For the past eight years, Norwich High School Art Teacher Wayne Franklin has been offering Art Club for students in the school who want to work on their own creative projects, and while they don’t get the same recognition as the high school athletes, Franklin feels their school spirit is represented in everything they create.
The advisor described the club as more of an art enrichment experience than his traditional classes are. “I don’t provide projects for the group. I encourage them to come and find something they like to do or want to try,” Franklin said. That something could be painting, sculpting, drawing or even coloring on coloring sheets. “That way the students take more of an ownership of it,” Franklin said.
Art Club meets every Wednesday from 3 to 4 p.m., and attendance for the club is based on the same open model as the curriculum. “Some days we have half a dozen kids, sometimes we have a dozen,” Franklin said, explaining that students are not required to attend every week, or at all if they chose not to.
Franklin said many people still have the misconception of the starving artist. “A lot of people don’t realize the number of careers out there and the potential for students to be successful doing what they want to do,” he said.
The group is open to any student in grades nine through twelve, at any level of artistic ability. Franklin explained in addition to the art experience the students get from the club, it also provides them with a place to socialize, an opportunity to try various projects and for those who are unable to fit art into their school schedules, a chance to enjoy the aspects of the class.
“With today’s schedule, a lot of students aren’t able to schedule an art class, and if they have the interest and desire to do something, then they are welcome to come down and be a part of this,” Franklin said.