Feature Member Project: ‘Chapel of Love’ Sign
Every month, we feature a project created by a different Vancouver Tool Library member. This month, we’re featuring a very Valentine’s Day-appropriate project. This one comes from our very own Director of Volunteers, Kathy Yan Li.
Tell us about the project you built and what inspired you to work on it.
I was involved in the Vancouver Canadian Asian Theatre‘s production of “The Theory of Everything”. Because it was a community theatre production, we had very limited resources. I was designing the lights, but because they couldn’t find a set designer in the end, I offered to build a fundamental set piece: a neon light sign that said ‘The Chapel of Love’ on a budget of $120. Things looked grim, so I called on my friend Paul Bucci, who came up with the design and concept. We decided against faking the look of neon light tubing, and went with cut outs in the sign, which turned out pretty well. We cut the entire sign out of one sheet of plywood.Which tools did you use for this project?
We used a jig saw, saw horses, paint brushes, and a belt sander.
Did you face any challenges?
Our main challenge was finding a space to make the sign, so we ended up working the back alley of Paul’s dad’s place. His back yard was sloped downwards, so we worked half in and out of his house. Even after we had finished the cutting and painting, finding a place to store it before moving it into the theatre was another challenge.
How do you feel now that you’ve completed a project of this nature?
Pretty good. It turned out a lot better than what we had expected.
Next project plans?
Creating life-sized chocolate figures of ourselves.
I definitely want in on that next project. Thanks Kathy! Beautiful sign!