I took a few minutes today to splash on the final glaze and carefully wipe down the IBEX dino. I created the little showpiece using the 3D IBEX Routing software. It will be showcased at the International Sign Association EXPO at the end of March next year. There’s still plenty of time to finish the piece, but I wanted to get it more finished today (except the base). The reason is that a great longtime friend is visiting, and he helped write the program with his brilliant brother and son. This week we will spend some time together learning how to use it better. I know from experience that Jeff will also be listening to us and will encourage Peter and me to suggest improvements and additions to make it even better. It is a winning partnership.
All aboard!
I’ve always loved steam trains. I’ve drawn scores of trains through the years as fine art. I’ve painted many trains larger than life as murals on walls across Canada and the USA. And in our theme park work, trains continue to be very popular. Most of the trains were logging trains. One was a pirate train, which went to Trinidad and was a lot of fun to build! The colourful Sci-fi version was built for Galaxyland in West Edmonton Mall. I’ve got more on the drawing board, and I look forward to building the next.
Moose Mountain project
In 2005, I received a call for a new, exciting project to be built in the Mall of America in Minnesota. It was a mini-golf course on the third floor of the mall. The owners flew me down to the mall to look at the site, which overlooked the large theme park below. As I recall, I had two weeks to dream up and draw up the plans before I travelled back to present them to the mall management. The concept was loosely based on Minnesota’s logging history with lots of fun. The management loved the ideas and gave the project the green light. We were to build all the features and signs, while the ‘mountain’ and infrastructure would be constructed by a Minnesota company specializing in rock work. Over the next few months, we kept busy in our shop creating giant features. Each time a truckload was ready, we loaded a semi, and I travelled down to oversee the installation and ensure the on-site construction lived up to the concepts. It was a challenging, exciting and fun project without a doubt, and it was a success that is still there twenty years later.