All About MUSE

Founded on Nov. 12, 2016, Muse Art Club, consisting of fourteen members, completed a mixed-media art event themed around the twelve Chinese zodiac signs. The event was held as a fundraiser United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), a nonprofit worldwide organization that strives to protect children’s rights and organized by club President Alison Fang. Their goal: to finish painting, preparing, and printing for an exhibition dated Jan. 28-29, in time for Chinese New Year, a celebration where one zodiac would officially cross over to the next. The Chinese Zodiac consists of twelve animals, one representing each lunar year, meaning the artists of Muse Art Club would be allowed to explore techniques building textures into the skins of the animal they were assigned.
Members of the club were recruited through social media, meaning students all over the district congregated to put forth this event. Merely strangers, the students would spend three hours of each of the five days together over winter break. The use of materials such as newspapers, feathers, leaves, and soft pastels established the multimedia nature as well as the color scheme of each project. The artists started out with the texture, then blocked in colors, and finally added details as well as the background. With the relentless direction of Alison Fang, eleven paintings of the zodiacs were completed, with the exception of the dragon, of which Fang majorly finished before the beginning of the event.
After the pieces were finished, attention shifted to focus on the next episode of the collective event. Preparation of the Zodiac Art Show and Gallery commenced as parents accompanied students to create a banner, and organize the transportation and refreshments. A meeting was held with Promoting Leadership in Aspiring Youth (PLAY) members and determined the schedule for the convention. Muse Art Club also printed cards with each of the zodiac animals on the covers, selling a collection of one of each animal for $20 in handmade boxes. The club set up dates to sell these before the convention. Overall, over 300 were sold. On Jan. 28-29, the Zodiac Art Show and Gallery opened up the doors of their facility and attracted dozens of well-meaning visitors. Among these visitors included Tim Sbranti, former mayor of Dublin, deputy chief of staff for California’s Fifteenth Congressional District, and representatives from PLAY Club. The show and gallery began at 10:30 and opened up with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a welcoming opening speech delivered by Ashley Li and Angela Chen, featuring not only short speeches of congratulations and thanks by Tim Sbranti and PLAY representatives but also a video speech from Catharine B. Baker, Assemblywoman of California’s District 16. Following the opening ceremonies, visitors were free to look at the art pieces created by eleven of Muse Art Club’s most talented and kindhearted young artists. Also featured in the show were Alison Fang’s (the founder and president of Muse Art Club) best works and Mr. Jian Wu’s (a nationally and internationally acclaimed and accomplished artist) paintings and sketches. Boxes of beautifully printed cards were also sold, with all proceeds going to UNICEF. Collaborating closely with PLAY Club, Muse’s first Zodiac Art Show rose to become a huge success, earning praise from Assemblywoman Baker, who said in her video speech, “...Thank you PLAY for working together with Muse to create a program today that actually helps others, not only through artistic enrichment but by supporting UNICEF…” A short note from the Dougherty Valley High School Administration was also read at the opening ceremony, saying “we are so thrilled that so many of you are participating in extracurricular activities that enhance the culture of our community…” Mr. Sbranti himself praised Alison and all of the artists, saying “that’s something that you could find in a professional art gallery.” Participants, visitors, and volunteers alike were inspired by Alison and Muse Art Club’s efforts to serve the community by encouraging artistic values. As for the future, the Muse Art Club hopes to keep creating new art and encouraging others to do so as well. The club also strives to keep teaching students interested in art, such as hosting lessons for young children. Due to the success of our first gallery art show, Muse Art Club looks forward to continuing to pursue its goal of encouraging artistic values and applying these values to their daily lives.