And then it was gone!

It is always an exciting day when we deliver or a client comes to pick up their sign. In this case the client has been anxiously watching from afar as the sign came together. They had been watching this blog as the sign progressed. We had been in touch via email and they were pleased with what they saw. Even so it was exciting to see it in person for the first time and they were more than pleased! We got the paperwork out of the way and then it was time to fire up the neighbor's forklift and move it to the trailer. It looked tight at first, but it fit with a couple of inches to spare.

Once things were lined up we slid it into the trailer and bolted it to the floor. A few well placed ties secured it in case of a sudden stop or turn and we quickly welded on one more small brace to the stand - just to be sure. Just like that the deed was done and the bull sign was on it's way home to Kimberly at last. The owner has promised me some photos of it hoisted into it's final hanging place. I'll post the pictures here when I get them.

The yard felt empty as I walked in for supper tonight and I wondered what his name is going to be...

-grampa dan

Sculpting fun.

Sculpting has become an enjoyable part of the work in our shop. In the old days it was only possible to sculpt in temporary mediums, which then had to be molded and then parts cast from those molds which were then assembled. It was like building something three times to get it done. Now with modern sculpting epoxies I can do it in one go. That makes it a lot faster and more fun too! 

The Jeep sign for Cap-it is well underway and progressing smoothly. The rock work is about half way done and the undercarriage of the truck is now in the paint stage. I can hardly wait to put everything together permanently! 

In the meantime I'll be in the shop getting my hands dirty.

-grampa dan

And the beginning of another era...

My favorite (and only) grand daughter Phoebe, now six, has been a regular in my shop since she was only days old. She loves to help me as much as possible and I absolutely love it when she is able. Phoebe isn't afraid of tools and under my watchful eye has learned to use a number of them. Painting and sculpting are her favorite tasks.

She has made at least a cameo appearance at all of our Sign Magic Workshops and has always insisted on squeezing in amongst the students to work up some projects of her own. This time she was sculpting some new toys (for herself) and also a dinosaur diorama. In this photo she is painting some 'carrion' (her idea) to go with the meat eaters. Other herbivores and flying dinos (with names I could not pronounce) were also part of the display.

She also sat in on one of my lectures this time. I got a look at her notebook afterwards and was amazed to see she had copied the drawings I had done in class as well as made copious notes. This kid is eager to learn and nothing gets by her it seems! But like her grampa her thoughts had obviously wandered during the class and the margins were full of other drawings too.

It seems the next generation of sign makers is stepping up to the plate.

-grampa dan