Personal Projects
Project design and construction/fabrication are so much a part of who I am that I don't just do it for work. Here are a few examples of personal projects that I have done in my spare time:
CHRISTMAS CARDS
Each year, I make my own custom Christmas cards. I've now been doing it for over 20 years. Below is a sampling of a few cards as well as a 20-year video retrospective (1999-2019).
Each year, I make my own custom Christmas cards. I've now been doing it for over 20 years. Below is a sampling of a few cards as well as a 20-year video retrospective (1999-2019).
2003 - Snow Globe
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2008 - Santa's Back
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2014 - Elf Fun
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2020 - Sugar Plums
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HALLOWEEN DECORATIONS - Pirates of the Caribbean in Noe Valley
One of my best friends and I have been decorating his house for Halloween for more than 8 years now. He always does themed decorations for every holiday but for Halloween in 2013, he wanted to go with a Pirates of the Caribbean theme based on the Disneyland ride. He and his family are big Disney fans and I've always loved the ride (and used to work for Walt Disney Imagineering) so I agreed to help him tackle the idea. Over the years, we have slowly added more elements and more animation to the display. It's a huge hit every year with the neighbors. In 2020, we decided to add a pirate battle scene in partnership with the neighbors across the street. Here is a short video documenting the latest version.
© Disney
CASTLE TREEHOUSE
My parents have a farm in Southern Oregon and my stepdad and I had long talked about the idea of building a treehouse. This, of course, got the nieces and nephews (grandkids to my parents) excited and they all weighed in on their wishes for the treehouse. Nieces were the most vocal and also had a preference for "playing princess" so the idea of a castle theme came naturally. I initially drew up a few sketches and then followed with more detailed drawings. I prefabricated many elements in San Francisco and then my stepdad and I built the treehouse over a two-year time period, only working on holidays and long weekends. I then decorated the interior of the treehouse with "artifacts" from various fairy tales. The following images show the concept and details of the final product, while the video shows the exterior lighting effects (owl eyes and torches).
CASTLE TREEHOUSE
My parents have a farm in Southern Oregon and my stepdad and I had long talked about the idea of building a treehouse. This, of course, got the nieces and nephews (grandkids to my parents) excited and they all weighed in on their wishes for the treehouse. Nieces were the most vocal and also had a preference for "playing princess" so the idea of a castle theme came naturally. I initially drew up a few sketches and then followed with more detailed drawings. I prefabricated many elements in San Francisco and then my stepdad and I built the treehouse over a two-year time period, only working on holidays and long weekends. I then decorated the interior of the treehouse with "artifacts" from various fairy tales. The following images show the concept and details of the final product, while the video shows the exterior lighting effects (owl eyes and torches).
CHAMPAGNE PACKAGING FOR CHRISTMAS
While at the Academy of Sciences, I would regularly give each person on my staff a bottle of champagne around Christmastime to say thank you for their hard work over the year. Given that it was the Exhibit Studio, a simple bottle seemed boring, so I would design and fabricate unique packaging each year.
PRINCESS DELANEY BOOK
Prior to her 5th birthday, my brother and his wife found out that their oldest daughter needed corrective glasses. At first she didn't like the glasses and wasn't wearing them as often as she should. My sister-in-law asked if I could talk with her, given that I also wear glasses. I did but then also went further to make a fairytale book for her birthday about how her glasses were magical. I found a watercolor painting of the Lichtenstein Castle at a flea market and used that as a reference guide for the rest of the illustrations that I painted for the story. Below is a facsimile of the small book that I created for my niece.