Mister Rogers, sea life inspire Greater Latrobe entries in Vans shoe design contest
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Shoes re-imagined as sea creatures and as iconic images from “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” could reap rewards for the Greater Latrobe Senior High art program.
Greater Latrobe is among 25 high schools across the country vying for prizes of up to $50,000 in the annual Custom Culture Contest sponsored by Vans, the maker of action sports footwear favored by skateboarders.
A finalist in the physical shoe design category of the contest, the school was provided two white pairs of Vans shoes and challenged to customize one pair to reflect “Local Flavor” while the second pair is meant to fit the theme “Off the Wall.”
With guidance from instructors Amy Balko and Lindsey Page, National Art Honor Society members Renee Meyers and Ruby Miller combined their talents to transform the footwear into unique creations.
The two Latrobe seniors realized Meyers’ designs for the shoes. One pair includes a shoe refashioned into the trolley from the “Mister Rogers” show while the other depicts one of the sweaters worn by host Fred Rogers, a 1946 district graduate.
The “Off the Wall” pair represents jellyfish and an octopus’ tentacle emerging from shoes painted with details of undersea life.
Greater Latrobe is seeking online votes for its entry through 5 p.m. PST on May 15. Each visitor to vans.com/customculture may cast one vote per day.
The winning school, determined by a combination of votes from the public and from Vans staff, will receive $50,000 for its arts program. Runners-up will win $10,000.
Though school districts throughout Pennsylvania have been closed since March 16, as a precaution during the coronavirus pandemic, Meyers was able to take the shoes home to complete them and submitted photos of the results for Balko to enter.
“I am so proud of Renee and Ruby for being able to execute their designs on the shoes using their time, talent and own art supplies,” said Balko. “Under the circumstances, they had a lot of challenges to overcome but were still able to successfully create the unique shoes for the contest.”
In an impact statement included with the entry, Greater Latrobe officials noted that the senior high allows all of its students and visitors to experience art through a collection of more than 185 student-selected regional works that line the corridors of the building.
The contest, which also includes a digital design category, was created to empower high school students to embrace their creativity through art and design and to bring attention to diminishing arts education budgets.
This is the second time Greater Latrobe has made a bid for the Vans prize, after failing to make the initial cut of 500 schools in last year’s contest.