Old Dog, New Tricks

Or Spending My Money on Other People's Passions

It’s all but impossible for me to get any work done if I stay at home. There are way too many non-writing things pleading for my attention. To quiet their voices, I’ll usually spend a big part of the day playing video games and get nothing- no writing and no anything else useful done.

To solve this, I’ve been going with my wife Trena to the grad school where she worked and writing in the library. And since the stacks were mostly filled with theology texts, there wasn’t even much in the way of reading to distract me, so the place worked out pretty well.

When she left that job at the end of 2025, I had to come up with something else to keep me from making POE2 or Arc Raders my full-time, unpaid line of work. What I came up with was to rent a co-working space in an old General Electric plant.

Now, I’m not giving my hard-earned cash to some homeless guy for a run-down space in an asbestos-filled pile of debris. The place, Electric Works Fort Wayne, has been refurbished, cleaned up, and made into something nice. It’s filled with interesting people. There’s everything from artists and architects to tech people and even an attorney or two. Every one of them seems interested in some form of collaboration.

Here is a link to some of the place’s history.

Here is a link to the place as it is now.

Plus, there’s a fancy free-to-use coffee machine, and most of the time, there’s some sort of alcohol floating around. Really, these people drink a whole lot more than seminary students.

Anyway, I’ve been sitting here for the past few months writing and looking at the industrial architecture of the place, and it’s stirred up a few ideas in the back of my brain. The first of which, I’m starting today. It’s called Old Dog, New Tricks, where I’ll be sharing my experiences as I learn new skills or hobbies.

Staring at a bare concrete wall and buttress from my writing spot every day and then stumbling across Martin Kovac’s YouTube channel inspired me to try my hand at creating and painting hyper-realistic 1/35-scale facades of run-down industrial or commercial buildings.

Below is my proof of concept. Done because I had to find out if I had the patience before committing. It’s a chunk of pink foam board with carved bricks, wood putty plaster, and spackle mortar between the bricks on the upper right side. Then the whole thing was covered in a half-ass coat of paint, along with some rudimentary weathering.

My first attempt at sculpted brick and plaster.

The thing looks a little chunky in the close-up.

After I finished the test piece, I noticed a bunch of openings for ancient electrical boxes around the Electric Works campus, and it seemed like they should contain some tiny structures. You know, like the mice or maybe the little people living in the walls decided they wanted some privacy.

So, I started on a wall with a wooden door to install in an opening high up in a concrete column that overlooks the coffee maker.

Here is a work in progress of that piece. I’ve since added a rusted GE sign and adjusted the paint.

And finally, here’s what I’m working on now. I even included a super close-up of the brickwork and concrete anchoring a hinge. I don’t think it’s coming along too bad for a third attempt.

Note: The wood door has a bit of a shine to it because it’s coated with chipping fluid that will allow an overpaint to be weathered in a realistic way.

My third attempt at making an architectural facade.

Watch out for the first essay about the process and what I’ve learned along the way. And make sure to check out Martin Kovac’s YouTube. The man is a real artist in a medium that most people overlook.

And these hobbies are damn expensive, so if you’re inclined, feel free to buy me a drink. I will be forever in your debt.