An art teacher Ebenezer Middle School is working to encourage student artists with the national junior art honor society that was created at Ebenezer Middle School last spring.

Carlee Fuller said there were approximately 40 applicants to the society last year and 25 students were selected to be members.

She said this year she decided she wanted to work with small groups of students. There were approximately 60 students who applied to be in the junior art honor society, so Fuller said there will be a fall group and spring group that allows for more students to participate.

Fuller said she saw a need in her students for the art society.

“I have so many kids that were good artists in the classroom that I wanted to push further,” she said. “I needed to be able to let them chose what they were going to do instead of saying, ‘this is what we’re going to do.’”

Fuller said she wishes she had had the opportunity to participate in an art club in school.

“I try to open it up and let the students chose what they want to do,” she said. “I want to get them to enter different competitions.”

Fuller is encouraging the students to create artwork to submit to the Effingham County Fair. She wants to see the students gain confidence in their art and themselves through the society.

“I really wanted them to learn to work together on collaborative projects,” she said.

She said the students are also working on T-shirt designs for the society.

Tyler Bloedel, an eighth grade student, said he joined the art society because he likes to draw.

“Sometimes I just sit around and draw, so I decided I could sit around and draw after school,” he said.

Kelsie Sikes, a sixth grader, said she loves art and enjoys working on shading.

Seventh-grader Latoya Johnson was in the art society last year, and said she enjoyed working on the projects.

“I like to draw,” she said. “I’ve always liked to draw.”