Members of South’s Public Art Collaborative Club installed an original piece of art they created for the Glenview Grind, a coffeehouse in Glenview on Wednesday, Dec. 14.  Members measured, marked, and taped up parts of the work to have it ready for the public to see, Scott Glass, English Teacher and club sponsor, said. 

For the Glenview Grind, the students created a coffee-inspired piece. The art piece resembles a caffeine molecule, with a styrofoam hexagon and pentagon connected and LED light strips behind the piece. Within the shapes, a cardboard “brewing” and “love” are placed in the center of the hexagon and pentagon, respectively. Public Art Collaborative thought the project was a way to show that they care about the Glenview community. 

“ Yes, we’re high schoolers, but that doesn’t mean we don’t care about the community,” senior Nathaniel Betts, club member, said. “Everyone in Glenview is the reason we’re able to go to this school, so we should try to help benefit them too.”

Before all of this, the rudiments of this collaboration between Glenview Grind and Public Art Collaborative took place with a few key players; one of them being Friends of Downtown Glenview (FDG). FDG is a volunteer–run organization that aims to reinvigorate Glenview’s downtown, Kathy Schiltz, owner of the Glenview Grind said. FDG was determined to exhibit more art in downtown Glenview, and working with Glass, the community began to meet to discuss the art for Glenview Grind, Schlitz said. Through the president of the Glenview Art League, Glass and Schiltz met and started to meet intermittently, discussing the artpiece, Gerry Brown, secretary of FDG, said.

Schiltz wanted the art to express community because she believes that’s what the Glenview Grind is all about. She was excited for students to design the piece and contribute to the coffee house’s atmosphere.

“I just really enjoy working with the Glenbrook South students,” Schiltz said. “I think there’s a lot of creativity going on over there that could possibly be seen in our community coffee shop here.”

Art is a significant part of human culture, Glass said. Even thousands of years ago, humans painted on caves to express themselves. Creating art is something that everyone should be able to do. Public Art Collaborative provides the space for one to do just that, Glass said.

“There’s something about just the process of creating it that speaks to us in these very compelling and important ways,” Glass said.