In summer 2001 I was asked by the president of the Themed Entertainment Association to redesign their annual THEA award statue. It is our industry's equivalent of the Oscar, awarded to the best of the Themed Entertainment industry all over the world. I was honored to accept the challenge, more so being on the receiving end of the award for my work at Disney teams for Disney Animal Kingdom and the Millenium Village in Epcot.
Themed entertainment is a seamless combination of stage magic with brilliant engineering that, unlike film or theater, has to keep going non-stop for years in the countless themeparks, rides and attractions around the world. The concept I came up with combined the existing TEA trademark logo: a compass rose and a name ribbon being upheld by a beautiful woman, with a swag of her skirt decorated with a fragment of architectural blueprint.
The new award was conceived as an Lalique-like dimensional etching into a crystal block. The figure was intended to be captivating, ethereal, and timeless. I designed and sculpted it in clay to best visualize the complex sinuous forms. The TEA board loved the concept and approved it on the spot.
Before going into the production, we solicited mulitple bids. Due to complexity of the original design which drove the production price over the TEA budget and limited the number of vendors able to dimensionally etch it, I was asked to simplify the design. The concept was simple and clear, so it worked as well as a flat etching on a back of a crystal block thus significantly reducing the price for each award.
The first new THEA awards were handed out to the winners in the fall of 2001. Since then, my baby THEA's are in the offices and homes of the best in my industry. It is a great honor to have my art globally honor the talents and efforts of my peers!
Here is my Thea. Enjoy!
THEIA was the Titan goddess of sight (thea) and shining light of the clear blue sky (aithre). She was also, by extension, the goddess who endowed gold, silver and gems with their brilliance and intrinsic value. Here is a detail of the original sculpted maquette. The face was inspired by Marlene Dietrich, a movie star that was one of the first to benefit from very specific, dramatic lighting onto her face in her movies which emphasized her famous and characteristic bone structure.
THEA's silhouette with the TEA brand compass rose.
First original version of the completed award submitted to the TEA Board of Directors.
My first revision to simplify the figure.
Final graphic revision that was approved and has been used since 2001 for the THEA awards.
THEA award trophy today.
