Art students prepare for Paint the Plow contest

B-A won the PennDOT contest last year

B-A+art+students+have+completed+their+plow+decorating+and+now+wait+to+see+if+they+can+repeat+as+PennDOT+contest+winners.

Courtesy photo

B-A art students have completed their plow decorating and now wait to see if they can repeat as PennDOT contest winners.

Julie Bauer, Staff Writer

In 2016, the Bellwood-Antis art department won PennDOT’s PennDOT Paint the Plow Contest. They are hoping to do so again this year.

“I am very competitive!” said art teacher Mrs. Leah McNaul. “When we won last year, it just fueled the fire even more.”

When we won last year, it just fueled the fire even more.

— Mrs. McNaul

Schools from Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fulton, Huntingdon, and Somerset counties paint plows with a winter safety theme. This year’s theme is “Ice and Snow, Take it Slow.” The plow blades run in the areas of their respective school districts.

B-A’s plow was painted by Mrs. McNaul’s Art Appreciation, Ceramics and Painting, and Drawing and Sculpture classes. After a few days of brain-storming, the classes put their best ideas together to make one design.

“We had a more complex design this year. Last year we were very Clipart-ish,” she explained. “This year we did a lot of blending and various colors in the same shape—and that was difficult, especially when you have that many people working on it.”

Despite the complexities of the design, she said that the students did well with it.

Last year is the first year that Bellwood has participated in Paint the Plow. According to Mrs. McNaul, the competition is tougher this year.

“They’ve stepped it up this year and there are some really good contenders,” she said.

There are two contests. The winner of the first is the plow that gets the most likes on PennDOT’s Facebook page. The winner of the second is chosen by a panel of judges and will be announced in the fall.

The deadline for voting on Facebook is October 23. Click here to vote for our plow and support the hard work of the Bellwood-Antis art department.