For Coppell High School juniors Shruti Pritmani and Hansika Reddy, art is more than just a hobby. With over a decade of experience in different forms of art, they have used their passion for art to impact the community, launching a nonprofit dedicated to teaching young students interested in art.
The duo founded their nonprofit in August, combining their ideas from personal projects to make a greater impact. Through their nonprofit, they have donated time and resources to benefit various organizations like the GEMS Camp, which supports women in STEM.
Through volunteering experience with Falak Art Studio in Coppell, they have refined their skills in their own styles of art while teaching younger students.
“It’s helped with managing a lot of things at once because especially in the art studio, they would all have like different assignments, and if we look away for a couple of seconds, you don’t know what could happen,” Pritmani said. “I did mess up a little as a teacher, but I grew over time.”
Through the various styles of art LoveCare and Art focuses on, it allows for the students and the teachers to experience art through another lens.
“Without the nonprofit, our perception of art is kind of just based on what we do in school in AP for two years now, so we haven’t been able to enjoy art for what it is,” Pritmani said. “Through this nonprofit, we are able to enjoy art again and also spread that joy to others.”
This summer, they are hosting a series of art camps offering workshops, ranging from watercolor resistant paintings to henna tattoos, mixing in traditional art with a fun twist.
“What we offer is more fun experiences and a mix of arts and crafts, so they can also enjoy it without being stressed to have to learn something that may not even be enjoyable,” Pritmani said.
Nonetheless, their love for art originated long before their nonprofit took place. CHS art teacher Brennan Frugé has watched as both students grow through their high school journey, inside and out of the classroom.
“They were working as art instructors in a private art studio, and this year they started doing a lot of traditional artwork where you are doing paintings of people based on real life,” Frugé said. “They really worked on branching out, and I would say they have a clear vision of the type of art they wanna make.”
Though Frugé was not aware of the nonprofit until recently, he notes their skills he has observed that can make them successful in their journey.
“I think they’re very skilled, very motivated. very knowledgeable in a lot of art techniques,” Frugé said. “Having taken another AP art class, they will probably be even better at experimenting and getting outside their comfort zones and they can bring all that knowledge to helping others.”
Working with younger students has given Pritmani and Reddy a stronger understanding of the impact art can have on a child, especially when they get to personally connect with the student.
“We have volunteered for a nonprofit that taught our special needs kids art, and I remember having a private lesson with a student that I taught for like a couple of months,” Reddy said. “I taught him the art that he wanted to do, and when I saw his smile, it really made me feel happy for what I did.”
As this organization focuses on mentoring younger students, Frugé shares his perspective on the value of mentoring through all ages of art students.
“I do think it’s important for older students to mentor younger artists,” Frugé said. “As teachers, we should probably make it more of a priority to help get students in high school with younger art students.”
They aim to make an impact through LoveCare and Art as time goes on and to continue teaching all types of art to younger students.
“We want to get the word about our nonprofit in the community, so we can get more kids to come to our summer workshops because we’re just trying to get to as many people as we can,” Pritmani said.
Beyond teaching, Pritmani and Reddy make it a priority to give back through all aspects of their nonprofit, through donating proceeds from their workshops.
“We are not keeping the profits, it’s all going to meaningful charities. We already have savings with more money than we’re ready to donate combined with this year’s nonprofit, so we have already made an impact, and we want to do more,” Reddy said.
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