Woods, art classes work together to create light-up prom decoration

Two teachers at Winona Senior High School harnessed the creative talent of their students to make a unique and memorable decoration for Prom. 

Students in Jerry Benedict’s woods classes and Sherry Dahlen’s Advanced Studio Art classes,  under the guidance of their teachers, the prom committee and prom advisors, worked together for several weeks to draw, saw, drill, sand, design, paint and wire electricity for large-scale marquee light-up prom letters for the event. 

“Designing the prom marquee letters was super fun,” said senior Lauren Kimmerle, a prom committee member and Advanced Studio Art student. “I loved being able to collaborate with my friends and fellow classmates. This project was challenging at times when our paint was very thin and required many coats. The deadline was also slowly sneaking up on us, but I am proud of our result. We created a beautiful piece!”

Harley Dais, an Advanced Woods student, worked on all aspects of the construction, including the electrical wiring. 

“Figuring out how to splice 20 wires down to a two wire plug was the biggest challenge of the project, especially since we started the electrical wiring during prom week,” Dais said. “Plugging it in and watching the letters light up was the greatest feeling.”