Carolyn Marcantel sent me this write up about some very talented High Schoolers and their Art Car Project called Jeffrey "Hippie" Morris that they are getting ready for the Houston Art Car Parade May of 2009. The car is not complete but they have done a lot of work so far. It's neat to watch an art car in the process and I am looking forward to seeing the video and the completed pictures of the car. All the best to you all and great job.
The Automotive Collision & Repair students in the Hurst Euless Bedford Independent School District , a suburb of Dallas-Fort Worth in Texas, are in the midst of transforming a 1983 Toyota pick-up into a "boat-extraordinaire" complete with a trailing shark. With an anticipated completion date of sometime in late April, the HEB ISD Art Car will make its debut this May in Houston's Annual Art Car Parade. The truck was donated to the students by the family of the late Jeffrey H. Morris, a local gifted musician and artist whoprematurely lost his life due to cancer on Halloween night, 2008.
The family wanted to do something meaningful with the pick-up that had originally belonged toJeffrey's grandfather. It was full of sentimental value, but otherwise, what do you do with a rusty,worn-thru pickup with over 300,000 miles it? Make it into an Art Car, of course!
Carolyn Marcantel, a family friend of the Morris family and webmaster for HEB ISD, took the idea to auto collision teacher, Eric Stevens, and from there the dots have not stopped connecting as students, teachers, volunteers, and the business community have rallied around to make this special memorial project a reality. Because there is no budget for "art cars" in district funds, the project has been entirely dependent on donations in the form of metal, paint, vinyl and other supplies. It is also the goal of the newly established HEB ISD Art Car Committee to raise the necessary funds to ensure each student involved in the project be able to make the trip to Houston to participate in the parade.
The entire four-month process is currently being documented on an HEB ISD district blog, complete with weekly updates and a plethora of photos to follow along as the project takes form. Video footage is also being logged for a documentary that will be produced after the parade. The ultimate theme of the boat will pay tribute to the lifestyle of Jeffrey "Hippie" Morris, to include fishing, guitars, peace signs and lots of psychedelic color.
