Scenic Fabrication & Public Art

For several parade seasons, I worked with The Parade Guys in San Francisco, helping build large-scale parade floats and public art installations. My work ranged from scenic painting and surface finishing to fiberglass repair, decorative fabrication, restoration, and preparing artwork to withstand weather and the demands of the parade route.

Working on moving sculptures taught me lessons I still carry into every creative project. A parade audience experiences each float for only 15–20 seconds, so every decision has to communicate quickly and clearly. Strong silhouettes, bold color, and visual hierarchy matter. When deadlines get tight, you learn what truly serves the story—and what can be cut. That balance between craftsmanship, spectacle, and storytelling continues to shape the way I approach film, installation, and experiential design.

Working with Rick Herns Productions in Redwood City gave me the opportunity to help build immersive environments from the ground up. I fabricated, sculpted, repaired, painted, and finished large-scale props and themed installations, then often returned for installation or live events where I interacted with guests as a performer and activity leader. Seeing a project evolve from raw materials to a finished experience, and finally watching audiences explore and enjoy it, taught me that great environments are built with equal parts craftsmanship, collaboration, and storytelling. That experience eventually led to my promotion from scenic painter and fabricator to directing a production team that created Google’s Take Your Kids to Work Day interactive video series.

Those projects shaped the way I think about immersive design. Whether I’m fabricating a prop, directing a video, or designing an installation, I’m always asking the same question: How will someone experience this moment?