LIVE OAK, CA (MPG) - As the school year comes to a close, Live Oak High School students are anticipating the expansion of the arts program. With the development of the Art Club, which began last year as an after school hangout spot, three sophomores Idalis Vallejo, Brenda Diaz and Yalmaz Abid doing arts and crafts got to know better their art teacher, Elizabeth Dolbec. “We wanted to open it up to all students, for anyone who wanted to come hang out and make art, but we never expected to have so much involvement,” said Idalis who was recently elected to be the president of the Art Club for next year.

Because of the new Art Club, an increase in interest has skyrocketed up in the Live Oak High School student population. In the coming year, Ms. Dolbec will be starting up an AP Art class that will require students to begin their art work over the summer and require the completion of twenty art pieces over the span of the school year.

In the Art Club a typical event was the making of mugs and flower pots which sparked the idea for Ms. Dolbec to offer ceramics as its own class. Yalmaz Abid, an avid art student who has been enrolled in advanced art for the past two years was one of the first students to clear room in his schedule to ensure he has a spot in the ceramics class. “Part of Advanced Art is making different Art pieces out of different Materials,” said Abid. After Yalmaz painted an assortment of pictures including his self-portrait, which was featured in a student showcase at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, his teacher handed him some clay. “As soon as she gave me that grey chunk of clay I fell in love with it,” he said. His favorite part of working with clay is working with his hands: “forming something in your hands and in between your fingers is indescribable.”

So next year, keep an eye out for Lions as their art program continues to grow.