Mushroom! Yes, it's a giant mushroom! In December of 2012, I met Karen at a craft show and she just happened to have a giant mushroom she needed painted..... She owns the local ice cream shop, Dairy Delites, and she picked up the 'shroom for free at an auction. It was in pretty bad shape so she needed to get it restored before I could get started. After restoration, Karen put down the base coat and the rest was up to me.
It also came with two big heads; a pig and a wolf. The pig was cool, but she didn't need a wolf so she tried to turn it into a cow... That's the first job I tackled: |
Karen has big plastic ice cream cones to stick in their mouths, but the cow didn't have a place on the mushroom so he ended up on the side of the building.
People have already chosen the pig side to take family photos! (Soon the shop name will be above his head.) The next thing I set out to do was the door. The inside hasn't really been refurbished so for now, the door is locked. The big cone with the sign is Dee Dee, the official logo. "You know you want some!" was my contribution. The menu is finished now using vinyl lettering. Thank goodness I didn't have to paint all those letters! The hardest part about this project was battling the elements. I had to stop several times due to rain and had to redo parts that were washed away. The heat and the sun were brutal at times and my shade umbrella kept blowing over. It was also very interesting painting on a major thoroughfare! After 43 hours, I declared it finished, but every time I see it I think of something else I would like to add! |
Dairy Delights 815 W Jackson St, (Rte 121) Sullivan, IL 61951