Hixson High School Art Program Won!

https://customculture.vans.com/

I am a proud parent today.

Not just today.

I am a proud parent quite a bit of the time.

Just this week a picture came up on my Facebook timeline reminding me of Mr. Milton Hershey from the 5th grade Ganns Middle Valley Elementary Wax Museum.  Wow!  Charlie did a great job of researching Mr. Hershey, preparing for that role, and even being a still wax figure on that day.

May 16, 2012

This Vans Custom Culture competition has been a huge deal.  To go from 500 to 50 to 5 was INCREDIBLE.

You can check out their website here or read my previous blogposts on it:

Art Competition-- VOTING begins Monday, April 23rd
Update on the Vans Shoes Art Competition-- Top 5!

Today was the day that the schools would find out who won the Grand Prize of $75,000.  Charlie and the other art kids wore their newly created tie-dye shirts and Vans gear to school today in celebration of the $10,000 winnings.  The school was celebrating the students and the art program and the accomplishment of being in the top 5.

Oh, the joy of hearing my kid's voice on the phone this morning when I returned a missed phone call.  Charlie could barely speak.  Charlie was so excited to tell me that they had won!  Hixson High won the grand prize, the $75,000.  Charlie told me it was pretty loud in the gym and I couldn't really be heard on the phone, but I was still able to express my congratulations to all the art kids and I heard Charlie tell the others, 'my Mom says congratulations!'

Photo by Doug Strickland, Times-Free Press, used with permission

And then I got to see some pictures and videos posted from teachers and the PTSA President at the school.  I saw my kid holding the check high in the air and jumping up and down in the live video, surrounded by the other art students who made this possible.  They were a team of 10.  They worked collaboratively on this project.  I am proud of all of them.

Photo taken by Matt McHenry, Hixson High Band Director

My heart overflows today.  These kids poured their beings into these shoes.

I am grateful to the teachers at Hixson High School, the administration, their fellow students, the community, friends and family (near and far).  There has been SO MUCH SUPPORT for these kids!

The art teachers have taken advantage of opportunities for these students and others to enter many contests this year.  Because of the space for creativity and the push to become better artists, many students have achieved accolades this year.  I am so glad the art program is now able to move forward in pursuing equipment on their dream list so that they can continue this great path.

My kid is a rising Senior and desires to pursue a higher education degree in art.  The exact path isn't known to me, but I have no doubt that this kid can continue learning and growing.

Charlie began art at an early age and was involved in KidZart in elementary school.  Then at Hixson Middle School, Charlie had a great art teacher, Michael Weger, who taught Charlie more skills and encouraged Charlie to enter contests.  Charlie won a prize through one of those contests. 

There have been a variety of genres taken up over the years: watercolors, sculptures, photography, drawings, mixed media, short film, and I'm probably leaving out something.

Way to go, Charlie!

Way to go, Hixson High art students!  Keep reaching out to do big things!  Pursue your dreams!

Way to go, Katie Claiborne!

Way to go, Vans!  (If you didn't support the arts like this, we wouldn't be celebrating today!)

To all who have poured into Charlie's life up to this point, whether you have been a caregiver, a coach, a relative, a friend, a teacher, a pastor, a choir director, etc! THANK YOU!  You are part of Charlie's success.

Check out the Vans Custom Culture Facebook page for their updates.

Here are some pictures of the winning shoes (in case you don't want to go back and read my other posts on them):

cave shoes, photo by art student Addison

Chattanooga shoes, photo by art student Addison

Have I mentioned how proud I am of my kid?


May your journey bring you some joy today!

An overwhelmed and proud Mom!
Debra

News reports/articles:

Times-Free Press  online article from May 17, 2018 with pictures
WRCB News Channel 3 Eyewitness News Facebook page from May 17, 2018
Fox Chattanooga News Article from April 23rd with May 17th update-- Something's Afoot

Update on the Vans Shoes Art Competition-- Top 5!

I wanted to post a follow up blog post on the Hixson High School Art students and their shoes that were in the Vans shoes competition.

Results came out this past Monday, May 7th, and were released publicly at 3pm EST (12pm PST).  I was waiting to hear from my kiddo any minute that afternoon.  

As I was heading down the road to check out some local boutique stores with my step daughter and her mom, the call came.  We all listened as Charlie told us that Hixson High made it into the top 5!  What a great accomplishment!  From 500 entries to 50 to the top 5.  They will receive $10,000 for their art program.  The grand prize winner is not announced.  They will be surprised next week by the company.  I'm still hopeful it could be us.  We'll see.  It will be exciting for any of these 5 schools.  (You can see which ones they are on the picture below.)

I am so proud of those students and their art teacher, Katie Claiborne.  Here is what Katie posted on Monday afternoon, May 7th on social media:

"A team of students from Hixson High School has earned a Top 5 finalist spot in the nationwide Vans™ Custom Culture competition and is still in the running to win the grand prize. This is a result of the wonderful designs they submitted to Vans™ and the massive community support they received in the public voting stage of the competition. At this stage of the competition, it is certain that they have won $10,000 for their art department. The winner of the grand prize will receive a surprise visit from the Vans™ Custom Culture Team next week. Vans™ will present the grand prize winning school with a check for $75,000 for their art department and throw a party for the whole school.
The entries they created are two pairs of Vans™ shoes. Vans™ sends out shoes to all the participants, requesting them to create designs fitting two separate prompts. This year’s themes are “Local Flavor” and “Off the Wall”.
For Local Flavor, the Hixson High students decided to highlight iconic sights and symbols of the Greater Chattanooga area. These shoes represent Ruby Falls, Rock City, the Incline Railway, the Choo Choo, Point Park, and cultural icons like the Delta Queen and the Cherokee water spider. The Tennessee River can also be seen coursing over both shoes, bringing them together.
In the Off the Wall design, students built platforms to create a cavern underneath. The cave is lit by fairy lights, making the cast resin crystals gleam. Mushrooms dot the subterranean landscape, and a monster defends his treasures. Moss encircles the trim of the shoes, providing a smooth transition from top to bottom. Living plants are placed inside the shoes, while artificial sprouts pop up near the toe.
Hixson High would like to thank everyone in the community for their support in sharing their story and voting over the past two weeks. Congratulations to the students who worked on the custom shoe designs: Charlie Dickerson, Alia Smith, Michaela Roberts, Logan Summers, Addison Flannigan, Luke Pfennig, Jade Sharp, Amy Gonzales, Sarah Bargerstock, Josh Green, Tori Gifford, Josalyn Salter, Suhani Patel, Amanda Lin, and Devin Goforth."

You can learn more about the competition by visiting the Vans culture competition website, but you aren't able to see the top 5 shoes at this point.  That would be neat.  Maybe that will be possible at some point.

To any and all who voted for the Hixson High shoes and helped make them reach the top 5, I want to say "THANK YOU!"

Hixson High Art has been really rocking it out this year with quite a few accomplishments and this competition is going to help them continue the great path they are on!

Go Wildcats!

Debra

P.S.  If you didn't see my first post on the shoes or the pictures of the shoes, you can click here to read it and see the shoes:  April 18, 2018-- Art Competition-- VOTING begins Monday, April 23rd

Art Competition-- VOTING begins Monday, April 23rd

Art students at Hixson High School worked long hours on two pairs of shoes for a recent Vans shoes competition.  They were one group of 500 competitors.  Just this week we learned that they are in the top 50! This is super news.  Beginning April 23rd, the public has the opportunity to vote for their favorite shoes.  The top 5 winners get some pretty cool stuff.

In the words of Katie Claiborne, one of the art teachers at Hixson High School, from her Facebook post on April 18:

"My art students at Hixson High made it into the top 50 in the Vans Custom Culture Competition. This means that they are in the running to win $75,000 for the art department plus a visit from Vans and a cookout and concert for the whole school! What we need now is your help voting for our project. Our only hope of winning is if you and EVERYONE YOU KNOW vote for us!!!! Voting is open from April 23 to May 4. You are allowed to cast ONE VOTE PER DAY at vans.com/customculture until voting ends at 5pm PST/8pm EST on May 4. The only catch is you can not offer anyone anything in exchange for their vote. Please please please share this. Please vote every day. We are a public high school and there is never enough funding for the arts, but this would open a ton of doors for these students. Please vote and help these students get the recognition they deserve for their hard work! #VansCustomCulture"

You may wonder why I am super excited to promote Hixson High School and their art program.

My teenager, Charlie, is a junior there this year and had a significant role in this project.  Charlie loves art, is active in the art club at the high school, and plans to pursue art and design in higher education.

The art students worked super hard on both pairs of shoes and their work paid off to get them in the top 50.  It is our turn to get them in the top 5.

The pictures below were taken by one of the art students, Addison Flanigan.  The photography itself is art and Addison did a great job.  

Remember, you can vote DAILY from April 23rd to May 4th.

Here are the pictures of the shoes from Hixson High school: (cave shoes and Chattanooga scenes shoes)

Thanks for checking out these shoes!  I hope you'll remember to vote.

I don't know if Vans will be making any of the shoes, but I would sure like a pair of the Chattanooga shoes.  They are cool.  I adore the cave shoes too, but I don't think they are made to walk around in.  However, they would make for a super nightlight feature in a room.

I am also looking forward to seeing what the other 49 competitors came up with because I imagine there are some pretty cool looking shoes out there.  My vote is going to Hixson High School!

Go Wildcats!

Debra
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Update:

An article in the Chattanoogan.com on April 21 offers a great description of the shoes: Hixson High Competes To Win $75,000 For Its Art Department

An article in Times Free Press.com on April 23-- Hixson High team advances in Vans competition for $75,000

Vote here!