SSF: “10 Seconds”

When I first saw this short film on Mike Heist — a guy who makes a living by bending neon tubes; a master of the bending arts, you might say — I was immediately reminded of Marcus Daly’s The Coffinmaker. (I’m not quite sure why, though I think it might have something to do with the quietness and the precision of their work. And with the fact that they’re creating something we use all the time/see all around us, yet know very little about.)

Mike Heist has been working in the neon industry in Portland, Oregon for 30 years. He is a master in his craft, and is responsible for the bending of some of the city’s most iconic signage. 10 SECONDS is a short film about work and happiness, and shares a bit of Mike’s thoughts and insight into the amazing process of hand-made neon signage.

Really fun stuff here, particularly since I head up Portland-way with some regularity to visit my wife’s folks, and I feel like I almost recognize some of those signs. (Also, I just realized that it sort of reminds me of last summer’s Wolf and the Bees, about another Portlandian, apiarist “Wolf Carr. And I believe Daly’s up in Washington, as well; Central-ish, if I remember correctly. That’s quite the artisan community you’ve got yourselves up there in the Pacific Northwest, Mark.)

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