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VENTURA : Student to Construct School Monument

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A Ventura High School student will transform his class art project into a permanent metal sculpture commemorating the school’s centennial.

Senior Jesse Vandiver will construct the sculpture, about 30 feet by 10 feet, on the lawn at the school during the summer. He will work under the direction of Ted Gall, an artist living in Ojai.

Vandiver describes the piece, which he constructed several months ago out of cardboard for an art class project, as “a guy who’s getting up on his feet, reaching up for something, but he’s not quite sure what.”

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Last year’s senior class, the 100th class to graduate from Ventura High, raised $2,000 for the school to construct a landmark to commemorate the centennial.

When Vandiver’s art teacher, Patty Post, saw the sculpture, she thought it would be ideal for the large-scale project. “It just fit perfectly what we were looking for.”

Vandiver is making some changes in the sculpture’s design. Work on the metal project will begin in July. “Ted Gall’s going to teach me how to weld this summer,” Vandiver said.

Vandiver, who will attend UC Santa Barbara in the fall as an economics major, plans to work full time this summer and devote his weekends to the project.

“I guess I do pretty well in art class,” Vandiver said, but he added: “I’m not an amazing artist or anything.”

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