Local high schools enjoy participating in ODOT snowplow art contest
FREMONT - Fremont Ross High School and Oak Harbor High School were among nine schools across Ohio Department of Transportation District 2 that participated in the annual Paint-the-Plow contest. ODOT drivers dropped plows off at the schools, where students painted original designs.
“The plow drivers are always super excited to drop it off and want to know what the students are planning to paint,” said Ross Art Teacher Bradley Scherzer.
Winning contest entries were chosen by public vote via Facebook.
Evergreen High School won first place, Pettisville High School won second, and Old Fort High School won third. Although neither Fremont nor Oak Harbor placed in the contest, the students enjoyed participating in the project.
Ross grad enjoyed working on plow project
“It was really fun,” said Brianna Boskovich, who graduated from Ross in June. “I did this my freshman year, so this is my second time. I was more involved than in my freshman year, which was really fun, and I thought it turned out great.”
Boskovich was part of the Ross Art Club members that painted an octopus holding some of the many things that can distract drivers, like phones and food. The top of the plow reads, “Keep Your Hands at Tentacle and Two.” After the students decided on a safe driving theme, they had to come up with a design.
“We needed something to incorporate all those things, and the kids chose an octopus and decided to put all those tentacles to work,” Scherzer said.
Boskovich said the group finished the project in a short amount of time.
“We were on a bit of a deadline, and Mr. Scherzer really pulled through and made it happen,” she said.
Oak Harbor team designed a rocket and more for plow
The Oak Harbor High School yearbook committee created the school’s snowplow design under the guidance of Art Teacher Elly Gilbert. The design featured a rocket, a heart, a cell phone and people in the style of modern American artist Keith Haring.
“The students asked me to throw out artists' names, so I talked about Van Gogh and 'Starry Night,' Picasso and cubism, Pollock and his splash paintings, and Keith Haring, who creates colorful people outlined in black." Gilbert said. "His work symbolizes unity and bringing people together from all different races.”
Serendipitous timing inspired the safe driving theme.
“One of the students had just gotten into a car accident. She was hit by someone who was on their cell phone, and her car caught fire. She was OK, but she could have lost her life,” Gilbert said.
This was the first year Oak Harbor High School participated in ODOT’s snowplow contest.
“I didn’t know what to expect, but the students had a lot of fun. It was a great experience from start to finish,” Gilbert said.
The project involved more than just painting a plow.
“They had to create three thumbnail sketches for us to choose from,” Gilbert said. “They had to prime the plow, sand the rust off, reprime it, sketch the design on the actual plow, and then paint it.”
Jackie Henn and Ric Edinger, who both graduated from Oak Harbor High School in June, were part of the yearbook committee that painted the plow.
“We enjoyed it, especially when other students brought speakers in and we listened to music and painted,” Henn said. “It was a lot of fun and a mental break for the yearbook students. It gave us a break from computer screens.”
The group’s collaboration created a unique and powerful design.
“I think it was a great experience for the group seeing all the little ideas come together to make the big picture,” Edinger said.
Contact correspondent Sheri Trusty at sheritrusty4@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Fremont Ross, Oak Harbor high schools enjoy snowplow painting contest
