THE SEWARD MONSTER MURAL

Good morning. Sorry for leaving you without a new post for a few days.
You guys certainly had fun while I was away. Look at all the great stories
you posted for Monsters 167 and 168:

167168banner

I’ve been on the road these last few days, placing two big monsters in the town of Seward, Nebraska. Prof. Paul Berkbigler invited me to teach a workshop for his senior graphic design class at Concordia University. When I first started taking my act on the road about 7 years ago, I spoke at the Nebraska chapter of AIGA and had such good memories of the trip that I immediately said Yes. I also said “Hey! Let’s do a mural!” Because that was a lot of fun the first time I did one with AIGA Arizona, 17 months ago in Tucson.

The guys at Concordia put up a lovely page about the whole thing on their site right here. Their staff photographer Dan Oetting took some excellent photos of the painting process, and put them together in a little Flash presentation. It’s got music, so if you’re in the office, you might want to mute the sound in the bottom right corner:

What it doesn’t show you is the final mural. For that you’ll have to scroll down, or you can click on the thumbnail to the left and turn to Lance Schwartz at KOLN/KGIN in Lincoln, Nebraska, who filed a great report for the local news. LancesjournalThat way you also get to meet Paul, Max Wake of event sponsor Jones Bank, and Brenda Ard, one of the students from Paul’s class, who—honestly—did most of the actual painting. Not just Brenda, I mean, but the whole class: Brenda, Kaylee Conrad, Jacob Cooper, Laura Knibbe, Ashley Lenz, Madelyn Lorenzen, Tannon Osten, Michelle Roeber, Lindsay Souchek, and Brittany Tomsick. Thank you to all of them, also for the hard work they did on the assignment I gave them in class.

Mark Anschutz very kindly donated the front of his building for our little painting adventure, figured out all the logistics, and kept us on track with advice and action throughout the process. He also got in on the painting with a number of volunteers from the faculty and the community at large: James Bockelman, Donald Dynneson, Tim Oliver, Philip Perschbacher, Brock Shaw, Richard Wiegmann, William Wolfram, and Jeff Voehl. After the students and I had declared the piece finished Friday afternoon they — as I found out the next day — snuck into the studio and started on a second coat of paint to make everything look just a little bit more even and vibrant. They were there until 1AM and continued the next morning and through the afternoon. Painting elves! Can you believe it?

Of course, once I saw that we weren’t finished after all, I decided to change the color of the type, so everybody pitched in to repaint all the letterforms one more time at the last minute. That’s good humor right there. (Thank you for your patience, everybody!)

The mural went up on the building as I raced over to the campus to set up for my talk that evening. Cory Berkbigler took pictures of the finished thing, so I could unveil it as the highlight of my presentation. Teamwork all over the place.

The talk itself was a hoot, and led to an unexpected pre-launch of the Monster Book. The university bookstore had gotten its hands on 30 copies, which sold out before I even took to the stage. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it’s a good omen.

It was a great experience that I’m grateful for. I certainly had fun, and I hope that you’ll enjoy the final result. You can click on the image for a bigger version.

Sewardmonsters480px

Oh, and the monsters glow in the dark, of course.
Did I forget to mention that? Why do they glow in the dark?
Because A. Paul’s indefatigable students applied six coats
of phosphorescent paint, and B. because 344 LOVES YOU

Sewardmonstersglo480px

17 Comments

  • 10 March 2008 10:40 pm

    Really nifty mural!! I love that they glow in the dark – ’cause all the best monsters do. Next time, though? Demand heat! You guys look like you were *freezing*!

  • 11 March 2008 12:03 am

    This is awesome. Just watched the video of what you did in Seward. Go go go Stefan!

  • Mags
    11 March 2008 3:59 am

    hey so to bad the streat lamp is right next to it…you cant really tell if its glowable…

  • 11 March 2008 5:17 am

    Yeah, I was worried about that. I’m hoping for a short time after dark and before sunrise, when the streetlights out and the glow is on.
    Also, if there’s ever a power failure, the glow’s going to be all charged up
    and can serve as a beacon. Did I mention that these are also emergency monsters?

  • Stephanie
    11 March 2008 6:13 am

    The murals are fantastic! Great work from you and your team! I love that they glow in the dark!! Do you think you’ll ever get to do a mural on the East Coast — NYC, NJ area? I’d love to see a monster mural in Times Square. Keep up the good work!

  • Tiffany Nelson
    11 March 2008 7:12 am

    I love these I agree with Stephanie too that I’d love some in Times Square.

  • sue bebie
    11 March 2008 9:31 am

    absolutely fantastic! glowing in the dark monsters, that will be wonderfull. great work from you and the students. i wish i could be one of them.

  • 11 March 2008 9:37 am

    Great looking mural! My only question is, what are these monsters’ names? My guess is Kawena and Argos, a crime fighting duo with connections to a local advertising firm in Sewerd, NE. They approached the company in hopes they would give them free ad space somewhere in the city. Step two complete. Step three … profit.
    ______
    Nice bonus w/ the glow in the dark paint! Great work Stefan.

  • 11 March 2008 9:42 am

    well, how monsterlicious is that?????
    Emergency Monsters to help save the world.

  • Brooke N.
    11 March 2008 11:26 am

    This rocks my face off! Now you need to come and stamp a monster on Peoria, IL!

  • 11 March 2008 12:06 pm

    Hi Stephanie, Tiffany, and Brooke — Thank you for your comments! I’m glad you like the murals. I’d love to do one in New York or Jersey or Peoria Heights. Any excuse to come to New York or the Chicagoland area! It’s a question of finding somebody to surrender their building and pay my way for a few days. Usually these things happen when I’m invited to give a talk or a workshop and I can dare them into finding a space for painting. So… fingers crossed!

  • 11 March 2008 8:03 pm

    That is FANTASTIC! I love the gitd paint on it! You freakin ROCK!!!!

  • Amber J
    11 March 2008 10:12 pm

    Wow! Fantastic! I’m a 2006 K-12 art education major graduate from Concordia University, Seward, Nebraska! I wish I was three years younger and in the graphic design program. This is something really great you did for the art department, students, Seward community, yourself, and all those people 344 loves. If I have my memory straight, The Well (a bar) use to be located where the monster mural now resides. What a much bigger and better alternative. If I’m not right, well then…Thanks for the excitement you added to my life anyhow! Take care. (My fingers are crossed for you, also, to have the opportunity and thrill to see The NYC Monster Mural’s appearance delivered by Stefan Bucker because…)

  • 11 March 2008 10:49 pm

    Many thanks for your comment, Amber.
    I know I wish I was three years younger, too.
    (Well, not really. :^)
    I’m glad you like the mural, and you’re right. That used to be “The Well.” A number of people told me about the dive bar it used to be. I always thought I’d contribute to the decline of neighborhoods, but look at me now… beautifying formerly sordid spots! Where did I go wrong? :^D

  • 12 March 2008 7:26 am

    It’s very obvious where you went wrong, Stefan–by not making the mural bigger! 😉 On the other hand, if you had, all of you might have frozen into graphisicles…

  • 17 March 2008 9:34 am

    Wow! This is really awesome! Congrats!!!
    Great job with the monsters! love the idea with the glow in the dark paint!

  • Nicole
    28 March 2008 11:23 am

    I don’t know. The little one looks scared of being eaten. The big guy has great teeth for that, too. At least they won’t lose each other in the dark.
    It is so cool!

Leave a Reply to PennyDreadful Cancel reply