Pitching ideas

I've designed a whole bunch of signs for the new adventure park in Cultus Lake. I know the names of the rides but the owners have left it up to me to come up with the ideas for the sculptural graphics. I design, send them off and then await feedback to see if I have hit the mark. It is their park after all. My batting average has been pretty good, but I don't always hit a home run. Sometimes it takes another try. The wave swinger featuring Bucky the beaver was one such attempt. 

They loved the idea of using Bucky to tie the attraction to the bumper boats below but asked me to try again with him on a swing. I was happy to oblige. 

I'll pitch this idea to them and see if we get a hit. Stay tuned...

-grampa dan

More fishing time

Being Saturday we take things at a little slower pace. I took a couple of hours to work on the mechanical fish project. The deadline for completion is now just over a week away although there is talk of an extension. Just the same it is time to wrap this project up. The fall promises to be very busy.

This morning I finished the sculpting and laid on more base coats of paint.

It won't be long until this piece is finished and I have just the spot to display it in my studio. Stay tuned...

-grampa dan

Helping an old friend

It's been at least seven or eight years since we built the award winning polar bear sign for Chill-Air, an air condioning company. We pressure washed and cleaned him up three or four years ago, then, a couple of years ago we helped move him about six blocks down the street when the company bought a new building. The address carved into the front of the giant ice cube was then no longer valid and I promised the owner we would fix that up when we got some time. But the last two years have been hectic, with a couple of very large projects on the go. Each time I saw the owner he smiled and said to call him when we got some spare time.

A month ago our schedule finally started to slow down and we started the project. Chill-Air's logo letter style had changed in the last two years and so we decided to use the opportunity to refurbish the whole lower half of the sculpture/sign. The iceberg had also been raised on a steel frame somewhere down the line and we wanted to extend the sculpture right to the ground once more. New lettering was cut from heavy plate steel, and sent out to the powder coaters to get some color. We then welded up a new steel framework and wired on the lath for the concrete skin. Today was concrete day at last so the whole crew had an outing in the sun. The day was a little cloudy and not nearly as hot as it had been - perfect for the task at hand.

We'll let the concrete cure for a week or so before we go back and paint up the giant block of ice. Then the landmark bear will be good for a few more years of display before we get to spend some time with him again.

-grampa dan