Paint & park: School program fosters creativity

For the second year in a row, Jennings County High School is offering its students the chance to show their individuality by personalizing their parking spaces with their artwork.

This is an opportunity that Karen Chilman, an art teacher at the high school, has been advocating for more than six years, when she first proposed the idea to the school board.

This new chance for students to show their colors has brought about some interesting designs. Anything from Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” to frogs and even basketballs can now be found in the parking lots of Jennings High. However, students often do not work alone. It is not uncommon now to drive through and see groups of friends helping each other complete their paintings.

The cost to paint a parking spot is $25, which goes to help fund the National Art Honor Society’s community service projects. Over the years, these projects have included Christmas window painting in downtown North Vernon, painting in the Alzheimer’s section of a nursing home, and hosting art events for children throughout the summer.

This price has been reduced from the previous $50 fee from last year by giving students the responsibility of supplying their own paint. This has allowed the price of materials to be fair among all painters, from those doing small black-and-white designs to those doing large, full-color designs.

Next year, it has been proposed that painted parking spots be auctioned as parking spots are assigned to student drivers. Also proposed is that the teachers who have painted their parking spots or had a student paint it for them be able to “rent” the same parking spot in the coming school year.

Ashley Browning is a senior at Jennings County High School.