Blue Jackets fans show off their artistic skills on the Nationwide ice

What better way to spend Mother's Day than with a rainy two-hour drive, a paintbrush and a canvas of ice?
OK, it might not quite be the same as a traditional brunch, but for the Shea family -- mother Pat and daughters Vicky and MaryAnn -- it was perfect way to celebrate this year.
For the first time ever, the Blue Jackets opened up the Nationwide Arena ice Sunday to select season ticket holders, 400 in all, to paint messages and create some art the day after the end of the season. For the Sheas, when the email came, they talked it over and decided a drive down from their native Cleveland would be worth it.

"We had no clue what to expect, but it was totally worth the drive and everything," Vicky said. "We've been on the ice numerous times in Cleveland, but this is the first time I've ever been on the ice down here. This is cool."
The creativity of the Columbus fan base came out throughout the event, which left the white ice surface at Nationwide a colorful canvas of blue, red, gray and lime green. The messages ranged from thank yous to departing head coach John Tortorella and favorite players to personal matters like the announcement of a baby on the way. Mother's Day and graduation salutes were also commonplace.

Where goalies Elvis Merzlikins and Joonas Korpisalo normally stand in the crease, the blue paint instead read "Lauren was here." And some fans showed off their artistic talents, with one painting a caricature of Tortorella, others the Stanley Cup, and the lime green paint meant there were numerous depictions of Blue Jackets mascot Stinger.
That's where Wakeman, Ohio, resident T.J. McHugh started, painting a nearly picture-perfect version of the bug's face.
"How do you not do Stinger with the green?" she said. "I like to make Stinger in these little shrinky dinks and turn them into zipper pulls (for my family). It's a lot of fun to color Stinger because he's so bright."

Below the depiction of Stinger, McHugh also painted the family's name and No. 72 in blue and green, an homage to her son, Liam, who has started to play hockey at age 7. As a goalie, he wears No. 72 in honor of former CBJ goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, his mom's favorite player.
"When he gets drafted by the Jackets, he will probably pick 72 as well," T.J. said.
The Shea family painted a couple of different spots on the ice -- and had the idea to leave their handprints on the ice, leaving their hands covered in blue and red paint -- but their biggest message was an ode to both the AHL's Cleveland Monsters and Blue Jackets. While MaryAnn is a quarter-season ticket holder with the Blue Jackets, Vicky and Pat are ticket holders with the Monsters, all because of games Vicky went to with her uncle starting at the age of 13.
"I made a pact then that when I was old enough, I was going to become a season-ticket holder," Vicky said. "Of course, Mom was like, 'Yeah, good luck with that.' But I got a good paying job and bought myself season tickets with the Monsters the night of the Calder Cup win. June 11, 2016, I became a proud Monsters season ticket holder."
Years later, that meant Mother's Day for the three women was spent in Columbus with a paintbrush in hand, which was fine with Pat.
"People laugh because if they know I'm going to a game, people who don't really know me will go, 'Oh, you're going to the game with your son?'" she said. "I say no, I don't go to hockey games with my son, I go with my daughters.
"It's (a) very cool (event)," she added. "Some of this (art) is really good."