by Kelly Sullivan
HORIZON Reporter
As the cultural diversity on the Whatcom Community College campus grows, so does the need for extracurricular activities that can facilitate and encourage student involvement. This quarter at Whatcom the new club is WAAC (pronounced like the 90s slang term “Whack!”) which stands for Whatcom Art Awareness Community.
With the formation of WAAC, the clubs student officers and teaching advisor Pam Richardson hope to cultivate a more extensive community of local artists on the Whatcom campus. They want to achieve this by getting people involved, which is a priority for the club this quarter.
“This is good for artists to get together to feed off each others creativity. I’ve already gotten a lot of good ideas” said student member Meg Hemple, 19. Hemple, who heard about the club through a mutual friend, does prints and works with markers.
The club was inspired about a year ago by Richardson, who planted the idea for an art club whose focus is to get its members involved in the community by supporting art awareness at Whatcom. To emphasize the importance of the presence of art as a necessary component of a students education.
Derek Van der Griend one of the student officers is excited about what the club means for the campus. Van der Griend and Desire Louise got the club off it feet last quarter. Other officers include Victoria Knott, Aundrea Leslie, Scooter Riedell and Jennifer Sonker.
Another major goal for the club this quarter is setting up an art walk for Whatcom students in March. The club is mostly focused on the observable forms of artistic expression such as painting, and drawing but are also open to visual illustrations of the written word.
WAAC “accepts any kind of artists, and mediums” said student member Jessica Hemple, 17. The art walk is to take place March 3rd through the 6th. All are encouraged to get involved and display their work with WAAC . The theme is illumination; Light vs. Dark.
Another major goal for the club this quarter is setting up an art walk/show for Whatcom students in March. The clubs is mostly focused on the observable forms of artistic expression including painting, drawing and sculpture, but are also open to visual illustrations of the written word.
WAAC currently has about twenty participating students, with anywhere from five to the full 20 filtering in and out of meetings, which are every other Wednesday at 12:30 pm. in Syre 216.
January 13 was the first time the club met in room 216, which is a long hallway of a room with one giant light wooden table taking up its entirety. The club members sit around facing each other. “This is also the room where the school board meets, so no writing on the table,” Richardson joked at the start of the meeting.
Van der Griend sustained the progression through out the meeting, which focused on the club’s objectives for the quarter. Input from the other advisers and student members of the club were embraced by Van der Griend. The officers depend on feedback and involvement in the meetings from the students to keep the club moving forward.
The atmosphere is warm and welcoming for new and existing members. There are talks of Saturday trips to the museum or movie nights for members who can make it to get comfortable with one another and have time to get to know each other in the near future.
“It brings more attention to the college community [of artists], and you can get group of like minded people together that that like art,” said Hemple.
All are welcome and, Van der Griend and Richardson agree, the more the better. Although they consider the club to be professional in that they really want to get things done this quarter, and promote their club and activities as much as possible, any one interested in art is welcome. Even if you have never set your pencil to sketch paper in your life, they are always looking for enthusiastic students who may just be eager to learn.
The next meeting will be held on February 3 at 12:30 p.m. in the Syre center 216. Those interested can stop by and bring some ideas and enthusiasm for everything art.
