Photo By ArtWorks

ArtWorks apprentice Jules Itzkoff teamed up with local design firm Whizbang to create his take on the concept of harmony .

It's over a month into the new school year, and few traces of summer remain with most high school students beyond a faded tan, expired pool passes and a forgotten pile of CliffsNotes. That's not the case, however, for those who participated in TOM: The Outdoor Museum at ArtWorks. They have something to show for their summer vacations -- literally.

Modeled after other large-scale shows, such as the internationally-acclaimed traveling exhibit Coexistence, TOM features two-dimensional designs fabricated on billboards that respond to a single message -- in this case, the concept of harmony.

Kip Eagan, the curator and project coordinator, says that the purpose of the project is to create dialogue.

"The concept of harmony is interpreted on several different levels -- musically, politically, socially, psychologically and visually," he says. "Harmony is defined as several parts working together. ArtWorks truly embodied this concept by pairing apprentice artists with professional graphic design firms to work together."

ArtWorks, a nonprofit organization founded in 1996 to offer arts employment for local teen talent, grouped 15 young artists with 13 graphic design firms over a period of six weeks. By the end of the session, the teams had produced 90 designs, 30 of which are being shown through the end of the year at various parks.

TOM wasn't a typical summer job. The apprentices, who ranged in age from 14 to 18, spent their days creating, learning new techniques and getting paid for it.

Blake Daniels, 16, of Turpin High says, "It's not just money or art but meeting the people -- I made a lot of new friends. It's a way to get out there and do professional stuff rather than just sit in your room and draw stuff for high school. I want to do something in the arts ... what was cool about the job was it was a way to confirm that this is what I want to do, it's not just guessing."

Dylan Tennison, 16, of the School for Creative and Performing Arts, agrees.

"I enjoyed the project because it exposed me to a lot more artistic technology," he says. "The project gave me a lot of exposure. I had a good time. We were free to do whatever we wanted. And it's great to be able to show on such a large scale."

Tennison's piece incorporates the image of a hand going into the ground and transforming into a carrot. "I was trying to express harmony with nature and literally being in touch with it," he says.

Margaret Vennemeyer, 18, is already putting her training into practice -- she's now studying graphic design at UC's College of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning. She gives a glowing description of the summer program.

"From the very beginning I was extremely impressed with the ArtWorks organization," she says. "It was refreshing to walk into such a professional environment that was set up to help you succeed. They are so passionate about what they do and that really translates in the students' work. At the end, I think we were all just floored with the caliber of the finished pieces."

Zach Sawan, junior teaching artist for the program, was an ex-apprentice who decided to take it to the next level.

"The most rewarding aspect was, just like with any creative process, seeing raw ideas on notebook paper being turned into tangible works of art, and in this case at a huge scale," he says. "Being an integral part of that process for the apprentices really made it extra exciting. It was interesting to see things from the other side, being a teacher rather than a student.

"I think the best thing about the TOM project was the contact the apprentices got with local design firms. They may not have realized it at the time, but in a couple of years they'll fully realize what a great opportunity they have been given. To get hooked up with a design firm that could potentially turn into a job in the future at their age is such a great opportunity."

Joell Angel-Chumbley, a designer from the city of Cincinnati graphic design team, says that the training the apprentices received was highly valuable.

"There are many roads one can travel in the visual art field. Being a visual artist that creates work, shows in galleries or public spaces are one direction that a creative person can pursue. But there are many other directions to pursue as well, such as graphic design, architecture, interior design and planning."

The project wasn't all smooth going: Apprentices learned that along with the perks of creative work comes the pressure of deadlines. Vennemeyer says, "Towards the end everything started getting pretty hectic. Deadlines started coming up, people were getting stressed out, and I felt like I personally began to slip. We started cranking out work just to fulfill the requirements and ending up with pieces that we didn't really connect to as artists. But then I guess there has to be that balance between artistic passion and practicality within the professional world."

Peyton O'Neal, 14, of Hughes Center also found the time constraints to be challenging. "It was kind of hard to get the project done in a short amount of time."

His work, however, conveys a sense of serenity -- it portrays a statue of the Buddha over a background of the ocean at night. To him, harmony is, "Peace between different groups of people from different backgrounds coming together and getting along with one another."

There are as many different descriptions of harmony as there are works in the TOM exhibit -- and as many different interpretations as there are viewers.