A group of Mariner High School art students stepped out of the classroom and into Cape Coral’s Harbour View Gallery on Thursday.
The gallery, part of Cape Harbour for 17 years, aimed to inspire students by showcasing what a future in the arts can look like.
Thirty hand-picked students from Mariner High were given the chance to see how creativity and career can intertwine in the real world.
Barbara Broderick, a stained glass artist, welcomed the students into her vibrant world of color and light, showcasing her work that includes custom stained glass windows, resin-topped tables, and hand-designed candles.
“These are students who are interested in art and really want to be our future artists,” said Broderick. “They’ll take over for us one day, they’ll be the ones running the gallery.”
Nearby, pastel artist Dana Enders demonstrated live painting in the breezeway outside the gallery, embracing the plein-air style.
“So I think a lot of students aren’t even going to ever have even heard of plein air,” said Enders. “You get a very different sense of light and color when you’re painting outside versus a studio painting. So my paintings are done from start to finish outside.”
Across the room, storm chaser and photographer Quinn Sedam shared how his passion for chasing lightning across Southwest Florida evolved into a career.
“I went out and chased storms. But every night I went out, I failed,” said Sedam. “When I came home, I looked at every picture I took and thought, ‘What could I have done differently to make that photo work?’ And then after two years or so, boom, I just started nailing it.”
The experience resonated with students like Massimo Palermo, who said learning from the pros gives him a clearer picture of his future.
“Seeing other people’s artwork, watching videos online, I’ve watched so many artists online, and they all make me want to do better, and I think I do better,” said Palermo.
Other students, like Victoria Cady, enjoyed exploring the variety the art world has to offer.
“It’s kind of hard to be like, ‘Okay, you’re gonna do this and you’re gonna do that,’ because with artists, it’s kind of difficult to just choose one thing. You always bounce around,” said Cady.
The partnership with Harbour View Gallery doesn’t end with this visit. Fifteen of these art students will have the opportunity to display their artwork at the gallery throughout September, giving them a platform beyond the classroom.