At Blixt I carried the title “Creative Engineer”
Getting to paint and hang Blixt’s new sign was a ton of fun.
At Blixt I got to use all of my digital fabrication skills to solve many problems. For one of our events, we needed a branded hand out. I made this BLIXT sign as well as some glow in the dark lightning bolt shaped key chains.
Here is a custom occupancy sign I made for the grand opening of Blixt’s brick and mortar location. Preparing the space helped to finish the floor inside. Much of my work there was handy man oriented. In fact, in my first couple days there, I noticed they were having a problem where every time they would run the microwave, the internet would shut off because the breaker would blow. I knew that they just needed to reduce the load on that one breaker, so I moved the microwave to another room and solved the issue. They were thrilled, though I don’t feel I did too much. Sometimes a fresh pair of eyes is all something takes.
One of Blixt’s biggest shows, “Not too far Distant” has gone on tour around the country. Telling a story of a veteran from Nebraska. I created these foot lockers as stage props. It’s fun to see how far they’ve traveled. It was even cooler to get to see the live performance with them at the Lied Center here in Lincoln, Ne.
Making things isn’t all I did at Blixt. I also assisted in teaching a class of young kids in Redcloud, Ne how to do theatre! Reanna Rohrer, Shannon Chinn, and I stayed in one of Willa Cathers historic homes for about a week. Going to the school each day to go through all the different steps of theatre. Concluding in a live show, written and performed by the kids on a stage for their parents. This project certainly helped ignite my passion for education.
Creating experiences was one of my main tasks at Blixt. We did a handful of first Fridays where we opened the doors to the public and invited them in to get creative. I helped make some homemade blueberry syrup for our non-alcoholic bar. So that people would have something tasty to drink while riding our projected roller coaster, or viewing art on the gallery I was in charge of hanging. It was certainly a tricky space for a gallery, most of the walls were not made for putting nails into. We had to get creative with some strings as S hooks.
In conclusion, my time being a creative engineer at Blixt was one of the best Professional experiences of my career, and will likely always be a formative one. While I no longer work there, Blixt and I still occasionally collaborate on projects. Keep an eye out for the next one!