Somerset County students’ artwork unveiled at service plaza

SOMERSET COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — If you visit the North Somerset Service Plaza on the PA Turnpike, you’ll see a new addition to the building.

On Monday, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA) and Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) unveiled newly installed student artwork at the plaza. Students from the Shanksville-Stonycreek High School created the two-piece mural, which features landmarks and activities around Somerset County.

“I’m excited that Turnpike travelers who stop here will get to enjoy this beautiful mural and have the chance to learn about some of the elements that make Somerset County a special place,” Karl Blischke, PCA Executive Director said in a recent press release.

Monday’s unveiling marks the 14th artwork created in created in partnership with Art Sparks , to bring student-created, locally relevant artwork to service plazas across the Turnpike Commission’s more than 550-mile system.

“The mural has been a great opportunity for the students at Shanksville. I believe Shanksville is forgotten a lot due to our small size, and I was shocked to hear that we would be doing this important project. It taught us a lot about working under a deadline, working through adversity, and many other hard times, but I find it was worth it all,” Florence Hufford, a student at Shanksville-Stonycreek High School said.

The art is called ‘Somerset County – who we are and things to do.’

“And I think that we decided on a lot of good stuff from skiing, as you can see over there to the barn stars, which I did not know was exclusive to our county. So I learned a lot through this as well of what makes us us. And I saw a lot of growth,” K Saylor, another student at Shanksville-Stonycreek High School who worked on the mural said.

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The artwork is now permanently on display at the North Somerset Turnpike Plaza.

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