Reclaiming the Nostalgic era of Weeki Wachee State Park
It may not be noticed by many people that visit the park, but for some they will see just a slight change. The people that are behind those changes are Andrew Brusso and Jason Hulfish.
Andrew Brusso has been volunteering at the park for well over ten years and many people have seen his work. He is the photographer that captures the mermaids underwater for the beautiful yearly calendar.
Jason Hulfish is a self-taught creative mastermind. He is a Tampa-based entrepreneur, renowned muralist, furniture designer, and professional artist. His unique work is well sought after. Jason not only is a true artist but a dedicated man that gives back.
How they met was pretty much on a whim. Andrew was looking at an article in a popular Tampa Magazine and he said to himself, “It’s Brilliant.”
“It’s one of just one those weird whims that I was somewhere I was looking at an article (about Jason) and I loved what he did and thought that was exactly what the park needed,” Brusso said.
“We (The Hulfish Project) are filming a reality series, a web series to show people what we do, and the creative process. Andrew saw a trailer for that and contacted me,” Jason said.
After months of corresponding, they finally met up after the first of year. The pair set out for one purpose, to reinvigorate a vintage retro feel into the park.
“We were walking around the park and ran across some of the old props that were sitting in disrepair and I looked at them and (said), this is cool,” Jason explained.
Jason has that ability to envision the finished product at first glance. He can figure out what colors to tone down and what colors to boost up. Jason is helping bring new life to the vintage props used in the park long ago.
“I love this history of it and it’s fun for me to participate in that,” Jason said.
But this is not an easy task to do. The steps are costly and time consuming. Jason took on the task of giving life back to three of the old props: Neptune, the Pirate and the Mermaid tail. There are more props that are waiting to be brought back to life so they are not hidden from the public.
“We are trying to bring back a lot of the old nostalgic of Weeki that has been sitting around and falling apart,” Brusso said. “It’s a struggle, improving the park with state budgets.”
In giving vibrancy to those dull and forgotten sculptures, Jason referred back to old photos of the park from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. The coloring back then and the techniques were not as advanced as they are today. Different painting equipment, such as air brushing, gives Jason more flexibility in color as well as shading and blending.
“How do we update it, how do we put our stamp on it. What makes it unique to us, what makes it interesting where someone wants to come back and take that photo. I don’t think we would be doing justice if we go back to and make it exactly where it was originally. It has color now and it has fun,” Jason said.
Having completed repairs, patchwork done and fresh brilliant paint, visitors are taking notice of the three sculptural props Jason restored. So much so, that some dug deep into the family photo album in search of that very first photo taken with Neptune and the Mermaid.
“It’s so crazy; everybody has those memories, and makes them want to come back with their kids and share that experience,” Jason expressed. “It encourages you to do more, that’s the whole purpose in what we do. The idea is to make a big impact on people’s life.”
“Jason’s big thing, at least from an outsider, is he makes experiential environments and that is the stuff we want to bring to the park. So by recreating these photo elements people on their own can interact with them,” Andrew explained.
John Athanason Marketing & PR Director at Weeki Wachee Springs State Park welcomes this change for the park. Athanason oversees the social media outlets for the park. The responses and feedback he has received from visitors was not only encouraging, but has also provided a direction for the future of the park.
“I was getting emails from people sending me pictures of them thirty years ago with the same prop, but they talked about how it looks so much better and they needed to come back to visit,” John said. “These are not props these are symbols of creating memories.”
The park has changed hands a few times and some of those neat nostalgic items that made the park a “must stop and see”, are no longer there.
“A lot of this stuff was given away, I hear some of the props are in people’s yards down the river, we always try to look for them, and so we only have a few pieces but the beauty of his (Jason’s) talent, it’s just what the park needs and we are hoping to… bring back some the old things that are missing and also to create new things and to bring Weeki Wachee into another era,” Andrew said.
John, Andrew and Jason would love to bring back more of those props and requested a “Call to Action.” If you have purchased or have been given one of those props from the park years ago, they would love if the piece could be donated back to the park. This is all part of new and upcoming changes taking place. This opportunity to re-kindle the vintage era for the park is an important part of building new memories that will last forever.
Athanason is grateful for the product, the artists and their joint creative ingenuity.
“I would of have never thought in a million years that we would be fortunate to come across someone with his talent and his vision. He sees exactly what we see,” Athanason expressed about Jason. “These guys (Jason and Andrew) have such great vision; it’s always exceeded my expectations.”
“The place to me has magic to it; to me it is the fountain of youth…There is a magic about the spring. We all want to do good by the park and Jason is a blessing,” Andrew said.
Jason added, ”This is just a small taste of what’s to come!”
Check out Jason Hulfish work here: http://jfishart.com/ | https://www.facebook.com/TheHulfishProject
Weeki Wachee Springs State Park | 6131 Commercial Way, Spring Hill, FL 34606 | (352) 592-5656 | http://weekiwachee.com/
Andrew Brusso | https://www.merstarworld.com/