KING CITY — Sol Treasures has begun a rollout of the Hermie Robles Creation Station, a room with technical equipment that can not only be a classroom, but also a creative center for artists, musicians and learners.
Aimed mainly for youth, the room’s laptops, equipment and software allow for users to be able to do coding, graphic design, podcasting, digital music, photo editing and other technical production.
Individuals, duos or even groups as large as nine people can use the room, which is available by appointment on Wednesday afternoons.
The room, set up in May, honors former Sol Treasures board director Hermie Robles Medina, who died unexpectedly in December 2021.
“Hermie was extremely talented and artistic, but he didn’t like the spotlight, so he was very good at stepping up and contributing in a lot of ways behind the scenes,” said Jeff Hinderscheid, executive director of Sol Treasures.
Both Hinderscheid and Gallery Manager Jude Yriarte said Medina played a pivotal role in bringing technology into use at Sol Treasures, from flier creation to social distance concerts during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Hermie was one of the first that said while we’re doing all these things for children, Sol Treasures has got to get involved in the digital art side of things,” Yriarte said. “We have to be a part of what’s happening and what’s relevant for kids.”
Hinderscheid said it felt appropriate to name the station after Medina once Sol Treasures created a place that carried out the late board member’s wishes for technical learning.
“He was really an important person here for us, and when we lost Hermie, we lost a lot,” Yriarte added.
Monique Arellano, a Hartnell College student, said Medina was her uncle, and it was nice to see the equipment available to students in his honor.
“It’s a new opportunity to explore hobbies,” said Arellano, who comes to the station to learn how to record vocals.
Jessica Pelayo, also a Hartnell student, added that with the new station, Sol Treasures is caring for the passions of youth in the area.
“Coming from King City, there’s not really a lot of things we can use,” Pelayo said. “We never had access to any of these things, so it’s nice to explore our creativity.”
Sol Treasures hosted a grand opening for the Hermie Robles Creation Station on May 20 at its 519 Broadway St. location, which Yriarte said was attended by many of Medina’s relatives. There, the attendees were able to see that not only was the room named after him, but also a painting of him by artist Nica White was prominently displayed.
So far, Yriarte said attendance has been low as Sol Treasures rolls out the program and builds public awareness of its presence. She said summer stagecraft classes have used the room, and some podcasters have already used it to record and edit their work.
“We’re not feeling it’s as active as we’d like it to be yet,” Yriarte said.
While students can learn art and computer skills at school, Yriarte explained that youth could also learn more specific steps at the station.
“They’re learning things they may be interested in and are very personal to them,” she said.
Hinderscheid added that the room connects to the message of Sol Treasures’ social media empowerment class, where students learn positive and creative habits for tech use rather than negative habits.
“Rather than just learning something in school, they’re learning something that they can apply to their life,” he said. “One of the things I learned with kids is, they have adults telling them what to do all day long. Giving them a place to decide what to do, and giving them lots of options, is really a unique experience.”
To increase use of the room, Yriarte said Sol Treasures staff will reach out to the high school to let students know technical art learning is available. There are currently no fees to use the room.
“It’s mostly about creating an opportunity to use electronics in other ways than staring at them,” Yriarte said. “Make things happen for yourself.”
