Londonderry News

To recap: The Eagle Parade is an event sponsored by the Manchester Chapter of Veteran’s Count, a program of Easter Seals. After the amazing success of the Seacoast Chapter’s Eagle Parade, the Manchester Chapter wanted to continue this with a similar event. Artists were challenged to come up with designs to be transferred to a 4ft. tall plaster cast life-size image of the American Bald Eagle. Sponsors had the opportunity to choose a design of the many interpretations. That’s where the fun begins.

The following stories in the weeks ahead will chronicle Deb Curtin’s foray into the unknown world (for her) of the motorcycle or more specifically the Harley-Davidson motorcycle. The challenge is to put this theme somehow onto the Icon Poly sculpted eagle.

WEEK 2

The ‘go to’ person of the company and I agreed to meet at the dealership to try to put a plan in motion on this joint project. I brought prints and pictures of various motorcycles, artistic images, and a photograph of the original owners, the Harley shield and Harley Owners Group (HOG) logo. All of these images were conveyed to me by others as to what should be on the eagle. But most of what I brought was nixed. That was okay since it was a way to finally start to see the common denominator and understand what my role would be. I suggested a vest be put on the bird which he highly agreed to. We talked more of color choices especially of the actual bird. When we parted I left with two kid’s vests, several leather collars with spikes and metal bling, and the United We Roll emblem.

This week was spent choosing specifically what I thought we had discussed at the dealership. ( I’ll refer to my contact person as Mr. T). I deliberately did not do any renderings in color since I had my doubts about the way this seemed to be progressing and didn’t want to waste more time. I carefully chose the images that we had agreed upon, enlarged each one to show them in the proper size ratio as they would appear on the actual bird and the base. These were the ideas I would show Mr. T when we met again. I only used a black marker to draw it all out. It took quite a bit of time just getting this part done.

I had hoped that these ideas would meet with his approval. It did occur to me at one point that this whole thing was turning out to be a marketing tool for the company but one that only he had input over. Then I was surprised to learn that this eagle would be making a cross-country trip with more than a few stops along the way. Mr. T had informed me that the final destination would be to the Milwaukee plant and main headquarters of the company. It would be signed by Willie G. Davidson, grandson of one of the founders who continues as the brand Ambassador and in Special Design Projects as Chief Styling Officer Emeritus.

I hoped that in the end it would be worthy of the trip (minus any bumps, bruises, chips or other calamity). It would be arriving back to New Hampshire in time for the auction in December.

To read the first week of the new eagle project, read The Eagle has Landed – Again!

The eagles for this project were manufactured by Icon Poly, a family owned company based in central Nebraska. Icon Poly started as a hobby of sculpting, sculpture point-up, and making fiberglass animals and sculptures by hand. In 1999, the company formed and began computerized sculpting, 3-D foam milling, laser digital sculpture enlargement, and a manufacturing process that accurately duplicates the likeness of sports and corporate mascots, make sophisticated trade show displays, and make multiple 3-D copies of a single design of paintable fiberglass sculptures for community art projects. With customer service and client satisfaction as top priorities, the company can bring even the simplest sketch or idea to reality using state of the art technology and the highest quality, environmentally friendly materials available. For more about Icon Poly, visit their website or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

For more information about Veterans Count, visit their website. To learn more about Debbie Curtin and her projects, click here.

This piece is the final chapter of the continuation of Deb’s design challenge for the Manchester Chapter SOS Eagle Parade and Veteran’s Count. In the past weeks, Deb has chronicled her artistic process from concept to finished art piece. Her goal was to highlight the effort that is put into coming up with a design and how much one artist will go through by the time the piece is completed.

DAY 13
It’s sealant day and here I go! A smaller wooden toy chest used for stuff and kept in the garage was the best place to put the bird after first covering it with an old plastic shower curtain liner. We have a small kitchen scale so in order to be exact with the ratio of part 1 and part 2 of the sealant Steve came up with the idea of using a plastic cup and water. He put in water to equal a portion for part 1 then marked that on the cup and did the same for part 2. I put my hair up, rolled up my sleeves, donned the mask and gloves and prepared to mix. Everything used would need to be tossed out so I had to consider which junk brush I could part with. This was a no fuss task.

Ready – set – wait! Since I used a fair amount of permanent marker in so much of the detail Steve suggested I try the combination on the back of the base. As soon as I began to brush it over the Boston skyline where I had put the fine lines for the Zakem Bridge the ink started to run. I quickly grabbed an old rag and wiped it as best that I could.

We both looked at each other and said the same word. Now what do I do? Well, since the sealant was already mixed I figured I could at least do the bird since it was done entirely with paint and no marker. I was at a loss for the rest of the bird. Who do you call for advice at the last minute? It was my friend Anthony who was also painting an eagle and reminded me of a product we both used not too long ago. “The kiosk in Merrimack that we painted was sealed with Rustoleum Ultra Cover Clear Gloss sealant. Remember?” He said that he used it on his eagle and it was fine. Anthony has been painting forever as a profession; houses and buildings inside and out, as well as all styles of artwork and has used every imaginable paint product. He thought that what I used had a chemical reaction to the ink of the marker so I picked up a can of the Rustoleum sealant and delicately attempted to paint the eagle’s base and moved on and finished the rock. No further issues! Whew!

DAY 14 – The eagle has landed
The Icon Poly eagle was now finished with two different types of sealant. I had no idea if this would be a problem down the road. I hoped not. There was so much effort put into this bird that I couldn’t even think about it not withstanding time or the weather.

Three coats each of the two different sealants were now dry and I was ready to deliver the finished product.

I don’t know who sponsored this Boston Celtics themed bird or where it would be perched so the mystery is still out there. I’m happy it is finished and it came outpretty good overall. It’s like anything you put your best effort into. Sometimes things go without a hitch and sometimes something happens and you immediately start to sweat bullets. Then you regroup, think things through, come up with an alternative or another way to confront the issue and you win!

The 2017 Eagle Launch Party was held at the new Chunky’s Cinema and Pub in Manchester on June 7th. It was great to see my eagle perched on the bar in the Pub!

My adventure with the eagle is over for now. The summer and fall months will see the bird in its sponsor location through to the end of the year when the Veteran’s Count Auction takes places coincidentally on December 7th which commemorates Pearl Harbor Day.

HARLEY-DAVIDSON EAGLE

I thought this year’s eagle was ‘one and done’ and was surprised when offered the opportunity to paint another themed eagle. This one will be for the Harley-Davidson company. I began, before meeting with anyone from the local dealership company, to look into the startup of HD and its young founders and reading the amazing historic timeline stories. There is so much that the average person doesn’t know (I didn’t know!) in its 114 years as a well-respected company. I was informed that when the eagle was finished it would be traveling to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to be signed and returned to Manchester!

For Deb’s first entry, read The SOS Eagle Parade 2017 – The Beginning of the Challenge
For Days 1 and 2, read The SOS Eagle Parade 2017 – Days 1 and 2
For Days 3 and 4, read The SOS Eagle Parade 2017 – Days 3 and 4
For Days 5, 6 and 7, read The SOS Eagle Parade 2017 – Days 5, 6, and 7
For Days 8, 9 and 10, read The SOS Eagle Parade 2017 – Days 8, 9, and 10
For Days 11 and 12, read The SOS Eagle Parade 2017 – Days 11 and 12

The eagles for this project were manufactured by Icon Poly, a family owned company based in central Nebraska. Icon Poly started as a hobby of sculpting, sculpture point-up, and making fiberglass animals and sculptures by hand. In 1999, the company formed and began computerized sculpting, 3-D foam milling, laser digital sculpture enlargement, and a manufacturing process that accurately duplicates the likeness of sports and corporate mascots, make sophisticated trade show displays, and make multiple 3-D copies of a single design of paintable fiberglass sculptures for community art projects. With customer service and client satisfaction as top priorities, the company can bring even the simplest sketch or idea to reality using state of the art technology and the highest quality, environmentally friendly materials available. For more about Icon Poly, visit their website or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

For more information about Veterans Count, visit their website. To learn more about Debbie Curtin and her projects, click here.

This piece is the continuation of Deb’s design challenge for the Manchester Chapter SOS Eagle Parade and Veteran’s Count. In the coming weeks, Deb will be chronicling her artistic process from concept to finished art piece. Her goal is to highlight the effort that is put into coming up with a design and how much one artist will go through by the time the piece is completed.

DAY 11
The rock where the bird was perched needed to be a light to medium tone since I’d be doing a ton of lettering over it. I had to make it very simple; no rock-like textures, tones or striations. So like other areas on this Icon Poly bird the right color soon appeared like magic on my mixing tray.
It was nearing the finish line. I had to come up with a color for the eagle’s body. Again I decided there would be no painting of individual feathers and complicating things so I went with a medium brown tone that I dreamed up, well sort of dreamed up. Since I have used the Sherwin Williams paint chip block of every color they offer to find the one for the parquet floor, I used it to find the ‘right’ brown color for the bird.

It came out fine and I had mixed up enough color ‘just in case’ which is always the way to go. I let it dry and looked it over because invariably you miss key spots under, over and around. I had one last major color choice to figure out and to finish up this interesting eagle theme and that was the underside of the wings.

While pondering this last big thing and as the bird was drying I started to paint the names of key players, coaches, nicknames, etc. on the rock. I had the list and now it was a matter of sprinkling them here and there over the rock. I did a few and let it go for now. Now the eagle’s beak and eyes needed to be done and I did this pronto without too much ado. Check. This was simple enough because I didn’t overthink it. And for now the day was done.

DAY 12
This next step was the part that became a bit difficult. I couldn’t decide when the whole project would be finished. The hardest part of any job whatever it may be is to know when to stop, back away and be done. Still there were details to continue with such as adding more names to the rock. Did I miss a few? I also forgot to finish the white piping on the green uniform. My brushes were becoming a bit over worked and I still had the small details to finish. I try, although sometimes not always succeeding, in keeping my brushes clean. Rule of thumb; NEVER leave a brush sitting in a jar of water. All it takes is a few minutes and the fine ends will be permanently bent and it will be difficult to adjust your attempt to paint again using this flawed brush. I have many tricks to smooth the ends and one is by using those small flat plastic bag resealers on either side of the tip of the brush, then clamp it together with a clothespin and set it aside for a while. It works. Hey, I’m a Yankee and that’s how I think. : )

Back to the job…

The top of the wings were dry and now for the grand finale and the last major color needed for the underside of the wings. I decided it needed to stay neutral as the 5 sides of the base were all set with nice background colors. I didn’t want something else to compete with those and so I came up with a pretty neutral gray, just a smooth one color over all. I mixed up a medium tone, didn’t think twice and just went with it. This project was getting too long and I was feeling somewhat annoyed that it still was not completed as yet.

I let everything dry overnight. The next day it was ready for the sealant and we moved it into the garage. According to the information that came attached to the bird I assumed the best choice would be a UV car sealant. Hmm. Where to go? Well, Steve and I both thought of the same place in Derry so off we went to Sanel Auto Parts store. We left with a combination of the part A & part B combo that we needed to mix together for activation. This needed to be done with proper ventilation, with gloves and a mask, glasses and above all with the utmost care. It needed to be applied not once, not twice, but three times with a full day of dry time in between. Oh no!

Stay tuned for the next installment!

For Deb’s first entry, read The SOS Eagle Parade 2017 – The Beginning of the Challenge
For Days 1 and 2, read The SOS Eagle Parade 2017 – Days 1 and 2
For Days 3 and 4, read The SOS Eagle Parade 2017 – Days 3 and 4
For Days 5, 6 and 7, read The SOS Eagle Parade 2017 – Days 5, 6, and 7
For Days 8, 9 and 10, read The SOS Eagle Parade 2017 – Days 8, 9, and 10

The eagles for this project were manufactured by Icon Poly, a family owned company based in central Nebraska. Icon Poly started as a hobby of sculpting, sculpture point-up, and making fiberglass animals and sculptures by hand. In 1999, the company formed and began computerized sculpting, 3-D foam milling, laser digital sculpture enlargement, and a manufacturing process that accurately duplicates the likeness of sports and corporate mascots, make sophisticated trade show displays, and make multiple 3-D copies of a single design of paintable fiberglass sculptures for community art projects. With customer service and client satisfaction as top priorities, the company can bring even the simplest sketch or idea to reality using state of the art technology and the highest quality, environmentally friendly materials available. For more about Icon Poly, visit their website or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

For more information about Veterans Count, visit their website. To learn more about Debbie Curtin and her projects, click here.