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John Robrock began his teaching career at San Benito High School, now Hollister High School, in 2001. He taught drawing and painting for 17 years before retiring in 2018. When he left, he had around 100 signed drawings that his students had not taken home. He has held on to them since retiring and had some free time, so he set out to reconnect these pieces of art with the young artists who created them.
Robrock recalled that the Advanced Placement Program in Two-Dimensional Art was extraordinary. To commemorate that time, he has mounted a display at Luna Gallery in San Juan Bautista that includes 12 drawings donated to the display by former students, as well as 40 drawings created by students Robrock could not track down.
The drawings are on display until February 23. The gallery is hosting a farm-to-table dinner on Valentines day at 6 p.m., and an art sale and silent auction will be held Feb. 22 from 3-6 p.m. as a benefit for art education in the area.
To get the word out to the people who had taken his class—in some cases more than two decades ago—Robrock created a flyer, including the names from their signed pieces, which he sent to media outlets. Since the flyer started making its rounds in late December, Robrock has had success. He has reconnected 30 students with their art—45 pieces in total—sending drawings to former students throughout California, as well as New Mexico and Texas.
To his surprise, he said, most of the response has come from older students. He said it has been pleasant reconnecting with his former students, most of whom he hasn’t seen in many years. Many of them have built careers in the arts, as teachers, graphic designers, or game designers.
Many of these folks have been happy and even shocked to see the work they produced in high school. One sent the following note: “This is very exciting, thank you so much for caring, and taking care of all of our artwork. Please know I still draw, and continue to use the techniques you have taught all of us.”
During his time at San Benito High School, Robrock received many awards, including an acknowledgement by Congressman Jimmy Panetta on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018 for his public service to youth and the arts.
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