A Shingle For Raw

The Episcopalian Church in Victorville will be hosting an art gathering to showcase local talent and allow local artists to network and sell their creations in a fun environment.  The show is called "Hot August Nights", and I'm on the panel to put this together.  Not only is this a very worth cause, but it also gives me the opportunity to put together some paintings for display and possible sale.

The first order of business.  Get a shingle.

About two or three weeks ago I ran across the coolest thing at Hobby Lobby.  It is a small plastic sign that lights up.  I think that it was intended for decoration for someones outdoor bar.  It was dark green, and the light up front of the sign said something like "Crab House, the Clam Bucket"  In a smaller plastic window at the bottom of the sign, the legend "welcome" was written.  The whole unit lights up with a string of Christmas tree lights placed around the back.  I bought it and immediately wished I'd cleaned out their stock.  I should have listened to that little voice.  I can't find the signs anywhere any more.  They don't show them online and Hobby Lobby has stopped carrying the item.  From what I can tell, it was specially made for the Spring Shop.  GRRR!  This thing is priceless!  Not because I like seafood or anything like that, but because of the potential this little gem offers.  After some paint, guilders paste, spraypaint and patience, observe the result:

Pretty slick, eh?  The plastic graphic on the front of the unit has been removed and a sheet of clear plastic put in it's place.  I freehanded the lettering which explains some of the wonky fonts, but it was good enough for my purposes.  I covered the clear window with masking tape, used an X-acto knife to cut out the letters and then went wild with spray paint.  When the fumes finally cleared, I had the sign I wanted.

When it is plugged in, it looks like this.

















Some of the effect is lost because of the always fun challenge of getting a backlit item to appear correctly when using a digital camera.  So if you ignore the flash, this is actually what it looks like in full daylight.

 A Talent For Raw is now a going concern!