Friends and co-presidents Anna Chen (‘25) and Lindsay Li (‘26) founded and run the Green Hope art club– but it wasn’t always that way.
The art club had been an integral part of Chen’s freshman year. “It was a safe space for me. Every lunch I would go there… you could eat there, you could chat there with your friends, it was just like a fun place to chill,” she said. However, in the 2022-23 school year, she found that it had been discontinued due to a lack of leadership. However, Chen quickly realized that this presented an opportunity for her: now in her junior year, she has re-established the art club with Li, an avid crafter. They now aim to create a community of art lovers and foster interest in Green Hope’s art courses and the National Art Honors Society.
Even students who may not have time for those activities are welcome to engage in their hobbies in the art club, as is the case for Li. While she hasn’t found room in her schedule to take any art courses yet, she enjoys creating in the club and in her free time. She is particularly fond of crafting, typically sewing, crocheting small accessories, and using beads to make bracelets or phone charms. At times, Li draws inspiration for her pieces from creators on Pinterest, but she loves to take creative liberty and experiment on her own as well. She explained that experimenting is especially important when she faces an art block. “If a certain material doesn’t work or I don’t like certain colors together, I have to start over. It can be frustrating sometimes but it’s also a learning experience, like trying to find what palettes suit me and what colors I need to use to bring out the art piece,” she said.
Chen related to this sentiment, although her choice of medium, digital art, requires a different skillset from Li’s crafts. She explained that her drawing style is influenced by the anime she watched when she was younger, as well as the works of other artists. As a digital artist, Chen found that much of her improvement came from online communities. “Your art is going to change based on the people you interact with. For me, my style changed a lot based on the friends I made online and their art. I get inspired by them and they get inspired by me, so it’s mutually beneficial,” she said. The community she cultivated online also prompted Chen to start doing commissions.
For those new to art, Li gives her advice. “Art can be anything that expresses a person, so just be creative. You can make anything into art, so find what you like to do and build off of that,” she said. Chen had a similar view, saying, “Whether you like painting or crafting, try to find your scope of interest and then work your way there. Start with the fundamentals first and then start developing your style.”
Li and Chen recognize the difficulty in finding one’s niche and aim to help those struggling to do so in the art club. Their meetings, which occur every Wednesday during lunch, allow members to explore various mediums of fine art, including painting, chalk drawings, colored pencil drawings, and more. Along with these relaxed activities, the club hosts larger community events and hopes to run an art drive in the future.
Art is a hobby and a form of expression that, as Li said, “shapes your life.” They testify to the impact that it has had on them and emphasize their hope to reach more people through the art club.
