With paint brushes in hand, art students from Metea Valley, Neuqua Valley, and Naperville North high schools recently faced off to compete in the fourth annual holiday “War of the Windows,” sponsored by Naperville Dental Specialists and General Oral Health Care and Innovative Orthodontic Centers. More than four dozen teens worked with their art club sponsors and teachers to design and hand paint colorful holiday windows on the dental office windows, located on the second floor of the Main Street Promenade in downtown Naperville.

The students’ challenge was to design and paint windows that capture the holiday season – and to include the downtown mascot, Ted the Bear, somewhere in their compositions. Working quickly with their designs, brushes, and paints, students adeptly created scenes of Naperville’s Riverwalk, a winter wonderland with beloved storybook characters, and a happy tooth wishing everyone a happy holiday.

“The kids are really excited to be a part of this competition,” said Karen Popovich, sponsor of the National Art Honor Society at Metea Valley High School. “We met as a club after school and during lunchtime to create the design, and many of the juniors and seniors came downtown to paint the windows.” She added, “One of the requirements of the National Art Honor Society is doing community service, and this project counts toward that.”

Carol Kinast, art club sponsor for the Neuqua Valley Art Club, said that students at Neuqua look forward to this annual competition. “Every year, the kids get so excited about it. They ask, ‘Are we going to do the windows again?’” Most members of the art club helped design the windows, and many of the students participated in painting them on-site.

Naperville North High School Art Club sponsor Janell Matas added, “This is probably the students’ favorite activity all year long. They enjoy coming up with the ideas for the mural and the friendly competition. I especially enjoy brainstorming with them about the theme of the window. We always talk about fond holiday memories and get nostalgic about the movies, the activities, and the decorating.”

Doctors from both dental offices and their staffs voted on the windows and selected winners in three categories. Dr. Anthony LaVacca and Dr. Manal Ibrahim will present checks to the winners for their schools’ art programs.

The winners are:
•Best Overall Window ($500 prize) – Naperville North High School
•Best Holiday Scene (($250 prize) – Metea Valley High School
•Most Original Concept ($250 prize) – Neuqua Valley High School

For more information or to view the windows, please visit www.ndscare.com or www.orthocenters.org or stop by the dental offices on the second floor of the Main Street Promenade, at 55 S. Main Street, suites 231, 241, and 251.