Opinion--Column
Content
6
feature
Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2013
Father-daughter duo paints guitars
Throughout
those
awkward middle school
years, one of my favorite
pastimes was painting
my nails. I’d sit in my
room with an assemblage
of colorful bottles and
Jennifer Maiorana 16 paper towels sprawled
everywhere.
I began trying out a technique where I would drop different colors of nail polish
into the top of a cup of water and then swirl them with a toothpick. I would dip my
nail into the paint and an intricate tie dye, swirled pattern would result.
This turned out to be the exact same technique used in painting swirled guitars.
My dad has always collected swirl guitars, and when he saw my nails he immediately
thought of his favorite instrument.
The curiosity of painting our own guitars took over and we started experimenting
in 2010 when I was in seventh grade. Countless YouTube videos, numerous different
types of paint and various supplies were always turned to as we struggled to find a
combination that worked.
One day, we were experimenting and finally found the perfect brand of paint - it
floated, the color stayed vivid and it mixed well. When we finally tried this paint on
a real guitar, taking it out of the water was an incredible feeling. What amazed me
was that the design of paint floating on the top of the water transferred to the the
guitar and actually looked professional. The labyrinth of colors was captivating and
it inspired me to keep testing out different combinations.
The early months of 2011 consisted of my dad and I taking every spare moment
we could to experiment and analyze our technique. It was, and continues to be, a
struggle to find time for guitars between my dad’s demanding job as a patent lawyer
and my chaotic schedule.
In February of 2011, the man who sold us bare guitars offered us his CNC machine
which is used to make the guitar. Being the man that his is, my dad jumped on the
offer.
The CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machine ultimately programs movements that are cut into the wood and then produces the design. The man who sold
it to us taught my dad the coding for a normal body; eventually he figured out how
to make different shapes.
Now, not only were we painting guitars, but we were actually making them. Noises
and smells constantly come from our basement; it’s a workshop. It took us around
four to six months to get our style down, but we continue striving to reach perfection by often tweaking our techniques.
My main role in the business is the paint. Black, white, green, purple, pink, red,
yellow, blue...you name it, we can create any pattern of colors you desire. Additionally, as time went on my dad helped me learn a few more important aspects of
managing a business.
One of the major tasks handed to me was our website. However, it wasn’t as easy
as I thought it would be; it seemed every time I made progress, I would unknowingly hit the wrong button and completely erase everything I worked on. Frustration
would emerge and build up with every mistake until it got to the point where I
would have to take a breather, go outside and just scream. Even though not too aesthetically pleasing, the website was eventually completed and has been reluctantly
updated a few times only when it’s in dire need of new information.
There are other portions of management, like keeping track of our purchases for
the ledger, that practically put me to sleep. Despite the dull and irritating parts of the
business, I wouldn’t change anything about it. From these experiences, I’ve learned
much about what it’s like to have a job and responsibilities. I’ve discovered how vital
timeliness, patience and communication are in a workplace.
While technicalities of the business can get boring, the orders never fail to amuse
me. Over time, my dad and I have had our fair share of crazy requests. At first, we
just shake our heads and laugh at the bizarre mixture of colors or weird shape of
body requested, but in the end, it results in a unique addition to our repertoire.
Some of the more interesting additions to an order include making the front of the
guitar a mirror, putting colored LED lights or vines on the neck, swirling the pickups
and making the body of the guitar a different shape. The options are endless; what
we do truly depends on what the customer is looking for and how much they’re
willing to spend.
Our prices might seem lofty, ranging from $200 to $2,000, but it takes a lot of
work to create each guitar. We cut the guitars, sand and prime them multiple times,
paint them and then clear coat the guitar. This process paired with dry time can take
around five to twelve hours.
Throughout the three years my dad and I have been working on guitars, I’ve accumulated a lot of money. We’ve made hundreds of guitars over the years, around four
to six per month. For each guitar I help with, I get a portion of money to spend now.
MY VIEW
However, a larger part goes into my college and retirement
rettireemeent accounts.
acc
ac
cco
co
ount
nts
ts.
s. The
fact that I’ve earned a good portion of the money
ey going
go
oing towards
tow
to
owa
waard
ds my future
fut
fu
utu
tu
ure
education by starting my own business with my dad
dad is such
suc
su
ucch a u
unique
niqu
iq
que
ue tthing
hin
ng to
be able to say. Along with this, when I’m older, II’ll
’llll b
bee lo
looking
ooking b
back
acck at
the memories made while earning this moneyy aand
nd ssmiling.
miling.
Even if you love what you do, there are always
ways
way
wa
ays
ys times
timees where
wheere
it seems simpler to just give up. However, tthe
he o
outcome
utc
ut
tco
co
ome aand
nd
pride outweigh the difficulties. The creativity
ivity
iv
vit
ity
ty aand
nd p
persever
perseverersev
eve
veerance my father and I possess are what separates
eepara
para
raate
ttes
te
es us
us fr
fro
from
rom
om tthe
he
rest. Who else can say they make guitars
tars
ta
ars with
witth their
theeir d
dad
ad in
their basement? Nobody that I know.
By spending so much time with my d
dad,
ad
d, I’
I’ve
’ve le
learned
earn
rne
need a lot
lo
ot about
ab
bout
him that I would have missed out on
n if
if
we didn’t discover guitars. Beingg
an only child, my dad doesn’t
really have another male in the
house to bond with. When we
design guitars together, our
father to daughter relation-ship erases and friendship
ip
ip
emerges; while he does quite
uit
uite
ite
te
a bit more of the mechanical
niica
caal
work than I do, we treatt each
eacch
other as equals while working.
orking.
What we have is trulyy u
unique,
niq
iqu
que
uee,
and I couldn’t have asked
askeed for
fo
or a
better way to build
ld
d a stronger
str
st
tro
ro
ongeer
relationship with my dad.
dad
ad.
d.
Visit mai-guitar.com
ttar.com
ar..co
om to learn
leearn
more.
Cultural, social issues inspire and influence senior artist s multi-m
BY ARIANNA DERMANULIAN 14 / Copy Editor
Born and raised on the East Side of Detroit, Lane
Hubbell ’14 shared her story of growing up in a city
much different from Grosse Pointe—which helped to
establish the inspiration for her artwork.
“I’m Irish and Scottish—I’m very white. Growing
up, I felt like a minority to my city and neighborhood because I was surrounded by a heavily populated
African American community,” said Hubbell. “I’ve
always thought a lot about race and identity, and the
roles these labels play in society. These themes influenced myself as an artist.”
Growing up, Hubbell said she was surrounded by a
family of musicians and artists, which influenced her
decision to become a part of the artistic community.
She said she was drawn to the interpretive nature of art
because it can be expressed in many different ways.
“I like to use myself as well as others to help display
the issues I see in society regarding self-worth and selfknowledge,” said Hubbell. “All of my art pieces have
a similar theme: personal identity or racial identity. I
think it’s important to empower those who don’t feel
they have a voice or who are suppressed by a certain
social structure.”
As one of her current pieces, Hubbell said she created
a self-portrait that divided herself into equal right and
left halves.
“I decided to photograph a self-portrait of myself by
shading one side of my face a deep brown skin tone
and then a creamy white skin tone for the other half,”
said Hubbell. “I wanted to show unity between the two
races.”
Much of Hubbell’s art is based off of social issues
because she said she wanted to be able to stress
the importance of individuality through her own
interpretations.
“Many of my concepts in photos or paintings are
based off of this topic because I think that everyone
is so unique in their own special way,” said Hubbell.
“Someday, I want to work on a bunch of portraits
consisting of different ethnicities to create a kind of
shocking form of imagery in order to break down stereotypes, break down walls and break down barriers.”
Throughout her three AP art classes or whenever she
can get her hands on pen and paper, Hubbell said she
works efficiently.
“I work very fast with my pieces,” said Hubbell.
“People take their time with art, seeking perfection,
but I tend to work rather quickly because I make art
from my heart. I change my mind often, and I don’t
sweat the small stuff. Art is about happy accidents and
experimentation.”
Not only does Hubbell work with canvases, pencils,
paint brushes, cameras and computers, but she also
crafts with leather through a new business called New
Work Leather.
“I am a co-founder of a new leather crafting business that was influenced under the philosophies of a
German professor named Frithjof Bergmann,” said
Hubbell. “Bergmann started spreading these ideas
throughout many parts of the world including: South
Africa, Russia, Germany and now Detroit. He wanted
to show the importance of new work, new economy and
new culture by helping to provide jobs for those who
cannot get one.”
She also participated in a summer internship at the
James and Grace Lee Boggs educational center where
she was able to understand her own potential through
art, voice, community engagement, social activities and
learning about where she came from.
Through this program, Hubbell said everything
is perceived as a constructive work of nature rather
than destructive; helping to form the ideas of love and
respect.
Similar to her leather crafting job, Hubbell said she
often attends the 5E Gallery to express the art of poetry
and rap on an open stage. She said the environment
has a great vibe, full of love and respect. People come
together to share their talents in a constructive way
where the competition and pressure is gone; limiting
destructive forces around them.
“5E stands for the five elements of hip-hop which
are: rap music (o
breakdancing (ph
cation (emotion)
different way bec
largest minority
up and listening t
way than most p
the old and under
to compose rap a
and skillful craft.”
Hubbell said b
express herself w
“I think it’s v
explore these tale
negativity and it’s
and places where
in a positive envi
truly be able to re
Hubbell believ
her own and take
“I’ve always w
because I follow m
views on life spe
“When it comes
ence on the peo
I’ve always kind
and ‘self-made’ w
using their own id
grow and discove
As for the futur
to graduating b
involved in sever
fully another inte
“All people are
special way,” said
lucky to be one o
Earth. Life is not
come from, whe
Life is about bein
never taking any
losophy I live by.”
feature
Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2013
Father-daughter duo paints guitars
Throughout
those
awkward middle school
years, one of my favorite
pastimes was painting
my nails. I’d sit in my
room with an assemblage
of colorful bottles and
Jennifer Maiorana 16 paper towels sprawled
everywhere.
I began trying out a technique where I would drop different colors of nail polish
into the top of a cup of water and then swirl them with a toothpick. I would dip my
nail into the paint and an intricate tie dye, swirled pattern would result.
This turned out to be the exact same technique used in painting swirled guitars.
My dad has always collected swirl guitars, and when he saw my nails he immediately
thought of his favorite instrument.
The curiosity of painting our own guitars took over and we started experimenting
in 2010 when I was in seventh grade. Countless YouTube videos, numerous different
types of paint and various supplies were always turned to as we struggled to find a
combination that worked.
One day, we were experimenting and finally found the perfect brand of paint - it
floated, the color stayed vivid and it mixed well. When we finally tried this paint on
a real guitar, taking it out of the water was an incredible feeling. What amazed me
was that the design of paint floating on the top of the water transferred to the the
guitar and actually looked professional. The labyrinth of colors was captivating and
it inspired me to keep testing out different combinations.
The early months of 2011 consisted of my dad and I taking every spare moment
we could to experiment and analyze our technique. It was, and continues to be, a
struggle to find time for guitars between my dad’s demanding job as a patent lawyer
and my chaotic schedule.
In February of 2011, the man who sold us bare guitars offered us his CNC machine
which is used to make the guitar. Being the man that his is, my dad jumped on the
offer.
The CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machine ultimately programs movements that are cut into the wood and then produces the design. The man who sold
it to us taught my dad the coding for a normal body; eventually he figured out how
to make different shapes.
Now, not only were we painting guitars, but we were actually making them. Noises
and smells constantly come from our basement; it’s a workshop. It took us around
four to six months to get our style down, but we continue striving to reach perfection by often tweaking our techniques.
My main role in the business is the paint. Black, white, green, purple, pink, red,
yellow, blue...you name it, we can create any pattern of colors you desire. Additionally, as time went on my dad helped me learn a few more important aspects of
managing a business.
One of the major tasks handed to me was our website. However, it wasn’t as easy
as I thought it would be; it seemed every time I made progress, I would unknowingly hit the wrong button and completely erase everything I worked on. Frustration
would emerge and build up with every mistake until it got to the point where I
would have to take a breather, go outside and just scream. Even though not too aesthetically pleasing, the website was eventually completed and has been reluctantly
updated a few times only when it’s in dire need of new information.
There are other portions of management, like keeping track of our purchases for
the ledger, that practically put me to sleep. Despite the dull and irritating parts of the
business, I wouldn’t change anything about it. From these experiences, I’ve learned
much about what it’s like to have a job and responsibilities. I’ve discovered how vital
timeliness, patience and communication are in a workplace.
While technicalities of the business can get boring, the orders never fail to amuse
me. Over time, my dad and I have had our fair share of crazy requests. At first, we
just shake our heads and laugh at the bizarre mixture of colors or weird shape of
body requested, but in the end, it results in a unique addition to our repertoire.
Some of the more interesting additions to an order include making the front of the
guitar a mirror, putting colored LED lights or vines on the neck, swirling the pickups
and making the body of the guitar a different shape. The options are endless; what
we do truly depends on what the customer is looking for and how much they’re
willing to spend.
Our prices might seem lofty, ranging from $200 to $2,000, but it takes a lot of
work to create each guitar. We cut the guitars, sand and prime them multiple times,
paint them and then clear coat the guitar. This process paired with dry time can take
around five to twelve hours.
Throughout the three years my dad and I have been working on guitars, I’ve accumulated a lot of money. We’ve made hundreds of guitars over the years, around four
to six per month. For each guitar I help with, I get a portion of money to spend now.
MY VIEW
However, a larger part goes into my college and retirement
rettireemeent accounts.
acc
ac
cco
co
ount
nts
ts.
s. The
fact that I’ve earned a good portion of the money
ey going
go
oing towards
tow
to
owa
waard
ds my future
fut
fu
utu
tu
ure
education by starting my own business with my dad
dad is such
suc
su
ucch a u
unique
niqu
iq
que
ue tthing
hin
ng to
be able to say. Along with this, when I’m older, II’ll
’llll b
bee lo
looking
ooking b
back
acck at
the memories made while earning this moneyy aand
nd ssmiling.
miling.
Even if you love what you do, there are always
ways
way
wa
ays
ys times
timees where
wheere
it seems simpler to just give up. However, tthe
he o
outcome
utc
ut
tco
co
ome aand
nd
pride outweigh the difficulties. The creativity
ivity
iv
vit
ity
ty aand
nd p
persever
perseverersev
eve
veerance my father and I possess are what separates
eepara
para
raate
ttes
te
es us
us fr
fro
from
rom
om tthe
he
rest. Who else can say they make guitars
tars
ta
ars with
witth their
theeir d
dad
ad in
their basement? Nobody that I know.
By spending so much time with my d
dad,
ad
d, I’
I’ve
’ve le
learned
earn
rne
need a lot
lo
ot about
ab
bout
him that I would have missed out on
n if
if
we didn’t discover guitars. Beingg
an only child, my dad doesn’t
really have another male in the
house to bond with. When we
design guitars together, our
father to daughter relation-ship erases and friendship
ip
ip
emerges; while he does quite
uit
uite
ite
te
a bit more of the mechanical
niica
caal
work than I do, we treatt each
eacch
other as equals while working.
orking.
What we have is trulyy u
unique,
niq
iqu
que
uee,
and I couldn’t have asked
askeed for
fo
or a
better way to build
ld
d a stronger
str
st
tro
ro
ongeer
relationship with my dad.
dad
ad.
d.
Visit mai-guitar.com
ttar.com
ar..co
om to learn
leearn
more.
Cultural, social issues inspire and influence senior artist s multi-m
BY ARIANNA DERMANULIAN 14 / Copy Editor
Born and raised on the East Side of Detroit, Lane
Hubbell ’14 shared her story of growing up in a city
much different from Grosse Pointe—which helped to
establish the inspiration for her artwork.
“I’m Irish and Scottish—I’m very white. Growing
up, I felt like a minority to my city and neighborhood because I was surrounded by a heavily populated
African American community,” said Hubbell. “I’ve
always thought a lot about race and identity, and the
roles these labels play in society. These themes influenced myself as an artist.”
Growing up, Hubbell said she was surrounded by a
family of musicians and artists, which influenced her
decision to become a part of the artistic community.
She said she was drawn to the interpretive nature of art
because it can be expressed in many different ways.
“I like to use myself as well as others to help display
the issues I see in society regarding self-worth and selfknowledge,” said Hubbell. “All of my art pieces have
a similar theme: personal identity or racial identity. I
think it’s important to empower those who don’t feel
they have a voice or who are suppressed by a certain
social structure.”
As one of her current pieces, Hubbell said she created
a self-portrait that divided herself into equal right and
left halves.
“I decided to photograph a self-portrait of myself by
shading one side of my face a deep brown skin tone
and then a creamy white skin tone for the other half,”
said Hubbell. “I wanted to show unity between the two
races.”
Much of Hubbell’s art is based off of social issues
because she said she wanted to be able to stress
the importance of individuality through her own
interpretations.
“Many of my concepts in photos or paintings are
based off of this topic because I think that everyone
is so unique in their own special way,” said Hubbell.
“Someday, I want to work on a bunch of portraits
consisting of different ethnicities to create a kind of
shocking form of imagery in order to break down stereotypes, break down walls and break down barriers.”
Throughout her three AP art classes or whenever she
can get her hands on pen and paper, Hubbell said she
works efficiently.
“I work very fast with my pieces,” said Hubbell.
“People take their time with art, seeking perfection,
but I tend to work rather quickly because I make art
from my heart. I change my mind often, and I don’t
sweat the small stuff. Art is about happy accidents and
experimentation.”
Not only does Hubbell work with canvases, pencils,
paint brushes, cameras and computers, but she also
crafts with leather through a new business called New
Work Leather.
“I am a co-founder of a new leather crafting business that was influenced under the philosophies of a
German professor named Frithjof Bergmann,” said
Hubbell. “Bergmann started spreading these ideas
throughout many parts of the world including: South
Africa, Russia, Germany and now Detroit. He wanted
to show the importance of new work, new economy and
new culture by helping to provide jobs for those who
cannot get one.”
She also participated in a summer internship at the
James and Grace Lee Boggs educational center where
she was able to understand her own potential through
art, voice, community engagement, social activities and
learning about where she came from.
Through this program, Hubbell said everything
is perceived as a constructive work of nature rather
than destructive; helping to form the ideas of love and
respect.
Similar to her leather crafting job, Hubbell said she
often attends the 5E Gallery to express the art of poetry
and rap on an open stage. She said the environment
has a great vibe, full of love and respect. People come
together to share their talents in a constructive way
where the competition and pressure is gone; limiting
destructive forces around them.
“5E stands for the five elements of hip-hop which
are: rap music (o
breakdancing (ph
cation (emotion)
different way bec
largest minority
up and listening t
way than most p
the old and under
to compose rap a
and skillful craft.”
Hubbell said b
express herself w
“I think it’s v
explore these tale
negativity and it’s
and places where
in a positive envi
truly be able to re
Hubbell believ
her own and take
“I’ve always w
because I follow m
views on life spe
“When it comes
ence on the peo
I’ve always kind
and ‘self-made’ w
using their own id
grow and discove
As for the futur
to graduating b
involved in sever
fully another inte
“All people are
special way,” said
lucky to be one o
Earth. Life is not
come from, whe
Life is about bein
never taking any
losophy I live by.”
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