Ricardo Day 2

Today was all about them graphics. We started the day talking about all the different options we had for making our boards look aesthetically pleasing with graphics. I ended up choosing to stain my board a combination of red and blue, and then spray pain stenciled my design onto the board.

Almost all of the decisions regarding how my board will be have been last minute, and i don’t know that i’d have it any other way. There is a certain beauty to making your color scheme and entire deck blueprint right on the spot. I had little room to worry about exactly what i made. I create my board so that i can ride it... sure, but I think one might also argue that to create the board is enough fun in itself to be in this intensive.

The spray paint on my board should be totally dry by tomorrow as well as most other members of this intensive. I can’t wait to see how everyone’s graphics come out. I’ve been taken aback by how original and diverse each board and graphic is.

Ricardo Day 2

Day 2

Day 2

Day 1: Cole

Today was the first day of the Longboard Collective. We started out by introducing ourselves as well as being introduced to Wayne and Marcelo who will be helping us out this week. We then set out to design our own boards. I chose to design a double ended, 38 inch board. It was a bit of a struggle for me to draw out my design because I am not the most skilled artist in the world, but after struggling with it for a little while I managed to get it done. Once I had my design drawn, I traced it onto the wood cut out and got to work first by cutting it out using jig-saws and then sanding it down. I haven’t completely finished sanding my board but I am getting close. I hope to finish it by tomorrow so I can start to put the finishing touches on it.

Today was a beautiful day and aside from having fun in the shop all day, my favorite part of the day was getting a chance at the end to go out back and ride all the different boards that were available. Just being able to ride with everyone in the Collective as well as enjoy the nice sun was awesome. I can’t wait to see how the rest of the week turns out.

- Cole

Day 1: Cole

Day 1: Grace

Today I walked in having no idea about anything when it came to longboards. My plan was to make something simple like the cruiser. A beginner longboard, in which I could use for fun. I found out that any of the different styles would work for what I wanted. I looked around at the many other longboards which had been made, and ended up making one similar to the freerider style. One of the main reasons I picked this was because it has no front or back. This allows me to skate and not have to flip my longboard around. From there I traced the design onto a 7-ply plank. Then from there I cut and sanded to create my board. Before actually getting to work I needed to learn how to use the tools. Today was my first time ever using power tools. My board turned out well, and I am happy that I didn’t mess up!

The more I’ve learned about longboarding the more interested I am. I really appreciate all the help I’ve gotten so far from everyone in the collective (including Wayne from Surf_Rods and Marcelo from Uncommon Boards). Not only are the instructors helpful, but also the other kids in the collective. Everyone is willing to help one another out. All of us are looking forward to completing our boards and to be able to go outside in the nice weather to skate!

-Grace

Day 1: Grace

Day 1: Martin

Today we started out by Mr. Lavigne introducing Wayne from Surf-Rodz and Marcelo from Uncommon Boards. Both of them along with Mr. Lavigne and Mr. Holloway will be helping us throughout the march intensive with designing and creating our boards. We then moved on drawing out and planning out our boards. I spent a while looking at different designs of boards before I decided on what I wanted to do. I then planned it out on paper with the help of Marcel, Wayne, and Mr. Lavigne. While this was going on, Mr. Holloway was taking small groups of students to show them how all the machines worked in the shop. Once my design was completed, i traced it onto the wood that would become my board. I started cutting out the shape that i wanted, and I worked on this until lunch time.

After a short lunch break, I resumed my work on my board. I finished cutting out my shape and then moved on to sanding down all the edges so that my board would look nice and feel smooth. I spent a very long time on the sanding using a variety of different tools and techniques. After a while we had to clean up the shop. Once everything was in order we went back into the classroom where Mr. Lavigne gave us the march intensive shirts along with brand new helmets. We then spent the last bit of time riding various long boards that both students and adults had brought in around the back parking lot. Overall today was really fun and I look forward to finishing up my board in the next couple of days!

- Martin

Day 1: Martin

Day 1: Eleanor

Day #1: Designing, Cutting, Sanding & Riding!

When I signed up for the Longboard Collective I was a little nervous because I’ve *never* boarded. I haven’t stood on a skateboard, a snowboard, and especially not a longboard! Luckily, this course works for beginners. At the beginning I stood on a couple of the boards that Wayne, Mr. Lavigne, and Marcelo had brought for us and I decided on the shape of my board. Tracing and transferring the design to our blank board just took time and patience. Even though my friend Grace and I were beginners to longboarding we were the first in the shop! Before today I’d never worked with any shop machinery so the jigsaws and band saws were intimidating. All of the adults helped me at some point so I came out with all of my fingers and a smooth and well cut board. I’m really satisfied with where I am and I hope that the graphics just make it look better! 

The other really exciting part of my day was actually getting on a board! I have never gotten on a longboard and today I got to practice pushing and dragging. I went down a hill without falling..stopping was the hard part! I’m really looking forward to applying graphics to the board and I hope that it’s sanded enough to look good. Right now, my plan is to do black and red details with grip tape patterns. I’m not sure if I’ll make my helmet match. We’ll see! I’ve already talked with my brother and I think that longboarding might become a habit for both of us! I’m going to teach him what I know and I hope that we can both enjoy my board.

- Eleanor

Day 1: Eleanor

Day 1: Paul

Today was the opening day of the Longboarding March Intensive at Hanover High School.  The  Longboarding March Intensive is a 4-day Intensive that is focused around the construction of longboards and equipment/history/rideing.  Any way, concerning today’s tasks, we had to chose what type of concave piece of wood we wanted to make our board out of.  Then we were assigned to draw out the design of our board, cut it, and then tape it to the board.  Then we were assigned to cut out the board and sand it with numerous tools such as (jigsaw/ portable jigsaw, belt sander, sander, table saw, etc.  

To start off with, I have never ridden a longboard and have had a brief experience with skateboarding.  I arrived at 7:30, half an hour early to get ready and I met Wayne (who is the owner of Surf_Rods), and I met Marcelo Peroco (who is the owner of a company known as Uncommon Boards).

- Paul

Day 1: Paul

Day 1: Meg

Day #1: Tuesday, March 20:

Today was such a productive day! I knew absolutely nothing about working with power tools and wood, let alone actually building and shaping a longboard. Not to mention the fact that I knew even less about longboarding in general. Regardless, with the help of many experienced individuals, I successfully made a template for my board (I chose a Freerider design, as Wayne explained it would be easier--and more fun--for me to use as I got better and actually learned how to longboard), transferred the design to a 7-ply plank, and cut/sanded my board. It isn’t exactly perfect, but I’m pretty impressed with myself!

We also got some sweet free stickers and helmets today, and now I am currently trying to think up a design for my helmet to enter the mini-contest. Unfortunately, I seem to have too many ideas and not enough time! I also still need to figure out what designs/graphics I want to use on my own board, which I believe we will be doing tomorrow. I think I may try to experiment with the grip tape as well on top of my board...we will see what happens!

I can already tell that this March Intensive was a great choice for me to end my high school career with (I am currently a Senior), as it is pushing me out of my comfort zone and introducing me to new things. As I potential art student, I am really interested in how art is used in longboarding. Who knows? Perhaps this course will influence my future career choices!

- Meg

Day 1: Meg