Upcycle Progress: Ode to Track and Field

I have gathered all of the supplies for my project and have created the layout that I want my racing bibs to be in. The two images below show my racing bibs in the layout of the CU logo and the other materials I have to fill in the blanks. One is a newspaper article from my freshman year of college (I have 2 copies, don’t worry) and the other is the meet schedule for the 2020 NCAA D1 Indoor Championship meet that I attended last March. I was originally going to use both my high school and college memorabilia but decided to use just the things I had obtained from collegiate track and field instead. This is because the logo is for CU and really the two experiences are completely different. My college career deserves its own artwork.

I then used the CU logo to draw out a large version of it on to an old cardboard box (shown below). I haven’t decided if this will be the final material that all of the bibs will be mounted on but I at least have a stencil/outline of the final design. I am also considering wood or particle board, but I think it may be hard to find a piece large enough. Another thing I have yet to decide on is the type of adhesive I will use. I think a clear coat on top could be nice to hold everything together and give it a nice smooth finish, but perhaps just gluing the back side and leaving the fronts of the bibs exposed could add to the old school athletics aesthetic that I was originally trying to replicate.

I also still need to figure out how I am going to leave space for the bibs I will receive throughout the rest of this years season. I think this may contribute to my decision on adhesive type. Overall, I am excited to see this project come to fruition. I am excited that I can display some of the keepsakes I have from my track and field career and not keep them stored in a box anymore.

Previous Post
Upcycling a Nerf Gun with an Outrun Aesthetic
Next Post
Melting Into the Keyboard

4 Comments. Leave new

  • Hi Valerie, I like the direction you’re headed for the project. I think it’s great that you’ll have a piece to show off your college athletic career. The fact that you even have an article to put in there is seriously cool. One thing I thought of was to maybe put a kind of frame that’s in the shape of the CU logo that you’d be able to sandwich your bibs between, maybe out of cardboard or something, so that nothing’s permanently attached. Might not be too practical, but just an idea.

    Reply
    • Hi Daedalus, thanks for your comment! I like this idea of a frame. I think I’d like it to be made out of wood to give it a nice finish but I’m not sure how I would go about doing that… This made me think I could laser cut some acrylic perhaps to place over top and hold everything together. I’m not sure campus has a big enough machine to get it in one piece however… Let me know if you have other ideas!

      Reply
  • Hey Valerie. This looks very well planned out and I am excited to see the final product. I’m wondering if you will cut out the CU logo or decorate around it as well.

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Sidd Nair Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Fill out this field
Fill out this field
Please enter a valid email address.