We Did It At Canstruction Again

Well, we did it, again. The Industrial Brand/Legends Memorabilia “PicniCANtics” took top honours in this year’s Canstruction Vancouver for the third, THIRD, year in a row (2005 Award, 2006 Award). For those not in the know, Canstruction is an international design/build competition that benefits local food banks, brings together teams of architects, engineers, graphic artists and students to build amazing sculptures using only canned food and other non-perishables. This year, our sculpture contributed over 6,500 items to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank!

Admittedly, it was a close call this year since we were all super busy (and still are). Even so, for some reason the build seemed to go rather smoothly this year (thanks in large part to our architect team member David). Over the years we’ve been refining our approach and it seems there are a few things that seem to really make a difference when it comes time to judging. In the spirit of competition, here they are:

Clear, original and creative concept.
Clean and simple – big areas of solid colour and don’t try to create minute detail.
Play with scale – make small big and big small.
Make it emotive – in character or concept, play to the emotional buttons of the viewer.

Feedback from the judges actually cited the first two specifically as contributing factors for our win. I.e. for our interpretation of the theme, “Our Favourite Thing(s)”. Speaking of which, here’s what we wrote about our sculpture:

It is safe to say that everyone loves a picnic. What could be better than basking in the warmth of a carefree summer day with good friends and tasty fare?

But no one likes a picnic as much as its most common uninvited guest, the Ant. Upon that first whiff of fried chicken or potato salad escaping the picnic basket, you can be sure of these critters gathering their ranks and setting upon your serene afternoon with the regimented force of a small army. And, with the ability to carry over 10 to 20 times their own body weight, you would be wise to keep your babies well anchored. Let them take the watermelon instead. Even an ant deserves a decent meal.

We all do. That is why we support Canstruction. Let’s all help to put an end to hunger in the Lower Mainland.

We had a good mix of people this year, some veterans (this is Industrial Brand’s fifth year participating) and some first-timers. Thanks to everyone who took time from their busy schedules to participate.

We managed to shoot another time lapse video of our 14 hour build thanks to Todd Smith. We’ll post a fully produced version complete with catchy music soon. For more photos check out our Flickr group.
We’ll see how we do when the voting for People’s Choice is tabulated tomorrow. In the meantime, our Juror’s Favourite Award means we’ll go on to the International Award competition in May. Fingers crossed to bring home some honours there and boost the Vancouver competition’s reputation.