St Marys Skateboard Park Fundraiser Art Show - BOARD'EM

Okay, that's the longest title ever, but BOARD'EM is the name of the art show.

A new and unusual project is in the making. A fundraiser art show is being organized in our town for the building of a local skateboard park. Things are in motion. Carey Pope, one of our city councilors and owner of Pass It On, is instrumental in making this park a reality. Old and new boards are dropped off at Pass It On and are handed over to local artists of all ages so they can be creatively transformed. The art show and auction fundraiser will be held at The Black Angus on Queen street, February 10th.

The board I will be working on

I decided to use an old, well used and abused board full of character. It will not go back to being a skateboard - it's too damaged for that. Better hanging on someone's wall instead of ending up in the landfill. My wheels are in motion and I have several ideas rolling around. First, it has to be prepped; removing the spray glue on the surface, sanding and priming.

Top side

Underside

Someone had lots of fun with that board, but I'll give it a second life with a new artful "skin".

I first tried steaming the glue off of the board, avoiding the use of harmful products as much as possible, but the steam kind of revived the glue making it much more sticky. I ended up using Varsol.

I used wood filler only where needed so the "imperfections" would not distract from the artwork.

Did the same on the underside of the board. Now that the filler is dry, a little more sanding and the board is ready for primer.

Two good coats of primer have been applied on the top side and underside of the old skateboard and it is now ready for its second life.

Follow me on this new journey.