ROBERT PIERCE

   • Leader & Times

Gisell Martinez, like many teenagers, has a variety of hobbies she enjoys.

“I love doing sports,” she said. “I like fishing, word puzzles, reading. I like going to the gym, power lifting, swimming. I want to try new things as well, but I haven’t got into that. Right now, my new thing is having the classes.”

Those classes Martinez, a junior at Liberal High School, are not at the high school itself but rather at Baker Arts Center, where among other things, she teaches crafts.

Martinez has lived in Liberal her whole life, and as she considers college, she likewise is considering several options for her studies.

“I like doing glass blowing, welding,” she said. “They do woodworking at Baker Arts, but they also have it at the high school. I’m thinking where I should do it.”

Baker Director Misty Martin shared the story of how Martinez came to work at the center.

“Gisell was doing her community service hours for the high school,” she said.

In her volunteer role, Martinez was sent to help Julie Parsons with Seymour Rogers Middle School’s Apache afterschool program.

“I wasn’t there that day,” Martin said. “I was here doing something else, and Julie called me afterwards. She said, ‘That girl is a go-getter. We need to get her on our team.’”

The next day, Martin’s daughter, Zoe, who also teaches classes at Baker, had a kids painting class and had been called back for a role in an LHS musical and was running late for the class.

“Gisell came in for me to sign her community service,” Martin said. “I gave her an application and put her to work right away. She came to volunteer and ended up getting a job.”

“We told Julie it was for community service hours,” Martinez said. “I wanted to see what it was all about, and that’s when the whole story got started.”

Martinez said she recently started doing the crafting class at Baker, and she has had an interest in crafting from a very young age.

“I was always crafting things around the house,” she said. “As a child, I’d be running around with friends, always wanting to do something new. At Baker Arts, I clean, watch, come downstairs, help out Zoe if she needs it, if Misty needs it. Sometimes, I come up here and ask her if she needs any help or ask any questions I have myself.”

Martin said Martinez is quite the go-getter and gets things done at the center.

“She comes in, and she’s ready to teach her class,” Martin said. “She’s also ready to do any of the tasks like cleaning, greeting people. She is great at making people feel comfortable when they come in.”

Martin said Martinez too has many ideas.

“I met with the staff, and I told them all to bring me four ideas the next day so, and Gisell, instead of bringing me four ideas, had sketched out an idea book of 10 or 15 different ideas for classes and activities we could do at Baker,” Martin said. “She has got a ton of ideas. We just did Mosaic Hearts for her first class, and they did another Valentine’s activity. She’s got some bags, sewing and some different things they’ll be doing.”

Martin said Martinez’s ideas are not limited to classes, and with renovations taking place at Baker Arts in recent years, those ideas fit right in with the upgrades.

“She has ideas on activities we can do,” Martin said. “She has ideas on how we can organize the space so it function well for the kids when they come in or for the teachers when they come in to teach a class.”

Martin said Martinez likewise has had a great impact on Baker’s patrons.

“Gisell does a great job of encouraging people to try something new and to experience different ways to be creative,” she said. “Her class ended up having a good number of students in it recently, and they were all excited. One of things she brings is she helps communicate in a way and do things in a way that kids are excited to take part in it.”

Both Martinez and Martin are excited about what the future holds for Baker Arts with Martinez as part of the staff.

“I’m really looking forward to summer,” Martinez said. “I want to go hang out with the kids outside. I want to spend most of my time outside. I love summer. There are so many ideas I have and want to see happen.”

“Watching Gisell grow and seeing her excitement, it’s been a blessing for us, and it’s going to continue to be something that is an asset for everybody who comes into Baker,” Martin said.