Advertising campaign is music to high school students' ears

GREENSBURG, Ind. (AP) - High school arts students employed creativity, foam board and lots of spray paint to create model guitars that are being used in a local advertising campaign.

The guitars, made by 13 students of Greensburg Community High School, are providing some splashes of color in the Honda Federal Credit Union's Greensburg office, the Greensburg Daily News reported (http://bit.ly/18WEFjc ).

Greensburg Community High School art teacher Dustin Smith said he was contacted by credit union officials to see if the students could design some guitars for the organization's rock-themed membership campaigns.

Smith said he thought the project sounded like fun, would allow students to get their artwork into the community and would give them a feel for their art's commercial applications.

The students spray-painted guitar-shaped foam board and incorporated the logos of Honda and the Greensburg Community High School Art Club. The colorful and often psychedelic creations hang from the credit union office's ceiling, are taped to office walls or lean against mock speakers on the floor.

Tayler Draper, a Greensburg Community High School Art Club member, said that when Smith asked her if she wanted to participate, she had only one condition.

"If it involves spray painting, sure," she remembers telling him.

Draper is learning guitar in school and thought the project sounded like fun and would allow her to try working with spray paint for the first time.

"Spray painting is fun to do," Draper said during art class last week, in which she was working on a painting involving an angel and a devil.

Classmate Riley Brebberman, who also spray painted a guitar, said she had at least two good reasons to participate in the project: She is learning to play guitar in school, and she works in the Honda kitchen, near the credit union where the artwork is being displayed.

Brebberman already has visited the credit union office to look at the display.

"It looks really cool," she said.

Brebberman also said that her art is usually hidden in her notebooks, and she enjoys people being able to see the students' creations.

Colton Deavers who was drawing a dragon in art class Wednesday afternoon, agreed, saying he likes the idea of his artwork being out in the community.

Deavers used foam board to create a mock drum. He preferred the drum over the guitar, he said, because his father is a drummer.

Smith, the teacher, said that the project allowed the students to engage in a fun art project.

"They had a ball," he said.

And, he said, the project exposed them to art being used in a real-world application. The project mirrored a situation that graphic designers might encounter at work, where they might get an assignment to create art for an advertising campaign.

"That was a real-life graphic design situation," Smith said.

Smith said he likes offering his students the opportunity to engage in community projects. Students have done smaller projects, such as designing logos. Presenting their art to the public - not just the teacher - can impart valuable insights, Smith said.

Smith also said that he likes offering his students the opportunity to engage in community projects. Students have done smaller projects, such as designing logos. Presenting their art to the public - not just the teacher - can impart valuable insights, Smith said.

Cindy Haavisto, manager of the Honda Federal Credit Union, praised the students for their work.

"All I can say is 'Wow,'" Haavisto said via email. "The creativity and thought behind what they did was amazing."

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Information from: Greensburg Daily News, http://www.greensburgdailynews.com