FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- Their fingerprints are everywhere. It's hard to drive down any road or enter any facility on post without seeing their unique touch. And although the Fort Drum Public Works Signs and Graphics Shop mass-produces posters, banners, street signs and building IDs, the bustling shop's workers are artists at heart.
Tony Dumaw, an illustrator at the shop, said he believes art can play an important role in people's lives, that it even "washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life" -- an adage he borrows from Pablo Picasso.
Dumaw has seen many changes in his nearly 35 years of creating images for Fort Drum and the 10th Mountain Division (LI), from black and white and lettered by hand to the use of a computerized router, infinite shades of color and large vinyl printers and cutters.
"When I first started here, there was no sign shop," said Dumaw, whose latest project includes graphics at Magrath Gym. "There was only a paint shop with two sign painters working alongside the painters.
"Since then, (we have had) some of the most talented sign artists in the state."
A second of the three sign shop employees -- someone Dumaw hired more than 20 years ago -- although reticent to admit it, makes good-looking art too.
Jeff Fox, now the shop's lead illustrator, adds zest to the daily routines of Soldiers, civilians and Family Members. His work is visible to community members everywhere, from Fort Drum's Heritage Center, Dirty Harry's Rod and Gun Club and the Sgt. 1st Class Jared C. Monti interactive exhibit at the Monti Physical Fitness Center, to stunning murals on the walls of the Main Post Chapel, the commissary, Army Community Service, Clark Hall and Hays Hall.
Fox said he just tries to give customers what they want, even though they mostly don't know what that is until they see it.
"I have been very fortunate to be able to come up with ideas and solutions on site, or shortly after a site visit," he explained. "Nine out of 10 times, they go with the first thing I give them."
Fox's latest interior display, two 64-foot-long murals down each side wall of the Pine Plains Bowling Center, blends bowling bowls and unusual futuristic imagery with 10th Mountain Division (LI) warriors and their equipment.
"It's designed in a way that every time you look at it you can see something different," said Fox, who at first worried that it was "too wild."
The graphic is spread across panels spaced an inch apart and mounted about four inches off the wall, leaving space behind the murals to knock down the ambient sounds of rumbling balls and crashing pins.
The person who commissioned the project said Fox was highly motivated to deliver a quality graphic.
"He has enhanced the entire bowling center," said Cindy Romig, Community Operations Division chief at Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation. "(He) went way beyond my expectation."
Jim Corriveau, Public Works director and Fox's boss, also appreciates the work that his team of illustrators accomplishes on a weekly basis.
"The sign shop team has a well-deserved reputation for turning customer ideas into reality that consistently exceeds expectations," Corriveau said. "Their high-quality products, exceptional creativity and incredible responsiveness to customer requirements characterize every endeavor.
"They may be small in number," he added, "but simply huge in their contributions to the installation."
Holly Moore, the shop's most recent addition, has worked in the outdoor advertising and sign industry since the 1970s. In addition to a degree in graphic design, she spent two years at a private art school.
"I learned the sign trade before the computer age -- when everything was done by hand," said Moore, who joined the team in 2010, after working for five years as FMWR's publicist. "I am passionate about the importance of visual messaging."
Moore said the best part of her job is helping customers bring their ideas to life. Some of her most recent projects include graphics in the Connor Troop Medical Clinic lobby and a media backdrop at the Media Operations Center.
She also just completed the interior of the Summit Room at Hays Hall, where she created five collections of photos and brief biographies featuring officers who previously served at Fort Drum and went on to become four-star generals.
The project not only honors the five generals but also inspires future leaders to "climb to glory," said Moore, who described the project as quite challenging, mostly due to the extensive research it required.
Fox said some projects are such enormous undertakings that it's hard to stop working when the day's done.
"You can ask my wife, JoAnn," he said. "I do a lot of my thinking at night. After I did the Monti exhibit, my wife asked Jim Corriveau at the ribbon cutting, 'Can I have my husband back now?'"
Fox said that since 9/11, after Soldiers began regularly deploying and their Family Members were left behind, Public Works made improving the aesthetics of the facilities on post a major consideration.
"Jim Corriveau became our director and really made it a point to take care of the civilian workforce and Family Members," Fox said. "The last few command groups have been the same way. They don't want only Hays Hall to look nice; they want to see the commissary and fitness centers and (other buildings) looking good too."
In addition to so many displays already completed, Fox said several other projects are in the works that include adding a fallen heroes' exhibit at Hays Hall, dressing up the interior of Magrath Gym and completely revamping the lobby area of Clark Hall.
"They want to make (Clark Hall) more presentable to the Soldiers and the civilians who come through," he said.
Nearly 100 percent of the work at the sign shop is now computerized. But on occasion, the illustrators are required to get extra creative and produce an exhibit that won't roll off a printer.
For example, there's the replica Black Hawk helicopter hanging in the Heritage Center. Fox said a former garrison commander obtained a movie prop from the blockbuster film "Black Hawk Down" and wanted it placed in the atrium.
After taking hundreds of photos of the Black Hawks out on the airfield, Fox said he used a material called sign foam to carve and cut out shapes for the fuselage and other parts.
"The best feeling of it all was when the guys from aviation came and looked at it," Fox said. "It was a few days before the grand opening. They walked in, looked up, and said, 'How in the hell did you guys get a Black Hawk helicopter in here?' I said, 'That's it, we got it right!'"
Moore echoed Fox's remarks. She said "getting it right" in the eyes of Soldiers is very rewarding.
"Working here at Fort Drum is a wonderful opportunity to make a difference for our Soldiers in what they see around them," she said. "(My hope) is it boosts their morale and overall sense of professionalism."
Dumaw said he thoroughly enjoys working alongside two "very talented" graphic artists as they continue sparking the inspiration and imagination of the community.
"It's been a pleasure for me over the years, supporting our troops and their Families," he said, "and (then) watching the installation evolve into what it has become."
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