust in the world or the beauty of the world in spite of those problems. But the cool thing about art is that it can carry any meaning and thus each person puts unique significance on the art that they create.”

On the topic of art being a significant part of life, Suffridge also continues to point out why bringing an art club into schools is a beneficial act.

“It provides a comfortable space for people who already identify as artists to create in a low-stress environment and get to meet new people. For those who are deeply invested in their identity as an artist, the process of making art can quickly just feel like doing work or schoolwork,” Suffridge said. “It also helps that Art Club provides all materials needed for activities, which not only provides artistic opportunities to low-income students, but it also just allows students to try out things like button making which may be too expensive to invest in on their own. We also do some community events, like Los Leones Chalkfest, which help make our campus and other campuses more beautiful.”

From the perspective of the art club’s very own secretary, Lola Suffridge, their place on campus is surely a valuable one. Students gain the ability to unleash their creativity with no cost in a safe space with their unique, but like-minded peers!