Cloverleaf High School art students will have a hand in designing the Victorian-era figures that will be on display in downtown Lodi during “Ye Olde Tyme Christmas,” sponsored by the Lodi Harrisville Historical Society.
Actually, you could say the students had a “head” in designing them.
About two years ago, the society began discussing the idea of a Charles Dickens Victorian Village project, similar to one in Cambridge, Ohio. Figures from different walks of village life are represented by mannequins dressed in Victorian-style clothing and placed along Cambridge sidewalks, along with interpretive panels so passers-by can learn about the era.
Last summer, historical society secretary Pat Carpenter put out a call to area art programs, inviting students to create heads for the mannequins. Cloverleaf was the only one that responded, she said.
“I’m so proud that Cloverleaf did this,” said Carpenter, a graduate of the former Lodi High School.
The senior art students of teachers Julie Krueger and Adam Michel took on the project. They started with Styrofoam heads like those used to display wigs in stores. The students then created facial features and hair using Sculptamold, plaster bandages, and everyday materials like newspaper and masking tape. They finished the projects with acrylic paint and a waterproof coating to help them hold up to the weather.
The students took three to four weeks to create 15 heads, which depict figures ranging from a small boy to a policeman to elegant Victorian ladies. Individuals, organizations and businesses in the Lodi community are each sponsoring a figure and will take care of creating the clothing and putting everything together. The mannequins will be on display beginning around Thanksgiving and will remain on view until about Jan. 1.
Krueger said the project fulfilled a sculpture requirement for the senior art students, but more than that, it created a school-community partnership that everyone who visits Lodi during the holiday season will get to appreciate.
Photo caption
Front row, left to right: Historical society representative Pat Carpenter, Lauren Frank, Erian Hamilton, Austin Greer, teacher Julie Krueger and Jared Wooddell. Back row, left to right: Teacher Adam Michel, Zoe Riddile, Joe Nespeca, Trent Zgrabik, Connor Carneal and Mas Ohnuma. Not pictured: Grady Newman and Miranda Winchip.