High school art students submit designs to paint state’s snowplows

LANSING – The Department of Transportation started an annual paint-the-plow program two years ago to promote driving safety.

This year’s topic is: “Give plows space: it’s not a race!”

The program allows schools to send in a design to the department by the middle of May and, if accepted, the school can paint an MDOT snowplow blade.

“Any high school in the state is welcome to apply,” said Jocelyn Garza, the deputy director of public affairs for communications and media relations at MDOT. “That includes vocational and tech high schools as well.”

Garza said that anyone, such as a teacher or student, can take charge and lead the effort to create a design.

Once the snowplow blade is dropped off at a school, the process of painting it begins.

Lindsay Brown, an art teacher at Heritage High School in Saginaw, found out about the program through Garza and submitted a successful design last year.

Brown said that the three art teachers at the high school had come up with the design based on the topic: “Go hands-free, just drive, it’s the law.”

Fellow Heritage High School art teacher Danielle Kearney added that once the plow was dropped off at the school, there were complications.

“We had to rework the design so there was discussion with the students on that,” said Kearney, “We looked at pictures from previous years, and the plows were much bigger in the pictures, while the plow we received was long and skinny,” she said.

Brown added that, in the future, the art program plans on participating in the program but will use a different way to come up with the design.

“What I was thinking of doing this coming year is having a contest,” said Brown. “We’ll have some of our kids in the art department submit ideas so we could choose the best idea or combine ideas for a final design.”

Newberry High School’s Linus Parr, the visual arts, wood shop, career and technical education building trades instructor, found out about the program through Facebook.

Parr said that he had a student, Chelsea Jewell, submit the drawing for their plow.

Parr said that the painting took place mainly after school.

“We tried to get the class down there, but truth be told, you are only getting a handful of students that want to be part of it,” said Parr.

Caledonia High School in Kent County and Western High School in Parma, Jackson County, were the other two schools that took part in the program last year.

The deadline for applications is May 16, with the schools being notified later that month if they are selected.