WHITE HAWK and the WHITE HOUSE
Many hands involved with making all parts come together on art project
Junior Colby Bennett marks down measurements for the Marine One White Hawk helicopter the PHS art students are currently working on.
When walking through Powell High School, it’s hard to miss the art displays in the halls. Trains, space shuttles and now the Marine One White Hawk helicopter.
When finished, the White Hawk will hang above a 3D model of the White House in the green pod. Both the helicopter and building are part of the PHS art students’ display for this year. This project also includes a mural of clouds and small trees placed around the area, as well as a replica of the Washington Monument.
PHS art teacher Mr. Jim Gilman has been in charge of overseeing the displays and art arrangements for 22 years. This will be his seventh year supervising students on the yearly major projects.
“I think what attracted me to the helicopter is its variety of uses,” Mr. Gilman said. “There’s all these different things that make it a neat theme to go with.”
The art students have been working on the White House display since the beginning of the school year but began the work on the White Hawk a couple months ago.
Juniors Crandell Sanders and Ethan Mann have previously worked on both the White House and Washington Monument and now on the helicopter.
“There is still a lot of work that needs to be done,” Sanders said. “I plan on working on the helicopter until it is finished.”
Progress has been swift on the White Hawk helicopter, currently under construction in the green pod.
Added Mann: “I think it will take the rest of the school year [to finish], but I’m not entirely sure. We continue to add more creative minds to this project.”
Senior Preston Quarles has been working on the helicopter for about two months.
Quarles said the most challenging aspect of working on the helicopter is “probably the rotor. There’s a lot of details that keep getting added on to it.”
To Mann, the hardest part is “trying to keep your mind on one detail until it’s done. There’s just so much to do and it’s hard to keep track and finish one thing before moving to another.”
But work on the helicopter isn’t always so difficult.
“I decided to work on the helicopter because I have no artistic ability,” said junior Bo Dearcorn. “My favorite part [of the project] is trying to find out different ways to make things for the helicopter.”
Many students working on the helicopter said that they enjoyed the problem solving involved with the creation of the project, if not a bit stressful.
“There’s no rules,” Mr. Gilman said. “We have to solve the problem, ‘How do we make something work?’”
And when the pieces fit, it’s gratifying to all involved.
Junior Joe Rodgers works on the helicopter.
“My favorite thing about the project is just getting to watch it come together,” senior Colton Johansson said, “and getting so see how the classes and students progress on it every week.”
Mann added that he enjoys “working with other people … and getting to see everything come together as a whole.”
One student said it’s rewarding to see her peers at their best.
“I like working on all the big projects,” PHS junior Kenzie Clarkson said. “[I get to] see how creative my classmates and I can be.”
