SHS unveils horse of another color

Sitting just off Kennedy Street is a part of culture that ties Shawnee High School to its community and heritage — a life-size horse replica for the Horses in the City project. The school joined several other businesses and residents in bringing the colorful horses to Shawnee.
 SHS senior art students Tori Barkhimer and Misty Keough, along with art instructor Melissa Warren, were instrumental in providing the high school with an attractive front, SHS principal Lee Hamilton said.
“They’re (Barkhimer and Keough) great students,” Warren said.
Both girls said the project was the largest they have completed, and the experience was fun.
Keough said the trio first spray-painted the horse, then painted the wolves and moons.
What started as a white, plastic horse model turned into a colorful display of moons and howling wolves. The name of the horse is “Song of the Wolf.” The design correlates with the school’s wolves mascot.
Hamilton said the horse was funded by donations raised by SHS Superintendent Marilyn Bradford and Shawnee resident Nance Diamond. The horse cost $3,000 — $1,000 goes to the artist and $2,000 covers the costs of the horse, protective seal and landscaping.
The city has sold more than 30 horses and most have been installed throughout the community. The horses are sponsored by area companies, organizations and individuals. Local artists create designs for the horses and the horse’s owner chooses an artist and where to display the horse.
The Horses in the City project started as part of the Centennial Celebration. In a previous interview, Mayor Chuck Mills told the News-Star the horses are part of Shawnee’s and Oklahoma’s history. On Sept. 22, 1891, Etta B. Ray, John and Lola Beard, J. T. Farrall and Elijah Ally set off for the site of present-day Shawnee.
The city’s Web site, http://www.shawneeok.org/HorseInTheCity/, states, “Horse in the City is a citywide public art presentation designed to enliven cultural activity and increase tourism to Shawnee.”
———
Amanda Gire may be reached at 214-3934.