GFW Public Schools may not be the largest district in the state, but we are fortunate to have a wide variety of amazing opportunities for our students to try. In addition to career-focused programming and options for theater, music, and athletics, students can take part in a variety of clubs and groups that allow them to grow their interests and talents, and build strong friendships and relationships with others.
A relatively new club is the GFW Art Club, which was established by a group of students who wanted to continue creating art outside of the school day in spring of 2023. The club is open to any GFW students in grades 7-12 and they meet for two hours after school every Thursday. Students work with a variety of different art mediums and explore different art making processes. They have tried drawing, painting, clay making, photography, and 3D sculpture with a balance between guided material based projects and free creative art making time. This provides the students with time to create their own personal work while also being able to learn about new art materials they may not have used yet. The biggest focus is helping students create projects that they want to make and will be proud of.
Left to right: Desi Schmidt, Savahanna Potts, Remi Schultz, Robbie Lund, Caidyn Suess, Sage Long, James Slosson, Faith Maiers, Keely Hlinsky.
“I like that I can learn these really cool art things that I can do at home and they are not wicked crazy, so I feel accomplished in the art I make,” said Desi Schmidt. “I love how art club just has endless possibilities for what you can create,” added Faith Maiers.
The GFW Art Club also does activities outside of the school with students providing artwork for the Winthrop General Federation of Women’s Clubs annual arts and crafts show at the Winthrop Library in the Spring. Last year students set up the GFWC Arts and Craft Show for the library and stayed to speak about their work and also visited The Lodge of Winthrop and hosted a watercolor painting session with the residents there.
Left to right: Caidyn Suess, Remi Shultz, Hannah Maiers, Savahanna Potts, Jon Ramirez.
Art teacher Rachel Dauer serves as advisor for the club. “I am happy to provide a welcoming and safe space for these students to be creative and feel comfortable being themselves.” said Ms. Dauer. “It is so nice to see students happy to create and show their artwork off to their peers, building confidence in their work and also in themselves.”
We have some extremely talented students and we love being able to support their talents and interests with programming in and out of the regular school day. I am excited to continue to highlight some of these groups and shine a light on more of the students that make our school such a wonderful place to learn!
Left to right: Faith Maiers, Robbie Lund, Sage Long, Caidyn Suess.