An Eye-Catching Display
Advertizing H.R. Electronics, inc.
I wanted to make a pig. So I devised a scheme to justify the activity: to
create a display advertizement (a sign) for H.R. Electronics, inc., my
(very cool) wife's (former) Ham Radio dealership (get it? Ham..
Pig.. aaahhhh).
I wanted to use papier-mache because it's sloppy and simple. I taped two
balloons nozzle to nozzle for a form. It took me
three nights to produce the pig body, two more to put on the legs, ears
and gaping smile. I should have taken some photos of it when it still
looked like newsprint, but I didn't think of it. I covered the "sign"
with several coats of dry-wall mud and sanded to glassy smoothness.
Then I coated it with epoxy. This
took quite a while and was difficult to justify to practical minded
family members.
I worked up a stencil and printed it off on the desk-top laser printer, but
I couldn't fit the paper to the curvacious piggy. I had to brush on a
latex film, then patiently cut it away for a stencil.
So here it is, making the scene at the Dayton Ham-Vention. About 30,000
Hams from all over the world laid eyes on this pig. It was even televised
on the local news. As you can see, a cellular telephone antenna seconds
as the tail.
I grew a goatee to signify my temporary artisan status. My new friend and
I pose in front of a real sign, and we celebrate our existence.