Au Point | Behind the Scenes: The Story of a Student Who Painted Windows for the Holidays | News

JOHNSTOWN, PA – Cheeky gusts of wind rolling in the cool, festive air always seem to be the scene of downtown Johnstown in the fall and winter.

The leaves dug under the trees to bury the sidewalk in a blanket of warm reds, browns and yellows; maybe, even over the weeks, these leaves will find themselves sprinkled with a layer of sparkling ice and snow.

Downtown Johnstown offers a scene that is an unmistakable vacation sight.

And, just like in years past, local teens painted store windows to match.

Window painting is something that several schools, including Greater Johnstown High School, have long contributed to our downtown – a tradition that will most likely continue long after my graduation is fast approaching.

Perhaps this is the opportunity to give that inspires students to develop ideas and see them come to life on the streets of our city.

When my art teacher comes to us about the appeal, she always gives us time to think in class. It would be an incredibly difficult thing to do – paint from scratch.

The days leading up to the painting are consumed by intervals of brainstorming, sketching and consulting with our classmates.

As we transport our supplies to the location – the window that will soon be our canvas – we look at each window with a scrutinizing notion.

The question is only rhetorical, until someone walks over to the board and asks, “Which window do we want to choose?” “

On average, feeling takes more than a moment of deliberation. One peer should suggest one closer to the corner, while another nods towards a more centered option.

As a group, we carefully examine each window; and finally, we compromise on a decision and start to inaugurate some of our tools.

The paint we use – tempera paint – is easy to remove from windows, and we bring pencils, sponges, bowls, paintbrushes, and large sheets of white paper for a pair of students to hold.

The windows are large, and just the day before we had taken the final ideas for our painting and traced the designs onto the sheets of paper with thick, black Crayola markers.

With the help of the projector this becomes a quick job and now finds itself firmly taped to the inside of the window, becoming the model of the end product that will soon encroach.

Despite working in pairs, the project will last a whole school day.

Brushes and paper are our metaphorical stone scissors. I grab a tapered brush, as someone else leans in to welcome a textured sponge into their artillery.

Beneath our knees and shins, lying in a box at our feet, is a tower of multicolored plastic bowls. If I take a bowl, I can count on my classmate to reach out to me and help me pour the paint.

If someone is struggling on a ladder, awkwardly reaching to paint a bare corner of a canvas, he or she can count on the others and I to take whatever is needed from their hands to make an easy descent to the sidewalk. . To feel obligated to stay or to overwork, if some suspect it, is non-existent, and for the moment, the group works as a diligent unit; it’s good like that.

The finish is always a very special feeling.

Supplies neatly tidy and neat after being scrubbed, paper template rolled into a tube and placed against a wall, discarded for now, me and the others take a step back for one last look.

In less than a day, we had transformed the windows into a holiday-worthy scene – Christmas.

It’s a happy feeling that follows us each to the school building, supplies in hand, as we shout up the stairwell to greet the last minutes of class, and soon, the second. half of our day at home, anticipating the next vacation when the process begins again.

Ja’lynn Vaughn is in her final year at Greater Johnstown High School.

On Point is a student-run journalism program through The Tribune-Democrat. Local students interested in participating should call 814-532-5091.