Memeber Spotlight: Lexie Ortega
Lexie Ortega has been on the board for Great Plains MakerSpace since April of 2023. She is the Youth Program Coordinator at the Finney County Public Library. She is a busy mom of young children. She is also an amazing artist and crafter. Lexie is the artist behind Popskullture Art, which sells goth, anime, and Hispanic inspired artwork and crafts.
Lexie can often be found working on unique new crafts at the makerspace, such as assembling life- size animae characher stand-ups or transferring custom sublimation-printed designs to create puzzles and plushies. If that wasnt’ enough, she also takes part in traditional craft work too, like sewing ghosts for adopting and designing original artwork.
To follow Lexie and her art, look for popskulltureart on instagram, facebook, and TikTok.
Program Spotlight: Pivot Robotics
You’ve probably seen posts and pictures of Pivot, our youth robotics program. But did you know the program started in 2018 with a local grant? GPMS was awarded a grant from Women of Purpose to start a program called GEAR, Girls in Engineering And Robotics. For years, GEAR did many STEM activities in our community for girls, but the Vex IQ teams they started seemed to be the most popular.
During their first years, GEAR robotics teams were very successful. In 2023 the GEAR program underwent a leadership and name change, starting Pivot Robotics. Pivot Robotics provides free robotics programming to children in our community and surrounding communities who do not have access through their schools. Thanks to grants and donations, Pivot remains a free program, has twelve teams, and has over 50 kids involved this year!
News and Happenings
Annual Meeting – GPMS held their annual meeting the last week of February. Board President Nicole Dick and Treasurer Kiefer Titus presented on the accomplishments over the past year, financial status, and new goals for 2026.
Strategic Plan – Thanks to funding from a Western Kansas Community Foundation grant, GPMS help a board retreat in January to create our first strategic plan. Matt Allen facilitated a great discussion, then compiled the notes and thoughts from the day into a document. During the February board meeting, GPMS board members voted to adopt the plan and will take time during our the March meeting to set out a path for implementation. The document is available on our website: GPMS Strategic Plan. More importantly, we’ll start taking actions to improve and sustain our amazing makerspace!
Pathways to a Healthy Kansas Incubator Kitchen Grant – GPMS is partnering with LiveWell Finney County and BCBS of KS to create a commercial kitchen at GPMS! We are in the very early stages of the grant, but expect to see some changes and upgrades this coming year. This project will also provide LOTS of volunteer opportunities, so be on the look-out for requests for help.
Current Number of Members: 61
Classes/Trainings in Last 60 Days: 23
Kiln Firings in Last 60 Days: 6
Grams of Filament Used in Last 60 Days: 2397