We’ve completed the rough hull of our duckboat and it’s time to celebrate our work by adding the name to to the transom. We were visited by Paul Quinn from Design Brilliance who did a wonderful demonstration of gold leafing and hand-lettering. The students even participated in the gold leafing process! It was bittersweet to feel a true sense of accomplishment in the completion of the rough hull, and to know that this was our final class. Luckily, there will be a launch party on July 15th at 10:30am after we’ve donated the completed boat to Independence Seaport Museum.
Work will continue between the final class and the launch party in July. Students from the boat class are welcome to drop in to work on the finish trim of the boat and the sailing rig. We’re expecting some Penn State Abington sculpture students to volunteer at the shop over the Summer to help us finish the boat.
If you’d like to see more work by Paul Quinn, please visit designbrilliance.net
Zoe Brouse applies gold leaf to the lettering with guidance from Paul Quinn.
Paul shows students the many varieties of gold and silver leafing products available.
Sam Feather takes a turn at gold leafing.
As we take some downtime, students Emily Chan and Zoe Brouse share their journals with lettering artist Paul Quinn.
Theodora Dagkli Andonopoulos takes a turn at gold leafing.
Sam Feather photographs as Paul Quinn demonstrates “turning” the gold leaf.
With the gold leaf applied and turned, Paul Quinn demonstrates the outlining process with a steady hand.
Paul Quinn adds the port of call to the port side of the transom which is, of course, Abington, PA.
The completed transom. Over the next few weeks we’ll add quite a few coats of varnish to the transom to protect the wood and paint. We’ll also finish and install the rudder to the center of the transom.
Although the class has finished, we won’t be saying goodbye to the Workshop on the Water. Students will be dropping in to help Professor H. John Thompson finish the boat. We all look forward to donating the completed boat to Independence Seaport Museum for sail training programs, and especially our launch party on July 15th!
Special thanks to:
Bonnie Levinthal, Professor of Art, who was instrumental in guiding students to view their experiences through an artistic lens, and helped them to develop their amazing journals!
Dave Dormond, Assistant Director and Boat Shop Educator, Workshop on the Water, whose teaching and boatbuilding expertise made the project possible.
Jeff Huffenberger, Director, Workshop on the Water, who shared his expertise with us to problem solve to ensure the boat hull stayed on track.
Craig Bruns, Chief Curator, Independence Seaport Museum, who generously gave insight to the museum collection and opened the archives for very special experiences.
and to our fantastic students who participated in all or part of the project. Please be sure to take a look at their blogs!
– Francis Bellocchio: https://sites.psu.edu/francismakesaboat/
– Sierrarose Biello: https://sites.psu.edu/sierrarosebielloboatbuilding/
– Zoe Brouse: https://sites.psu.edu/zoeboatbuilding/
– Emily Chan: https://sites.psu.edu/emichanboatbuilding/
– Theodora Dagkli Andonopoulos: https://sites.psu.edu/theodoraboatbuilding/
– Karley Feather: https://sites.psu.edu/kjfeatherboatbubilding/
– Sam Feather: https://sites.psu.edu/samfeather/
– Paul Kyriakos: https://sites.psu.edu/paulkyriakos/
– Alexa Pagan: https://sites.psu.edu/alexaboatbuilding/
THIS COURSE SEQUENCE AND RELATED PROGRAMS ARE MADE POSSIBLE WITH THE GENEROUS SUPPORT OF:
The Pennsylvania State University
Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence
2021 Teaching Innovation Grant
http://www.schreyerinstitute.psu.edu/
The Penn State Center, Philadelphia
2021 Seeding Change Grant
https://philadelphia.center.psu.edu/
The Pennsylvania State University – Abington College
2021 Chancellor’s Grant
funded by the Albert and Suzanne Lord Chancellor Endowment.
The Pennsylvania State University – Abington College
2021 Faculty Development Grant
The Pennsylvania State University – Humanities Institute
https://hi.psu.edu/
The Pennsylvania State University – Abington College
Division of Arts and Humanities
The Penn State Abington Art Gallery
https://sites.psu.edu/abingtonartgallery/
The Pennsylvania State University – Abington College
Student Initiated Fund
The Pennsylvania State University – Office for General Education
Penn State Abington College
1600 Woodland Road, Abington, PA 19001
https://www.abington.psu.edu/
Independence Seaport Museum
211 S. Columbus Blvd, Philadelphia, PA 19106
https://phillyseaport.org/