posted
At this moment we have the shop filled with projects we're finishing. Some carved, some blasted, some painted. I look at them as my friends. I put so much effort into making them become real. I walk into the shop and they greet me and I reciprocate. In the next couple days, they're all gonna disappear, and the shop will feel lonely again, until the next batch starts taking place. Do others experience this?
-------------------- The SignShop Mendocino, California
Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity. — Charles Mingus Posts: 7072 | From: Mendocino, CA. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
The same thing happens here. After thinking of the design, to actually designing, to laying in bed at night thinking of tweaking this or that, to the hours and hours of layout, shaping, painting, and bringing them to life, they definitely become a part of you.
When they leave the shop it is lonely until the next job starts.
Luckily as artist go, we signmakers are lucky enough to drive by and see our creations, as opposed to so many forms of commisiond art that is created, sold and placed behind closed doors, possibly to be never seen again. Us sign makers can often see our creations when we want.
The same thing happens here. After thinking of the design, to actually designing, to laying in bed at night thinking of tweaking this or that, to the hours and hours of layout, shaping, painting, and bringing them to life, they definitely become a part of you.
When they leave the shop it is lonely until the next job starts.
Luckily as artist go, we signmakers are lucky enough to drive by and see our creations, as opposed to so many forms of commisiond art that is created, sold and placed behind closed doors, possibly to be never seen again. Us sign makers can often see our creations when we want.
posted
He4re's another kind of loneliness that I'm beginning to face. I came on the sign scene in '79 fresh from 10 years of teaching. I had a new approach to lettering and I have had the pleasure of seeing "my" signs all around our smallish town for 40 years now. But wait, there's more. Today's customer doesn't discriminate as previous one did. They use the web. I have a website and yelp listing. But lately I notice most if not all of my signs are gone. They have been replaced by mediocre design and more technical panels. I'm 82 and I well remember the past triumphs but I'm probably the only one. Ecclesiastics speaks of a time for... Guess its arrived.
-------------------- Gerald Barlow Artworx Turlock, CA
95380 artworx@bigvalley.net Posts: 303 | From: Turlock, CA 95380, USA | Registered: Dec 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
I agree totally with all of the above. I feel so blessed to have worked in a era in which to have create something and had the opportunity to see it in out there after several years.
posted
Today one of my favorite signs comes down after thirty years. There was a carved guy driving an old farm tractor up a mound on this sign and he always felt like an old friend.
Yes Jer, the old friends are disappearing.
-------------------- The SignShop Mendocino, California
Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity. — Charles Mingus Posts: 7072 | From: Mendocino, CA. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
posted
On Thursday we hired a ten-ton crane to load four semi-trailers with eighteen sections of a large entry wall plus the dimensional blade signs that are now bound for Oshawa, Ontario. The wall is made up of four hand-sculpted and very detailed old-world-style buildings. Our crew has laboured on the project for almost seven months in total. The assembled wall will measure fifty-three feet wide by thirty-five feet tall at its highest. The individual sections were about seventeen feet wide and 8-ten feet tall. As we finished each piece we pulled them from our shop and stored them in our parking lot which was getting very full.
Although the shop is already full with new projects the parking lot is suddenly very empty.
The good news is that this was only the first stage of the project. The second half of the project (equal size) begins anew in September.
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8785 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity. — Charles Mingus Posts: 7072 | From: Mendocino, CA. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
posted
Our son Peter and his wife Hailey have owned the business for more than nine years save for a 1/2% share (for tax reasons) I still go out to the shop in the backyard every day to have fun as I have for the last fifty years. .
With Peter being the boss I don't have to worry about things or make any final decisions. I just get to do the fun stuff and what I love.... come up with cool designs and then help build the most wonderful and imaginative creations you can imagine. We have a wonderful team (and forklift) to do the heavy lifting. It doesn't get any better than that.
Retirement is when you get to do what you like every day and I've been doing that full-time since I was 23.
-Dan
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8785 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic