Pay a visit to the snowmen on Vine Street, the Community Art Project from Willoughby-Eastlake students
By Mimi Vanderhaven
Jolly old soul Frosty the Snowman had a lot of worries on his plate, from Professor Hinkle stealing his magic hat to turning into a puddle. But the cadre of snowmen lining Vine Street can anticipate an unlimited life expectancy, regardless of the weather.
The colorful eight-foot characters were designed and built by art students at Willoughby-Eastlake North High School under the guidance of art teachers Heidi Kirschnick and Nicole Staunton, who are also co-advisors of the art club.
“Last year, we were approached by the Helping Hands group to create a form of public art, a beautification project,” she says.
“Our goal as art teachers is to have a service-learning art club that involves students in creative experiences that benefit others and our community—so this project was right up our alley.”
The result was such a hit, they expanded it this holiday from eight to 24 snowmen for the cities of Eastlake, Willowick and Willoughby.
She reports that over the past several months, students from the W-E’s NCI Success Academy cut and primed the wood figures, which were then painted by art students at North High. After that, the great white ones trekked back to NCI Willoughby for the students in the auto collision program to apply a coat of polyurethane for preservation. Supplies were donated by local businesses.
“The snowmen were installed along Vine Street by the cities’ maintenance departments on Black Friday, and have already become a favorite selfie spot for people strolling around town,” she says.
Subjects of the works of art swing wildly inventive, from planets to van Gogh-ish sunflowers, local first responders, giraffes, sea life, and even a trompe l’oeil effect of a potential melting incident.
As soon as the holiday season is over, the lofty figures will be stored until next year, when they’ll be joined by a new class of S-men.
And the students will have moved on to their next endeavor, which is the Empty Bowls soup dinner on Friday, April 12, which they hold annually to raise money for local area food banks.
Check out the snowmen along Vine Street, from Lakeshore Boulevard to Erie Street, encompassing the cities of Willoughby, Willowick and Eastlake. For details, visit WESchools.org.