On one skateboard, a wide-eyed smile stretches across the deck. Another features a woman whose elongated neck is adorned with necklaces made from costume jewelry, complementing her animal-print clothing. The designs were created by Nora Himmelright, a student at Firestone Community Learning Center. Before joining the University of Akron’s Arts LIFT program over the summer, she had no formal art training. Himmelright, 14, initially planned to draw a woman in a bathing suit. After learning she would be using linoleum-cutting techniques, Himmelright switched to an animal-print design. She added one of her favorite quirks: an unusually long neck. “I’ve always really thought it was funny to just draw really absurdly long necks on characters,” she said. The finishing touches came from acrylic paint and pieces of metal necklaces that she cut apart and attached to the board.
Nora Himmelright, pictured at an Aug. 21 reception, was among seven Akron Public Schools students who spent a week working with professional artists to create original skateboard designs. Arts LIFT gives students a chance to work in a college art environment while developing their creativity and connecting with the Akron community. After the one-week art camp, their finished boards were displayed at Need Skateshop, located in downtown Akron.
Himmelright was among seven Akron Public Schools students who spent a week working with professional artists to create original skateboard designs. After art camp, their finished boards were displayed last week at Need Skateshop, a new shop in downtown Akron. Arts LIFT, now in its 25th year, provides students with opportunities to work in a range of media, including printmaking, painting, murals, mosaics, glass, and sculpture, with their work displayed throughout the area. The program aims to challenge stereotypes about young people and give them opportunities to make an impact in their communities. Elisa Gargarella, Arts LIFT’s founder and director, said, “Through their creative contributions, they can leave a lasting mark.”
This year’s program gave Himmelright a chance to try new techniques, meet students from different schools, and become part of Akron’s art community. Her mother, Allyson Himmelright, said, “At this age, it’s a struggle to put yourself out there and do something different. It was a good experience.”
The other students drew on their interests to create designs. Marian Steeber’s skateboard features a design inspired by her love for comics, while another draws from an album cover of one of her favorite songs. Steeber, also a Firestone CLC student, said she chose designs based on things she already enjoyed. “I truly did impress myself,” she said. “I’m typically the type to make art and then never want to look at it again. But I do personally really like my two pieces.”
Gwyneth Currie’s designs feature bold colors and a mix of paint, glitter, and screen printing, inspired by nature. The 15-year-old hopes to attend fashion school in the future and continue sewing and creating projects with recycled materials. “I think fashion design in the future is something I’d love to pursue,” she said.
Olivia Walje’s skateboard features a unicorn set against a black, blue, and purple galaxy, combining her love of magic and skateboard art. “I wanted to make something that represented me and stuff that I like,” she said.
Twenty-five years ago, Gargarella, the Arts LIFT founder and director, joined the University of Akron to create a program for Akron Public Schools students. The funding came from the estate of Lola Isroff, a self-taught professional folk artist and occasional writer from Akron. The program, named Arts LIFT (Lola Isroff Fund for Teens), allows students to work with professional artists and gain experiences they couldn’t get in a high school classroom. This year’s project brought that mission to skateboards, partnering with Need Skateshop, a new downtown Akron shop, to exhibit students’ finished pieces. Gargarella said, “A big part of my goal is to elevate both my students and local businesses who are generous with young people.”
At Need Skateshop, students learned from skater and artist Jay Croft about his career designing skateboard graphics and the intersections between skateboarding, art, and music. Kyle Mowery, the owner of Need Skateshop, said, “Skateboarding is a really cool thing where the art and the music and everything intersect with it.” Students used blank skateboards as canvases, drawing inspiration from displayed boards before developing their own layouts. Kyle Mowery praised their work, saying, “I think they did a great job, especially if they didn’t have a long time to do it.”
Turning ideas into finished boards required learning new techniques like linoleum cutting and screen printing. Meryl Engler, the program’s technical instructor and printmaking faculty member, guided students through the process and introduced them to the history of skateboarding and graphics. Engler said, “Being able to show work in a public setting is really exciting.”
Former Arts LIFT students have shared how the program influenced their career choices, including becoming art teachers, artists, and designers. Gargarella hopes this year’s students feel the same impact. “I’m always trying to build bridges between secondary school and post-secondary,” she said. “I’m hoping that this gives kids a little taste of what’s to come.”