Funny Bench - the new record holder!

My son's school has an annual auction to raise money.  Each classroom creates and submits their own projects, to be part of a live auction for all the parents.  Last year, our class broke the single item sales record with "The Space Puppet Theater" and puppets. 

The challenge was on to raise the bar, yet again.

His teacher, another father and myself sat down to brainstorm this year's ideas.  The goal was to create something that could be used by the school.  As part of the Jefferson County Junior Ranger program, my son and I stripped a pine trunk and made a bench, to be used at a campsite as part of the forest service restoration program.  (Check out the of the bench at White Ranch campsite 19.)    The production costs were low and the school needs benches at the student pick up and drop off area.  We had an idea.

The construction of a log bench is quite easy.   Use a longer bench, split in half, and two smaller logs as the legs of the bench. 

We had a resource for logs - pine beetle killed lodge pole pines - and place to store and build it.

We now left the naming the job to the class.  The finalists were Miss Missy's Bench, Funny Bench and Love Bench.  After a the final vote was placed to the class, Funny Bench was voted as the name.


It was now time for the class to help strip the log of the bark.  Everyone in the class got a scraper or sander, rolled up their sleeves and stripped and sanded the log to a smooth finish.  These kids worked hard, smart and proud.  It was inspiring to see.

Rus went to work and created a masterpiece, adding cedar boards as the legs.  After adding the varnish, the discolorations in the pine that the beetle caused in the pine turned into a variety of colors.   The plaques were laser etched and Funny Bench was ready for auction.

We were going to personalize Funny Bench by engraving the bench name, event info and the signatures from the entire class onto bench plaques.


My son and I created a short introduction movie, to get the crowd ready to start bidding.

It went over great to get everyone ready.

Thanks to a great auctioneer and a record, generous crowd, Funny Bench broke last years single item record by over 25%. 

A fun night and some great money raised for the school and class.

Designing the Art of Winter Kylie top sheet

Grace Skis was contacted by Something Independent about participating in the 2012 Art of Winter Celebration, in downtown Denver in conjunction with the SIA Snow Show.  We were presented with the challenge to create unique top sheet art, while staying in the Art of Winter theme.

Nothing says winter in Colorado to me like the serenity of the snowfall through a lodge pole forest, with the jagged edge of the continental divide peering through.  The subject of the image was set. 

 

To begin, I made a number of sketches, defining the composition of the art and how it will lay across the tails.

   

Once the sketch is approved, I scan it into the computer, clean it up.  With the digital art approved, I run tests with the settings for  the Epilogue laser etcher with bamboo scraps.  It is a fine balance between the Power and Speed, to get the right richness of burn.

 
With the settings ready, we take our pre-cut Kylie 196 Bamboo veneers and burn the custom tail art.
 

The top sheets ready, we are ready to press the Art of Winter Kylie 196, with a special 3" carbon strip.   As part of the Art of Winter brand auction, they were on exhibit at Row 14 Bistro & Wine Bar across the street from the SIA Snow Show.

The winner of the auction will receive a custom pair of Grace Kylies, and so the Kylie 196 Art of Winter skis are being taken down, mounted and will be out on the snow soon.