As students walk into the ceramics room, they are greeted with the smell of wet clay and paint. Artwork adorns every surface of the room.
Students in the art club are heavily honed in on their projects, bringing life to their creations.
Jessica Janus, art club vice president, watches as Therese O’Halloran, the art club’s advisor and MCCC’s assistant professor of art, throws a lump of clay on a wheel and shapes it.
Janus, 35, said early on in her college studies, she hired a tutor because she struggled with math. After continuing to struggle, she said her tutor suggested she try something different and heavily encouraged her to attend one of the art club’s meetings.
Janus said she graduated from Dundee High School in 2007. After she graduated, Janus said she went straight to MCCC to study criminal justice in 2008.
After taking a break from her studies, Janus said she came back to MCCC in 2021. She said she ended up joining the art club and moving up the ranks, and now she holds the title of vice president.
Even after earning her degree in fine arts in 2023, Janus said she continues to take classes with O’Halloran. Janus said O’Halloran has too much knowledge for her to just leave the art club. She said O’Halloran challenges her and is the exact person she needed when she was struggling.
O’Halloran said the art club meets every two weeks, usually from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Thursdays.
The art club recently worked with visiting artist Presley Bergmooser to create a mural for the MCCC Heck’s Market, which is still in progress.
“We’re trying to mesh the original Heck’s Market and its movements with the new Heck’s Market,” said Malaia Merillat, the treasurer for the art club.
The Heck’s Market Food Pantry is located in the Student Success Center in Founders Hall and aims to provide a variety of healthy food options and essential supplies.
The art club was also commissioned by the River Raisin National Battlefield Park to create a replica of their syrup boats for use in the museum.
“Basically, the idea of the syrup boat is they took bark, stripped it, tied it together like a little bowl and then hung it from a tree,” Merillat said.
Club members are in the process of glazing the boats so they can be finished and given to the museum.
O’Halloran said the students find the art club great because it provides a supportive environment. The students can help each other and critique each other, a vital part of the creative process.
With the support of O’Halloran, her friends and her parents, Janus said she launched her own business last fall called Watercolor Illustrations.
“My friends Ashlyn, Malaia and my parents have pretty much forced me to step up and do something bigger with my art,” Janus said. “I owe so much to them.”
Earlier this year, Janus said she took part in the Rehmann Art Contest hosted by the Detroit Red Wings. The theme for the contest was “fandom fusion,” she said.
Janus’ painting, a watercolor illustration of all the buildings the Detroit Red Wings have played in over four eras, won a place in the top 10 out of 260 entries.
“It took 100 hours to paint,” Janus said.
Darren McCarty, a retired player for the Detroit Red Wings, signed the painting and took a picture with Janus.
When asked if Janus likes hockey, she said, “I do now!”
As part of her business, Janus said she does custom watercolor paintings of things such as homes, storefronts, pets and families.
Janus said painting pets that have gone over the rainbow bridge is one of the things she is the most passionate about.
Janus said she sets aside money from each one of her commissions and donates it to a local cat rescue in Dundee. She said she also donates some of her earnings to the Humane Society of Monroe County.
As of last fall, Janus said she has sold 60 paintings.
She said she mainly sells art through her Facebook page Watercolor Illustrations. Janus said anyone interested in commissioning her can contact her through her website.
Janus said she is currently looking for someone experienced with creating websites through Shopify to help spruce hers up.
According to the art club’s president, Benjamin Fry, the art club is scheduled to hold their third annual gallery show at the IHM Senior Living Community June 2 through July 7. The reception night for the show will be June 6 from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., he said.
Fry said anyone who wants to join the art club can email him at bfry@my.monroeccc.edu.
“We have a good group,” Janus said. “We would like a bigger group, but we have a really good group of motivated people.”
Janus said students are also welcome to suggest ideas for projects they would like to see the art club do. Club members have the opportunity to go to museums, do group paintings outside and participate in art shows, she said.
“An interest in art is the only requirement to join the art club,” Janus said. “No skill necessary.”
