We recently connected with Larry Polzin and have shared our conversation below.

Larry, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

In 1980 I was working at a job I hated – it paid well, but it was sucking the life out of me. I had been an artist for as long as I can remember, even attended art school for a year trying to find my “nitch” but nothing really appealed to me. My wife Donna (also an artist) called several local sign shops inquiring where one could go to learn the art of hand lettering and we were directed to a gentleman named Jerry Albright, who taught an evening adult education course. Jerry was an amazing artist and one of Denver’s finest sign guys. He was a premier gold leaf artist, a pictorial artist, billboard artist and a master of the sho-card – a hand lettered poster for events and celebrations and found in the finer hotels and restaurants in Denver. This was long before the sign computers took over the business, and back when everything was still done by hand. Jerry had a little shop on 11th street where about a dozen of us would meet once a week and learn hand lettering. He taught us the basics of design, layout, color composition and the art of using a paint brush, and through that 4 year course I made friends for life. I was able to get my first job as an apprentice sign painter and then move steadily on, learning all I could learn in different shops until I was running a large custom sign and fabrication shop. Fast forward through some tough times, and I find myself now a business owner working with the best crew I’ve ever had, my daughters Sarah and Jessica Polzin. 45 years in this business – where did the time go…

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

One of the basic skills I learned and enjoy the most is painting wall art and murals. Early on I had the habit of volunteering for a lot of projects which my peers had no interest in doing, like hanging off the side of a building and painting a large wall sign. I’ve painted a lot of wall art around Denver and many still remain, although I tell folks I am in the “disposable art business”, as the wall signs typically last as long as the business does. I painted a lot of murals in the gambling towns that have come and gone, but the one I am most proud of is the Purina tower on I-70 and York. I’ve painted it 4 times over the last 32 years and my daughter Jess and I painted it in 2015, and the first time ever featuring a cat! I’m hoping they call me one more time so both my girls can join me on the big wall. Purina is a very high profile job with all kinds of challenges and definitely some white knuckle moments. Wall art and murals in general are high impact advertising, and can create a focal point for a business location or venue. Sometimes the city sign codes can get you jumping through hoops, and some artists don’t even worry about the “rules”, but we do everything by the book, as I’ve seen murals get painted over for sign code violation and being deemed “illegal” by the sign police. Nowadays a large portion are done with spray paint vs. a paint brush, but we prefer the traditional approach, chiefly for the longevity of the artwork and the happy client. One thing we insist on is doing the project safely, correctly and efficiently, and we always use high quality materials. This is something we stress with our clients, as using a cheaper grade of paint or material may be a cost savings on the invoice, but it can really bite you on the butt if the project goes south…

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Resiliency: having the courage to go on when all you want to do is curl up in a ball and cry…

In 2007 I sold my half of my 10 year old sign business to my partner and planned on moving from Denver to Seattle. My wife Donna had accepted a nursing position in WA and we were heading to the west coast! We were both stoked, as living by the ocean had always been our dream. Sarah was living in LA, Jess was living in NYC, and my other two kids, John and Emily, were making the move with us. My son had a tragic accident and lost his life, and our world was turned upside down. I had to start a new business once again just to keep us alive, and we were all running on empty. Donna contacted an old friend and sign guy who immediately put me to work as a subcontractor, and pretty soon I had so much work that I could barely keep up. I talked Sarah and Jess into moving back to Denver with the promise of teaching them all I knew about signs and graphics, and passing Stargazer on to them. Things went well – we were busy making awesome contacts and working on creative projects – then COVID hit. Everything changed for so many of us – business’s closed, people now worked at home and workplaces were empty, the restaurant and entertainment industry went dry – everyone had a story, but sadly, things are still not back to the way where they were, BC (before covid). A lot of our clients shut their doors, contacts retired or passed on, suppliers quit supplying and the computer continues to take what was once a time honored skill away, in exchange for faster, cheaper, and delivered by tomorrow… but still we continue – we believe in ourselves and look for opportunities to stay creative, and we persevere, because deep inside we love the work we do, and quitting is not an option!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

After being in the business of “art” for 45 years I have experienced just about everything a person could. I had a boss take off in the middle of the night after cleaning out the bank account and his creditors were calling me at home, I had to leave a company I worked for 15 years after going on my fifth week without a paycheck, I had to collect unemployment as a business owner and cash in IRA’s in order to keep the lights on… owning a business can be a challenge! There are some real basics you need to have in place if you’re going to be successful. The wacky world of signs has treated me well for the most part, but there were lean times with no work and times when if the phone rang one more time I was going to rip it out of the wall! Too much work can be just as hard as not having enough, and most of these lessons are learned by trial and error. Learning “balance” is an important skill, and I would advise anyone starting out with owning a business to take the business part seriously – find a good bookkeeper and tax person, keep your records accurate and honest! Stay on top of taxes and quarterlies or have someone do it for you. The business side of making money as an artist can pound the joy right out of your soul, at least for some of us. But if it’s being fueled by the passion and joy of creating your art, you will be unstoppable. Change is the one thing you can always count on in life, and you need to be flexible and resilient.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://stargazercreations.com
• Instagram: stargazercreations
• Facebook: I post a lot of stories about our projects on my FB page @ Larry Polzin
• Other: My daughter Sarah Rose and I share a studio in the Santa Fe Arts District and our space is called “Side Show Studio. It’s a work space for Sarah and a “Gallery of Unusualarities” every First Friday.
  Our address is (upstairs) 747 Santa Fe in the “Artists of Santa Fe” building. Visits are by appointment, as the door leading upstairs to our studios is locked. We are usually open to the public on First Friday. Come and visit us!

Image Credits

Purina Tower photo courtesy of our pal, Jeff Gray of Jeff Gray Art