What made you want to be involved with the Dave Grohl Alley?
What would you like to see happen with the alley?
I would like to see the alley turn into a place for artists of all kinds to express themselves and show their work and for the artwork to make it a place that people from all over would want to come and see!
Do you feel like things are looking up in Warren, as far as the art scene? If not, What would you like to see happen and how do you feel we can make that work?
I think things are looking way up in the art scene here. There are so many amazing talented artist in the area. Painters, sculptures, photographers, musicians, filmmakers, the list goes on and on! The more we can showcase these talents and make our presence known...the better!
You recently created and installed a new piece of art into the alley. What inspired you to create the 10 ft guitar shaped bike rack?
I knew right away when I was asked to do something for the alley that I wanted to do something large. I didn't want to do a painting so I decided to use my welding and metalwork experience to do a sculpture. The guitar is for obvious reasons and the idea of the bike rack was from not having anywhere to chain my bike up!! It's done in the hope the more people will ride down, lock up, enjoy the alley, and spend the day in downtown!
How was your thought process for this sculpture? Did you know right away how you wanted it to look?
I changed the concept in my head about 7 times before finally settling on the guitar. After I decided, I started laying out how I wanted it to look, size, and what material I wanted to construct it from. I then had a meeting at local 396 Plumbers & Pipefitters and they agreed to donate the material and let me use the training facilities to build it.
Roughly how many hours were spent creating the sculpture?
I had about 20 hours in concept and layout and then my dad, Lou Chine, and I spent about 7 hours in constructing and installing it.
What was the sculpture made out of?
It's made out of pipe that has been welded and then cut out. I knocked the slag off but left it looking raw for the base. The pickups and frets are metal plates, the head is welded 6" like the base, and bolts for the string adjustment. The strings are 3/4" pipe and 1/2" pipe. It was made to be able to lock as many bikes up as possible.
Do you have any other pieces that you plan on adding to the Dave Grohl Alley?
Yes! I have some cool plans for more artwork. I'm going to do a 12' x 7' mosaic on the back of where my buddy, Tim Drummond, has his shirt store!
Lastly, Do you believe that we can make the Dave Grohl Alley a positive local attraction in Warren, Ohio?
I honestly think that Dave Grohl Alley can be a great thing for the area. It could be a place for people from all over to take a road trip and spend some time in Warren and see why so many interesting, talented, motivated, people are proud to call downtown "home"!
