I was inside Titusville High School back in the fall when I did a story on football legend John Heisman, an alumnus of the school. There were some things that caught my eye when I was there back then.  I just had to come back and see them again.

I was amazed by artwork that protruded from the ceilings inside the school. The artwork can be found in the hallways, in the cafeteria, and in the library...all attached to the ceiling!  These aren’t paintings.  They are three-dimensional pieces of art that are fantastic. 

There’s Tigger from Winnie the Pooh fame.  There’s a dinosaur, a large snake, a fairy village, and an owl.  There’s artwork that has characters looking like they are falling through the ceiling tile.  Santa Claus and his bag of toys are falling into the hallway.  There’s also a skateboarder that looks like he is dropping into the library.

Uriah Sampson, an art teacher, gave me a tour of the ceiling art.  He says the idea for replacing ceiling tiles with student art projects goes back 10 or 12 years.  Back then, he and two other teachers had run out of room to display their students' paintings.  One teacher joked that the students should paint on the ceilings. Mr. Sampson actually liked the idea but suggested three dimensional art instead.  A Titusville High School tradition was born!  You can still see art projects from those early years, including one with hanging legs and feet.

“It’s probably about ten years old,” says Mr. Sampson. “It's held up. We haven't taken it down yet because it has held up."  

Since the artwork hangs from the ceiling, it is lightweight. The artwork is made of Styrofoam and coated with plaster gauze. Most are painted.  Tigger is coated with felt.  The owl, from Harry Potter fame, has feathers.  Mr. Sampson was impressed by the hard work of the artists.

"It took them a little while for their feathers,” he said.  “But, they took their time on it and it looks great."  

Art students have been thrilled to place their projects on the ceilings of the school. Brianna Jones and Olivia Decker are in eleventh grade. They are working on a pirate ship that will be unveiled this year.  Both of the students remember seeing the ceiling art when they visited the school as youngsters.

"I looked up at the ceiling and I went, 'Man!  Someday I want to do one of those.'  And here I am.  I'm doing one of them and it's just great,” says Brianna.

"It's kind of an honor,” adds Olivia.  “I've been looking at them for years and now I just got to be a part of it and I'm excited about that."  

The art students choose the theme for their projects and choose where they will be displayed. An impressive dinosaur is the first thing people see when they enter the building. Vandalism is non-existent.  All students respect this wonderful tradition.

About 20 to 30 pieces of ceiling art can be seen at the school. There's also another tradition involving art at Titusville High.  Each graduating class designs a mural that is painted in a hallway.  Art students paint the mural, but each member of the graduating class signs their name on it.