Vineland students have designs on Vans contest win

VINELAND – Contemplating a pair of Vans sneakers, Vineland High School senior Robert "Tony" Bennett was inspired.

"My ideas, they come to me while I draw," he said.

Hunched over a sketch pad, his pencil raced across the page. The laces, stitched seams and eyelet rows posed unique opportunities to the teen artist.

"The more detailed the shoe is, the more detail I can give it," Bennett said. "I can transform a lace into a snake or a music note..."

Bennett is joining other VHS students applying their artistic talents to an alternate canvas. Together, they are vying for the $50,000 grand prize in the Vans Custom Culture Contest.

This is the sixth year Vans — known for its graphic and classic footwear — has hosted the high school art competition and the first year VHS is entered. Art teacher Corey Petit incorporated the contest into his art class curriculum and plans to eventually display the finished works.

"This definitely gives hope to students that might want to pursue fashion," Petit told The Daily Journal. "It's almost like a job for them; they've been given an assignment just like what you would do if you worked for the shoe company."

Vans mailed VHS four pairs of sneakers, including high-tops and slip-ons, to be transformed into unique works of art based on four themes: art, music, action sports and local flavor.

Entries are due by April 6. If VHS makes the top 50, they will be part of an online public vote, which will determine the successful finalist in the national contest.

Petit's classes as well as other student artists worked solo on their concepts. More than 70 were submitted.

"Everyone had a mix of ideas," Petit said.

It fell to students in the advanced art classes to collaborate on the final designs. After a month of rough drafts, artwork is now making its way on to the Vans.

With quick determined strokes of his Sharpie marker, Andrew Alicea filled in color on a Japanese-themed floral design. Inspired by tattoo artists, Alicea used vibrant colors.

When Petit first suggested the project, Alicea said he was keen.

"Let's do it," he said. "Me, I've always wanted to go and buy a brand new pair of shoes, all-white, and draw on them but I've never had the finances."

"I've never had the financial support for my art — art is expensive," he said.

Sneakers, Alicea said, "are not my usual medium but I have done it more than a few times."

The challenge of drawing on a shoe "is the three-dimensional aspect of it," Alicea said. "It's even harder to make it look like you want it look without it being distorted."

He tried not to get distracted by the grand prize.

"I don't think about the money too much," Alicea said. "I'm not one of those people who does well under pressure. I try to think of it as me doing what I usually do."

With a grin, he added, "It is the back of your mind."

Fittingly the guy everyone calls "Tony" Bennett was working on the music-themed sneaker.

But he wasn't thinking old school classic preparing a design of woman's brunette hair curled around musical notes.

"I've drawn on everything," Bennett said. "People would come to my house during the summer and ask, 'Can you airbrush this?'"

The Vans contest "is huge," Bennett said. "It came out of nowhere."

Bennett was recruited while in working on a in-class clay project. Alicea laughed because he was invited to participate while he was working on a car.

"It's like a pickup team," Bennett said, describing how Petit "put his team together."

Leann Carlson and Ashley Kenney were tasked with the local flavor theme, which Petit dubbed the most challenging.

The design is expected to feature a night view of a neon-lit Landis Theater fading into a sunny farmland scene, with grapes at the heel, Carlson said.

"We want to bring in everyone," Kenney said, noting the shoe's community theme. "Vineland isn't just Vineland High School."

Watching the students at work, Petit noted the project's value transcends the prize money.

"I'm sure that we could use it," said Petit, a VHS Class of 2009 graduate. "I wouldn't say we are doing it for that reason, I think we are doing it to show what kind of talent we have here — the money is just a plus."

Vans rules note that some student designs may be sold in the company's retail stores.

"It's amazing to see how they've progressed through the years," Petit said of his students. "These shoes are just one more way for them to express themselves."

For the latest local news, follow @dmarko_dj