CARBONDALE — In a race against the clock with a cash prize on the line, Marion and Harrisburg artists pimped out Scion XBs Saturday in the first Scion School Duel at Carbondale’s University Mall.

After four hours of feverish painting, stencil work, outlines and teamwork, Harrisburg High School’s ghoulish entry edged Marion High’s spring break-themed hot rod for a $250 donation to the Bulldogs’ art department. Marion’s art department also received $100 for competing.

“This let the people in Southern Illinois see how an artist might go about painting,” Harrisburg art instructor Kurt Coffman said.

Harrisburg student Allie Bond enjoyed the contest’s unique nature.

“It’s not like anything I’ve done before,” she said. “It was really fun. We were kind of laid back about it, not anything big.”

Students had about two weeks to plan their design for the Scions, which were covered in canvas for the event.

Marion’s students took time to photograph and measure the vehicles at Marion Scion, then brainstormed the bright-colored vehicle.

“They rolled with it,” Marion art instructor Beth Wilson said. “We talked about what Scion they would actually drive. Would they want a mural or graphic ad? They went with the ad. It was a good project. It’s been fun.”

Jordan Krumrey found hanging out with classmates to be one of the project’s thrills. “It was a lot of fun spending a Saturday afternoon with everybody,” he said. “We did really good considering we didn’t know the car would be fully wrapped.”

Both vehicles are on display in front of J.C. Penney’s in the mall.

Editor’s note: A photo of Marion’s entire team for the competition will be published later this week in the MDR.

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