All sorts of homemade, crafty items, from ornament painting kits to ceramics to 3D-printed puzzles, will be decking the lobby of the Franklin High School auditorium Wednesday as the Franklin school district holds its first art collection fundraiser.
The items sold and auctioned at the fundraiser, which will be held from 5 to 7 p.m., have all been created by district students and staff, or donated by community artists.
All proceeds will go toward purchasing a piece of artwork for the school district’s new art collection, which the district is in the beginning stages of creating at the high school.
The collection, which Freeman has said will be a sort of “art time capsule” for each year, will feature works from regional artists that will be selected by the high school seniors each year.
The pieces will be purchased with money raised through fundraising and will be displayed at the high school.
“We’ll start out with one painting per year,” Freeman said.
This year’s painting, the inaugural work of the collection, will be purchased from a selection of artwork submitted to the district by regional artists before Dec. 31.
Using either the form on a student-created website for the collection or by emailing work directly to Freeman, artists from northwest Pennsylvania can submit a digital image of their artwork, which can be drawing, painting, printmaking, and other forms of 2D art, Freeman said.
“Our seniors will see that and kind of talk about the art, and go from there,” she said.
“If you see the (Latrobe) collection, it started during the Great Depression,” Freeman said. “They’re proud of it and have kept it going, and I’d really love to have that sense of pride for us.”
She said the response from students and staff to the idea has been “very positive,” and the students are excited.
Among the things students have said about a prospective art collection are that it will add diversity and a “pop of color and life,” that it would build a stronger community and a sense of pride, and that it would benefit the community outside the school by supporting local artists.
The fundraiser Wednesday will be the district’s first for the art collection.
Freeman said students and teachers from throughout the district, from home decorating to art to technology, have been “very busy” the last several weeks producing items to sell in the fundraiser.
Among the items will be homemade ornaments, mugs, faux stained glass paintings, ceramics like spoon rests and incense holders, and clay jewelry.
“We have over 300 ceramic ornaments that the high school students went over and collaborated with the elementary school students to decorate,” she said. “There’s a lot that’s gone into this event to make sure it’s something to get us off on the right foot.”
Once funds are raised for the artwork and it is bought, Freeman said the hope is to unveil the chosen piece at the school’s annual art show in May.
“Everyone on our staff and school board and district are excited,” Freeman said. “There’s a lot of positive energy around it.”
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