More than 10 years after southeastern Connecticut was overrun with brightly painted whales, submarine sculptures are popping up along the shoreline.

Joy Supples, an art teacher at the Ella T. Grasso Technical High School in Groton, said last fall she had thought about creating a submarine sculpture display at the school so she could get her students involved with the Connecticut’s Submarine Century celebration.

But after talking with Groton Town Council members and Connecticut’s Submarine Century committee in November, her idea grew from one sub at Grasso Tech to an art installation of more than 20 subs throughout southeastern Connecticut.

The 5-foot-by-4-foot fiberglass sculptures, which were decorated by local students and artists, are on public display through October. Information about the subs, including their locations and artist statements, can be found on the CT Sub Trail app, available through the App Store and Google Play.

The Connecticut’s Submarine Century is a year-long celebration of the centennial of the Naval Submarine Base and Sub School in Groton. The volunteer committee is also hosting events such as movie matinees, a concert series by the U.S. Coast Guard Band and the Air and Sea Celebration in August.

Supples said she wanted the fiberglass subs to be whimsical and approachable, so she designed the base model to be cute and stout. She also wanted a variety of artists to be featured, from high school students and amateur painters to professional artists.

Among the designs is a gold and black flower garden by gold-leaf artists Maureen Ahrens and Edward Coney, and one that looks like a Volkswagen Van by Wheeler High School students Emma Morgan and Caitlyn Tillinghast.

The “Salute and Sail” sub painted by The Drunken Palette owner Felicia Stevens, which features New London Ledge Light at sunset, sits in front of Bank Square Books in Mystic. The book store also has one of the fiberglass whale sculptures from the Whale Trail of the mid-2000s.

One of the subs was done using artwork by students from the Nathan Hale Arts Magnet School in New London. Kate Fioravanti, district arts supervisor for the New London Public Schools’ arts magnet pathway, said she worked with fellow arts administrator Beth-Ann Brunet to come up with a design that would represent the arts magnet program.

“It’s not easy to do a project with a whole bunch of kids,” she said. “You want it to look as fantastic as possible.”

The sub, titled “Submerged in the Arts,” is covered with student designs from an exhibit at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum and inspired by Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. Fioravanti painted the sub in bright blue, orange, green and purple with running stick figures, abstract shapes and items that represent the arts magnet pathway such as musical notes, theater curtains and art utensils.

Students entering the new arts magnet middle school in the fall also submitted designs, she said.

Designs from three students from Grasso Tech were also selected, and Supples said she enjoyed being able to bring her students into the public art project.

Mike Whittle, who lives in Ledyard, designed “Submarine Submarine,” a sub covered with photos of all the ingredients that go on a sub sandwich. In an interview at the Mystic Aquarium, where his sub is located, he said the design has elicited a lot of chuckles from visitors.

“[Supples] had everyone create a design for an art class, and most people just kind of messed around. Of course I was messing around when I created the sandwich,” he said. “I was probably also hungry, and I thought, ‘Why don’t I do a sandwich that’s a sub? A sub sandwich.’”

Instead of painting his sub, he said Supples recommended doing a photo collage, though it still took a while to cut out and arrange all the tomatoes, pickles, slices of ham and cheese, and bread. A wave of lettuce completes the sub.

Supples said all the artists volunteered their time and materials to decorate their subs, and B&D Auto Body in Montville donated clear-coating services to keep the subs looking nice through the end of the trail in October. The money raised from the sponsorships will go toward the USS Groton Sail Foundation, which is seeking custody of the sail and other parts of the town’s namesake submarine for a monument.

She said there is a design for everyone, and several people came up to her at the unveiling at Grasso Tech in June to tell her the subs were some of the best public art pieces they have seen. Every time she looks at the subs in the trail, she notices something new, she said.

a.hutchinson@theday.com

Visit the Connecticut's Submarine Century website for more information or to download the CT Sub Trail app.

GROTON

"Legacy" by Mark Patnode, Submarine Force Library and Museum

"Ode to the American Turtle" by Chip Adams, Fairview retirement community

"Nautilus" by Gail Brookover, 1-17 Bridge St.

"Under the Sea" by Laura Maiolo, Bill Memorial Library,

"Nautical Exploration" by Jamie Pearson, City of Groton Municipal Building

"Evolution" by the SUB-ject to Change team at Electric Boat, Electric Boat.

"Patriotic Puzzle" by Adrian Vega, UConn Avery Point

"Nature vs. Machine" by Sophie Heublein, Chelsea Groton Bank

"The Sub-Merged Garden" by Maureen Ahrens and Edward Coney, Groton Public Library

"Dolphin Submarine" by Maria Fiestas and the Grasso Tech Art Department, Grasso Tech

"Submerged in the Arts" by the New London Public School's Arts Magnet Pathway, Fitch High School

MYSTIC

"Salute and Sail" by Felicia Stevens, Bank Square Books

"Clown Fishing Around" by Christine Derham, Claire Derham, Kayleigh White and Patrick White, Mystic Seaport

"Submarine Submarine" by Michael Whittle, Mystic Aquarium

"Over the Bridge" by Katie Fogg, Charter Oak Credit Union

UNCASVILLE

"Hearts" by Jamie Pearson, Mohegan Sun

"Blue Boop" by Vicky Ma, Old Beit Brothers plaza, 601 Route 32

OTHER LOCATIONS

"Make Love Not War" by Emma Morgan and CaitlinT illinghast, Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, Ledyard

"Beneath the Surface" by Martha Williams, Children's Museum of Southeastern Connecticut, Niantic.

"CT Birds at the Beach" by Jesse Sanchez and Laney Gauthier; Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Southeastern New England, Waterford

"Maritime on the Thames River" by Gretchen Yost Lally, New London City Pier