For many students, art is a creative outlet that relaxes them during their hectic lives. Giants’ Studio club gives students an opportunity to share their art with our local community while making a profit. Through their art sales, students use their passion to gain business skills and get closer with other students who share their interests.
The club had a successful sale outside of Tony Tuttos in Ross on February 21, with many people showing up to purchase art and the club having a chance to bond.
Maddy DeBisschop is the treasurer of the club as well as a student photographer who posts her work on social media and takes photos for the yearbook.
“It’s a really fun experience, especially if you make art and enjoy being creative, because everyone there is also creative and is there for the same reasons,” DeBisschop said.
Avery Gunst, the club’s co-president and a student ceramicist who posts her work on her personal Instagram account started the club with the other president, Izzy Marsh.
Gunst had a conversation with Marsh while they were throwing pieces in their ceramics class, both expressing interest in the possibility of selling their work. This sparked the creation of the club to allow students to sell their artwork and get publicity for their creativity.
“[My favorite part of the club] is the community because it’s really made our ceramics class in particular a lot closer because it gives us a place to hang out and connect outside of just the class,” Gunst said.
DeBisschop emphasized how the club generates and builds on a sense of community within the art programs.
“The club is impactful specifically to the students who make art because not only do they get money by selling their art to local community members who get excited about having this work in their homes, but it gives more confidence to the student artists to continue to make art and pursue their passions,” DeBisschop said.
Gunst mentioned how the club has sparked much enthusiasm in the local community and has drawn attraction to the art programs at Redwood.
“I’ve told lots of teachers, adults and kids about this club, and they get super excited that Redwood’s art community is getting represented,” Gunst said. “It helps create publicity for the different programs that Redwood has to offer, and we’re really showcasing the talent that the Redwood community has.”
The profits from Giants’ Studio’s sales are split between the artist who created the piece, charities and the club itself.
“[For our sales] we do 70 percent go back into the artist’s pocket, 10 percent goes back to the club to make our sales possible and then 20 percent goes to Draw Bridge, which is a charity that helps give art supplies to underprivileged or under-resourced teenagers,” Gunst said.
Gunst described how the club’s Instagram page helps generate publicity for the artists and the club, and gets people excited about the pieces at the sale that are available for purchase.
“We had someone buy a bowl at a sale, and we told him about our Instagram, and he went on, and he saw that the bowl that he bought was featured on Instagram, and he got super excited. He [said], ‘Oh My gosh, I have an instafamous piece!’” Gunst said.
To promote student artists, Giants’ Studio spotlights their work and collaborates with them on Instagram posts to promote their personal accounts and the work they have been doing in and out of the club.
“We do artist profiles, and some of our artists have their own Instagram accounts, and it’s cool because you can collaborate with them, and I think that’s another form of exposure for the Redwood art community,” Gunst said.
Giants’ Studio meets in room 514 at lunch on Fridays. To not miss their next sale, find them on Instagram: @giantsstudio26.
