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I just got in the door after flying in from Moncton... what a GREAT meet!
My time there started on Thursday afternoon... but many folks were already there getting a head start on things.
It was a laid back afair... in a perfect setting. Mr. Tardif (the Senior) was busy in the kitchen with a bunch of helpers making sure we were well fed of course.
There were plenty of kids at the meet... tons of laughter... some wonderful panels created.... lots of good conversation...
Rene gave some demonstrations on cutting foam with a hotwire cutter... and Magic Smooth and Magic Sculpt. Many folks tried their hand at it and some pretty impressive and creative pieces were done in the next days.
Gary Anderson gave us the lowdown on layouts and designing colors for his signs... with a breathtaking show of an awesome amount of his wonderful work via overhead an overhead projector.
Everywhere you looked talented people were helping each other with projects... I learned so many cool things... the education more than making my trip worth while. THanks to all who shared so freely!
We sat in the sun when it was cool... the shade when it was hot... around the campfire at night, and on the comfy couches and chairs on the old fashioned cabin porchs just to have a chat with a friend and soak up the gorgeous setting.
Brian loaded a few of us into his van and we set off on a couple of wonderful adventures... no direct route was possible... and the stories and laughs were non-stop the whole way...
It was an exhilarating... exhausting experience for up to 20 hours (or more) each day if you could stay awake that long...
Thanks for the wonderful memories!
Exhausted back in Yarrow...
-grampa dan
[ August 06, 2007, 06:50 PM: Message edited by: Dan Sawatzky ]
-------------------- 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: 8738 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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You said all what I didnt Dan!Thanks for your inspirational speach !! It was exactly what I needed to hear! Man are you good at what you do! Keep sending SignCraft those pictures...thats the only way I get to see your great stuff!! Debb Bates
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As I was experiencing the meet I had plenty of time to look around and observe others there. It was a time to unwind from my recent hectic schedule... simply decompress among friends and charge up my creative batteries.
What I saw was each individual there experience the meet in a different way. Some sat on the edges... simply taking it in. Others were in the thick of it wandering around, trying their hand at all they possibly could, painting, carving, looking at portfolios, seeking out the artists of work they admired so they could ask questions and learn.
Each person who attended took home very different memories, for the meet they experienced was unique to only themselves.
Ultimately this meet, like every letterhead gathering was what you made it. The more you participated, the more you gave, the more you took out when it was time to go home.
For myself it was the 7th meet I was lucky enough to attend since 1992. I knew many folks there, both from here on the BB and previous meets, although I also met many new friends over the weekend. As I wasn't leading a project this go around, my experiences were different from many meets I have attended. I didn't have to worry about an adjenda... and that was great! There was no pressure.
This time around I wasn't intimidated like in the early days... for I understood that everyone there feels the same to some degree. I was amongst folks with a common passion, although our interests and experience varied greatly. I was at ease and comfortable at long last.
I came to this meet determined to learn everything I possibly could in those few brief days. With my eyes wide open I saw and learned more than I could possibly remember. I came determined to make new friends and better friends of those I had met previously and that I did! I also was determined to share everything I could with those who were interested and I found many who were eager to learn from my past experiences.
Moncton was a meet to remember.
Remembering in Yarrow...
-grampa 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: 8738 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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Hey Deb, Missing renewing aquaintence with you is another bummer about not making it to Moncton this year. Was Wendy there as well? I sure enjoyed getting to know the two of you last Roundup. Brian will just have to do it again. Glad you had a good time!
-------------------- “Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?” -Winnie the Pooh & A.A. Milne
Kelly Thorson Kel-T-Grafix 801 Main St. Holdfast, SK S0G 2H0 ktg@sasktel.net Posts: 5496 | From: Penzance, Saskatchewan | Registered: May 2002
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Hated to miss this one. Debb was one of those "new best friends" from the last round-up. Hey, is our barber shop sign still hanging? Somebody post some pics PLEASE.....
-------------------- www.signcreations.net Sonny Franks Lilburn, GA 770-923-9933 Posts: 4115 | From: Lilburn, GA USA | Registered: Feb 1999
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Hey Kelly ! Hey Sonny!!I Sure was hoping to hear that voice of yours Sonny !! I left a message on hear last night .Just scroll down and the title is under Maritime letterhead Meet!Debb Bates .Read it and let me know what ya think the time I had! Debb Bates
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HI Sonny,I was back to see the finished job on the truck Bevin IS AIRBRUSHING today at Brian's place and its AWESOME !!The barber sign still looks great buddy!Can't believe its been three years since we all had a hand at doing it. Brian was busy pinstriping bikes today and said he was expecting 200 bikers this weekend! I gave him some great pictures I took of this great weekend so I hope he gets them on here for everyone to see! Debb Bates
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Man looked like one heck of a meet! Pretty cool art work flowing thru the building for sure.
Does anyone have any more pics of the Hot Wire Foam Cutter, pretty slick idea!
What is the Lobster made out of?
-------------------- aka:Cisco the "Traveling Millennium Sign Artist" http://www.franciscovargas.com Fresno, CA 93703 559 252-0935 "to live life, is to love life, a sign of no life, is a sign of no love"...Cisco 12'98 Posts: 3576 | From: Fresno, Ca, the great USA | Registered: Dec 1998
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The lobster is made from sculpted concrete... same as the stuff we do. It was done quite a number of years ago and has held up very well. Its been repainted a number of times through the years by various sign people.
It is famous the world over... countless pictures have been taken I'm sure. All in all a VERY effective sign... and without a single word to be seen. My kind of sign!
This same artist did Jumbo the elephant... full size in a town in Ontario.
Brian was kind enough to take some of us on a tour to see it and a bunch of other work by this same artist... now gone for better than 8 years. The work however lives on in grand style!.
-grampa 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: 8738 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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Yep- another great meet to chaulk up in the books! Bob and Brian- Great Job! Food awesome, place spectacular (this was the first time I was ever in the Maritimes) and of course the comraderie, couldn't have been better. I think this is one of the best meets I have ever attended.
Cisco- talk to Rene about the hot wire cutter. I was a little leary about it at first, but after a few cuts it was the best! Simple battery, dimmer switch, electric box and an extension cord. I'm going to make one this weekend. I bought buckets of Magic frome Steve at the Consac show last year. Had them sitting here collecting dust. Just didn't have time to play. But now I have. Watch me go now! I think that was the most important thing I learned at the meet. Among the many other things.
Guess I better get to work- 2 weeks is along time to be away from this shop. See ya later.
-------------------- Deri Russell Wildwood Signs Hanover, Ontario
You're just jealous 'cause the little voices only talk to me. Posts: 1904 | From: Hanover, Ontario, Canada | Registered: Dec 1998
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I saw a lot of people take a bunch of pictures of the foam cutters and the way it was hooked up.
Please post those pics or send them to me and I'll post them. I don't have pictures of it because I have it here but I left the two smaller ones behind for Brian to play with.
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