Home again, home again.

Today we finished installing the welded metal bathroom dividers. The steel armature for the vine that winds around the brick arch was also finished off meaning the onsite welding is now complete at last. Outside the faux woodwork of the entrance was also finished off, After the last brush was complete stroke the scaffold was taken down and tossed in the truck with the welder. While I was at it I went through the toolbox, sorting out the tools no longer needed.

With the completion of these jobs it was time to take some of our tools home. While there is still lots to do on the project our list is getting ever shorter at last. By the end of the week a lot more tools will make the trip back to the shop as well. Each day, thanks to the talented help from our crew, more and more is getting complete.

-grampa dan

Framing a work of art

As I've often stated a sign in my book is anything that draws attention to our customer's business, product or service. Making the establishment memorable is part of this definition. Attention to detail is critical. Imagine all the work we are doing at the Fox & Hounds Pub and then installing a boring, regular floor. It simply would not do.

The very first concept drawing of the entry I drew featured a tile floor with a border that followed the bent border where the wall met the floor. It is true that there would not be a tougher way to do tile work than painstakingly cutting and fitting each small tile along the walls and then fitting a large diagonal tile through the middle section. But it works like a fine picture frame around a beautiful work of art. The effect is pure MAGIC.

It is also the finishing touch of a very wonderful sign. I can hardly wait to see it all done. This place will be ruly memorable.

-grampa dan

Heroes and friends

We all have people we look up to, people who have helped, encouraged, inspired and befriended us. I am surrounded by them. Some are related to me.  Others have worked for me.  Some are professional collegues. And some I know from afar. A few of these folks are my friends.

In my professional life my heroes are folks I have read of, watched at shows and gatherings. These people keep me in awe as I watch them deal with others. They have risen to the very top of their game, passionate about what they do.

One of these folks I met way back in 1987. For the very first time my work had appeared in SignCraft magazine, although my name was not mentioned. It was an honor just the same. But on the cover was a picture of Cosmic Ray Renooy - a man bigger than life. Talented and outgoing, he was the hero of so many in the business. He knew his stuff, his designs were legendary and he knew how to swing a brush! He knew so much about design. Some day I wanted to meet this guy!

A while later I was working on my first large themed project in a small town on Vancouver Island. I was high on a scaffold when a El Camino slid to a stop in front of our job. A man with a bushy mustache jumped out nd I mmediately knew who he was. I remember we both pointed at each other and in unison yelled "You're FAMOUS!". It was instant friendship. Coz lived in Winnipeg, Manitoba - light years from me buth through the years our paths continually cross. I've visited him a few times, stayed at his house and he in ours. Each time we pick up where we left off, swapping stories and sharing knowlege. 

In a few weeks he will drop in again, as one of our students at our first Sculpture MAGIC Workshop. It is ironic that he' like many of my students are so very talented and skilled in their own right. The truth is some of these folks, Coz included, could very well teach me. But just the same I am greatly honored to have them there. Coz and every other student adds to the MAGIC by sharing what they know at the workshops. As I sit up front and do my best to teach you can bet I am also listening closely to them and learning just as much.

In the last few days I've been busy designing the name plaques for all the students. There is getting to be quite a few scattered around the shop. But each time I look them over one stands out because it brings back so many great memories.

I'm looking forward to two more great workshops in the next couple of weeks!

-grampa dan