This is the work of the Art Club. This group of aspiring young artists meets every Wednesday after school in the paint bespeckled art room to work on both personal projects and ones for the community. Recently, the Art Club students have been commissioned by teacher Emily Chyma and the student council to paint and decorate large velcro patches that attach to duffel bags that will be given to foster care kids.

The project started by last year’s student council works with a group called Foster Love to give kids these “sweet cases,” which are bags for children in the foster care system with a teddy bear, a blanket, and a few other items inside.

This is by far not the first community based assignment with which these students have been involved. It started last year with the painting of parking lines down by the Tama Civic Center; then the artists moved on to customizing teachers’ windows.

The possibility of doing window paintings for local establishments fills the STC students with zeal.

Art Club member Arianna Herrera paints an uplifting patch for a bag that will be given to a foster child.

“We really want to step up more and work with other businesses, make murals,” Art Club Vice President Liliana Espinoza said.

It’s the goal of the current Art Club administration, under the leadership of President Ciela Ornelas, to leave an organization that will last for years to come. From the experienced hands of the upperclassmen to the young blood of the freshmen who will carry on the club’s traditions in just a couple of years, the Art Club is a diverse collection of students.

The varied works which these young talents produce is a testament to their unique personalities and experiences; the disparate assortment of art sprinkled through the high school halls shows that each kid is loudly getting to voice their artistic freedom. This is brightly shown to the world on the club’s instagram page @stc.art.club run by member Arianna Herrera.

As part of the club’s latest efforts to connect with the community, the Lincoln Savings Bank approached the club about possibly making an art gallery for the business’s lobby. Additionally, the State Bank of Toledo has funded calendars in recent years that feature students’ artwork. Members of the Art Club will also be on hand at this year’s Lincoln Highway Bridge Festival to paint faces of those in attendance.

Most recently, the Art Club was asked to lend its talents to RAGBRAI. Twenty signs are to be made by the South Tama students to mark the one hundred acres of campground that cyclists will use this summer.

From duffel bags to RAGBRAI signs, the clearest thing about the STC Art Club students is their fervor to leave a lasting impression. With multiple projects set in motion and ones yet to come down the pike, these kids want to have a positive impact on the community. So far, these young artists are doing just that, one painted face at a time.