Art Club has been at Independence High School since its opening. It continues to inspire and aid in the growth of IHS students. 

The Art Club is planning fun activities that engage, entertain, and involve students. They plan on making posters for school events, drawing on roof tiles, fundraising money for field trips, drawing, painting and more. Freshman Lan Truong, club member, joined because she aspires to be an animator or a character designer for video games. She says she is most excited to “draw on the tiles of the roof and put them back up so that it’ll look more colorful in the rooms”.

The students will also be fundraising for field trips that were not available last year. Mario Saucedo, co-sponsor of the Art Club, says they plan to go to the ZooLights at the Phoenix Zoo, the botanical garden, and the Phoenix museum. 

The Art Club has two co-sponsors Mario Saucedo, 3D design teacher, and Joshua Odom, art teacher. Odom draws, paints and is familiar with photography; whereas, Saucedo is more familiar with hands-on type of activities like handling clay and creating 3 dimensional art. The different variety of skill from the two sponsors appeals to different students. Saucedo expressed that since he and Odom are in two different fields of art, there’s “more to offer the students”.

While striving for the students to hone their artistic skills, Saucedo also aims for students to become socially and emotionally connected to other students. He says that many students are not social and  prefer to stay in their own little bubble. He hopes they will “grow as artists and grow as individuals” as they learn to interact and learn from each other. 

Another one of the club’s goals is to involve students while also making them feel secure. The Art Club is a community where ideas and individual creativity can be expressed and valued. Senior Omar Palmillas, club member, joined the club because he aims to be a fashion designer or a car designer. He expressed that the club is his comfort zone and that there is a “positive aura” around the class. Since everyone has a common interest in art, it is easy for everyone to collaborate and become friends. Truong says, ”Overall, art brings people together. We all want to make something together . . . An end product that everyone can admire”.