Signs of the Times [rowing]
May. 10th, 2021 02:57 pmI spent a substantial amount of the past weekend thinking about signs.
On Saturday, I first dug out a set of very nice signs that got made for the rowing club's National Learn to Row Day event back in 2018:
Can you spot a problem with these very nice signs?
They all contain outdated sponsorship information from 2018.
Can we reuse them anyway?
We might.
We certainly aren't going to print new ones.
The club storage shed also contains a stack of yard signs for our annual IceBreaker Challenge event from 2018, that are sprinkled with information that quickly became dated ("8th Annual" and the specific date of the event). The signs got reused in 2019 with some creative application of white duct tape, and then we failed to use them in 2020 or 2021. Inadequate amounts of white duct tape for 2020 or 2021.
There was also a sandwich letter board sign in there:
But some of the structure is wearing out so the letters now fall down, and some letters are completely missing.
However, someone did right when it came to designing signs for the club's summer camps, so I was able to put up 3 signs for that, at least:
We used to have vinyl banners that hung on the fence, like the one in the background of that photo that belongs to a program that shares the space with us. Over time, the vinyl banners succumb to the elements and disintegrate into bits of plastic. I took down three of them in winter of 2019, and in spring of 2020 I asked someone to put them back up.
They may still be buried somewhere in the boathouse, for all I know, but they're still falling apart. If any of you have brilliant ideas for durable, long-term replacements, I'm all ears. It would be really fun to make a plywood mural, don't you think?![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
scrottie knows some useful things about making durable signs, though, too. Don't ask me how I know that he knows.
On Sunday, I eventually tracked down the exact same brand of sandwich letter board sign, and ordered a brand-new frame and set of letters (woah, not cheap!!). I will get the new one going soon. Then I will bring the old one home to clean up and repair, and then we should have two sandwich board letter signs. Joining the Big Leagues, we are. While tracking down the new sign, I did discover that that type of sandwich board frame will hold other kinds of signs as well, not just the letter board. So if the dimensions are right I can go to town making other new signs and swap them in when appropriate.
I also found an idea somewhere to use a big vinyl sticker on an old lawn sign to update it. I don't know how much that will cost yet, but I would really love to come up with some way to repurpose those outdated 2018 IceBreaker signs. Ideally with a new design that won't instantly become outdated.
I also ordered a small laminating machine, so I can print out and laminate signs for National Learn to Row Day that say, "Please Wear a Mask."
I have wanted to laminate other things in the past, but never felt like going so far as to order a laminating machine. Bike spoke cards come to mind.
Signs are about as close as I seem to get to making art right now. I'm going to go back to making maps pretty soon, too.
-
I think all of the signs that I uncovered are Signs. Signs of people with very good intentions, but a very short-term, wasteful way of thinking. An organization that spun itself up and out of control. Finding Things in the boathouse and storage shed is a contemporary anthropological expedition into the history of this rowing club. It's an expedition that includes a lot of the kinds of things that people might not talk about directly. I swear, this boathouse never disappoints when it comes to Finding Things.
We did throw out the rotting fish head trophies. The concept of a trophy made out of a decorated, shellacked fish head is amusing, but not nearly as durable as the other endless trophies and plaques.
I still think that it remains true that the more trivial the regatta, the more likely one will wind up saddled with a bunch of useless pieces of hardware.
On Saturday, I first dug out a set of very nice signs that got made for the rowing club's National Learn to Row Day event back in 2018:
Can you spot a problem with these very nice signs?
They all contain outdated sponsorship information from 2018.
Can we reuse them anyway?
We might.
We certainly aren't going to print new ones.
The club storage shed also contains a stack of yard signs for our annual IceBreaker Challenge event from 2018, that are sprinkled with information that quickly became dated ("8th Annual" and the specific date of the event). The signs got reused in 2019 with some creative application of white duct tape, and then we failed to use them in 2020 or 2021. Inadequate amounts of white duct tape for 2020 or 2021.
There was also a sandwich letter board sign in there:
But some of the structure is wearing out so the letters now fall down, and some letters are completely missing.
However, someone did right when it came to designing signs for the club's summer camps, so I was able to put up 3 signs for that, at least:
We used to have vinyl banners that hung on the fence, like the one in the background of that photo that belongs to a program that shares the space with us. Over time, the vinyl banners succumb to the elements and disintegrate into bits of plastic. I took down three of them in winter of 2019, and in spring of 2020 I asked someone to put them back up.
They may still be buried somewhere in the boathouse, for all I know, but they're still falling apart. If any of you have brilliant ideas for durable, long-term replacements, I'm all ears. It would be really fun to make a plywood mural, don't you think?
scrottie knows some useful things about making durable signs, though, too. Don't ask me how I know that he knows.On Sunday, I eventually tracked down the exact same brand of sandwich letter board sign, and ordered a brand-new frame and set of letters (woah, not cheap!!). I will get the new one going soon. Then I will bring the old one home to clean up and repair, and then we should have two sandwich board letter signs. Joining the Big Leagues, we are. While tracking down the new sign, I did discover that that type of sandwich board frame will hold other kinds of signs as well, not just the letter board. So if the dimensions are right I can go to town making other new signs and swap them in when appropriate.
I also found an idea somewhere to use a big vinyl sticker on an old lawn sign to update it. I don't know how much that will cost yet, but I would really love to come up with some way to repurpose those outdated 2018 IceBreaker signs. Ideally with a new design that won't instantly become outdated.
I also ordered a small laminating machine, so I can print out and laminate signs for National Learn to Row Day that say, "Please Wear a Mask."
I have wanted to laminate other things in the past, but never felt like going so far as to order a laminating machine. Bike spoke cards come to mind.
Signs are about as close as I seem to get to making art right now. I'm going to go back to making maps pretty soon, too.
-
I think all of the signs that I uncovered are Signs. Signs of people with very good intentions, but a very short-term, wasteful way of thinking. An organization that spun itself up and out of control. Finding Things in the boathouse and storage shed is a contemporary anthropological expedition into the history of this rowing club. It's an expedition that includes a lot of the kinds of things that people might not talk about directly. I swear, this boathouse never disappoints when it comes to Finding Things.
We did throw out the rotting fish head trophies. The concept of a trophy made out of a decorated, shellacked fish head is amusing, but not nearly as durable as the other endless trophies and plaques.
I still think that it remains true that the more trivial the regatta, the more likely one will wind up saddled with a bunch of useless pieces of hardware.
