Sam the Snowman leads window competition
Submitted December 28, 2012 7:24PM
Students from the Naperville North High School Art Club created a window with Hermie the Elf dentist, Dr. Snowcavities, and a team of Huskies pulling a sled. The students also designed and painted the snowman sculpture on Van Buren Avenue named “Dr. Snowcavities.” | Submitted
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Updated: February 3, 2013 6:09AM
Armed with their imaginations, paints and competitive spirit, students from Metea Valley, Naperville North and Neuqua Valley high schools arrived at Main Street Promenade’s second-floor dental offices in late November to face off in the fifth annual holiday War of the Windows.
This creative competition is sponsored by Naperville Dental Specialists and General Oral Health Care and Innovative Orthodontic Centers.
The talented students were asked to design and paint holiday scenes that include the downtown mascot, Sam the Snowman, somewhere on the festive windows. Thirtyone students worked with their art club sponsors and teachers to create these delightful masterpieces, including windows with a gingerbread house theme, another with characters from a popular children’s book, and a third with Huskies pulling a sled.
“Our students stuck with the theme we used for the Dr. Snowcavities sculpture we designed on Van Buren that we made for the dentist’s office,” said Janell Matas, art teacher and art club sponsor at Naperville North High School. “That snowman has Hermie the Elf dentist and other characters from the Rudolph Christmas program. So our mural has Hermie as a sled driver for our pack of Huskies, our school mascot. Then we have snowmen watching them pass. One is Sam the Snowman, then Dr. Snowcavities, and then another snowman.”
Carol Kinast, jewelry and drawing teacher and art club sponsor at Neuqua Valley High School, explained that her students started with a gingerbread house theme and added the snowman as a central character.
“My students all said that this was their favorite art club of the year,” she said.
Karen Popovich, art teacher, art club sponsor and National Art Honor Society sponsor at Metea Valley High School, described her students’ concept.
“We wanted to come up with something that was creative, would grab the attention of the viewers, as well as tell a story,” she said. “I suggested a children’s book that I read to my sons, ‘The Mystery of the Missing Mitten,’ by Steven Kellogg, and they all agreed that this would be a great starting point.”
Student Stephanie Guarino, a Metea Valley senior, added, “I’m grateful for being able to be part of a project that can allow others to see how art can come to life in our community, while evoking a sense of the season’s joy.”
Sam Steier, also a senior at Metea Valley High School, commented, “It was inspiring to come together as a team to accomplish a project that will bring joy to the community. From giving each other artistic advice, adjusting the composition, and catching paint about to drip onto the floor, all of us shared laughter and a sense of camaraderie through this opportunity.”
Doctors from both dental offices and their staffs will vote on the windows and select winners in three categories. Dr. Anthony LaVacca and Dr. Manal Ibrahim will present checks to the winners for their schools’ art programs. The prizes include: Best Overall Window, $500; Best Holiday Scene, $250, and Most Original Concept $250.
To view the windows, visit www.ndscare.com or visit napersun.com/business
Courtesy of Jini Clare
