2020 Philadelphia 76rs Fish

Here it is, the O-fish-al 2020 Philadelphia Basketball Fish Sign!! This beauty is double-sided with a hanging number plate. I used Valspar Duramax exterior paint on treated MDO plywood and three coats of Minwax Pro Series Spar Urethane, so it should last a long time. For the design, I used a combination of Sixers logos, the first is the 1963 original, and the second from the “Philly Unite” Campaign in 2012.

The original logo from 1964 was inspired by the Declaration of Independence which was signed in Philadelphia in 1776. The logo also incorporated 13 blue stars above “7”, forming a circle, which stood for the first American Colonies.

The logo with the snake originated from a 1754 political cartoon published by Ben Franklin in his Pennsylvania Gazette newspaper. The cartoon was titled "Join, Or Die," and each segment of the snake was labeled with the initials of an American colony or region. Franklin was pushing for the unification of the colonies, and the slogan was later modified to "Unite, Or Die" by some. "The 'Phila Unite'  campaign pulls together multiple themes from the American Revolution . The Sixers reworked their throwback bell logo, which is an homage to the Liberty Bell and the 1976 bicentennial celebration, to add the segmented snake.

https://www.pennlive.com/sports/2018/05/why_do_the_philadelphia_76ers.html
https://1000logos.net/philadelphia-76ers-logo/
https://www.nba.com/sixers/76ers-unveil-phila-unite-playoff-campaign-rooted-citys-history

Pacific Yoga Install

Here I am with Nicole McLane from Pacific Yoga in Fishtown. She called me one day and left a message, asking me to help her with a sign. It had weathered a bit prematurely and needed a fix soon. Opening night for the Philly Fringe Festival was in ten days and The Howie Hypnotize Show was being performed at her yoga studio.

I quickly went to work cutting out each of the letters by hand with a jig saw. Once that was done I stained all the boards an English Chestnut and finally glued them to a sheet of plexiglass. With a little elbow grease and some muscle from Nicole, we managed to slide out the old sign and putn the new one.

Great news, this was three days before the opening night and I didn’t fall off the ladder at the very last moment.

The light in me sees the light in you, Nicole! Namaste.