Ungerman Construction

The Ungerman Construction building is located at 4450 Nicollet Avenue.

Theme

The Ungerman Construction building will be receiving two murals, one on the upper north side of the building and the second on the lower southern face of the building.  The theme for the murals will be on the history of brewing in Minnesota.

Lead Artist - Bill Diaz (Ungerman Lower)

Bill Diaz started Diaz Sign Art in March of 1979.  Bill struggled the first couple of years--trying to get established--until a local businessman who owned a bus dealership offered to rent Bill the former sign painter's shop and promised work lettering school buses.  The sign business flourished from that point on. 

The demand for signs, lettering, pinstriping and murals from Diaz Sign Art was too great for one person, so Bill convinced his wife, Jane, to join the business.  Jane was teaching art at the time and was reluctant to give up an occupation which she really enjoyed. Nevertheless she saw the need to help her husband.  Late in '89 Bill and Jane purchased the shop which Bill had rented and a building next door to house the office and the newly purchased computerized sign making equipment.  Bill and Jane have been blessed with plenty of work ever since, and by the way having two buildings sure comes in handy for a husband and wife business venture.

Today Jane and Bill have been joined by their sons, Ben and Joe.  Each member of the family has their own specialty, which has really helped the company grow.  Some of the Diaz specialties include:

SEMIS 

Diaz Sign Art has worked on about every model, make and color of semi. From large trucking fleets to individual owner/operators, we have become known for our outstanding semi graphics, logos, and pinstriping.

MOTORCYCLES

We can personalize your motorcycle with graphics that will be a reflection of your personality and style.  We also specialize in pinstriped graphics that have a long lifetime so that you can enjoy them for many years to come.

GLASS WORK

Diaz Sign Art is very experienced at glass techniques such as sandblasted, glue chipped and gold gilded.  These techniques can create a breathtaking final product that is as eye catching as it is beautiful.

GUITARS

Guitars are interesting surfaces to work on and a great way to show the personality of the guitarist.  By using a combination of different techniques Diaz Sign Art has learned to decorate guitars without losing the playability of the instrument.  The guitar graphics done at Diaz Sign Art are as long lasting and as durable as the guitar's original finish. 

Lead Artist - Judy Grossman (Ungerman upper)

Judy Grossman painted her first sign to pay for the birth of her daughter in 1980,
on the side of a bread truck. Since a teaching credential in high school art wouldn’t even get her a cup of coffee, she thought she’d try her hand at painting signs. By 1986, she found her way to her first
Letterheads Meet and she was hooked. She just wanted to be like those “guys” (it WAS a guy thing in those days) when she grew up. At that time she and her first husband lived in a little town in north-ern California, near Yosemite National Park. It was just coming out of a severe recession and there were 15 vacant store fronts in downtown Sonora (pop. about 6,000 then). Timing was just right...City Slick-ers were selling their homes and movin’ to the mountains and using that money to buy a house an start a business. Judy hustled Christmas windows and met every merchant in town, making an impres-sion with her original designs. Timing is everything. She got known really fast and work was flowing. Luckily, too, because she became a single mom and could work at home and be there for her daughter. And somehow it all worked; the county has grown, and along the way she has built a great reputation and can do what she loves.

In 1989 she painted her first murals (an 8’x 15” and two 20’ x 50’), before murals really became popular. Now she paints more murals than signs. To make it in a small county, one must be very multi-faceted. So Judy has done everything from interior design, color consultation, branding development for business, furniture painting, faux painting, rifle painting (yes, true), and her gravy...sign painting has gotten her through times when other businesses were struggling. You can see splashes of her work at: www.judyart.com.
Graduating high school in St. Paul in 1969 and voted “Most Artistic”, she hasn’t been back for 20 years and is looking forward to spending time with some old friends, relatives, and primarily have a great time painting with new friends. Hey! She’s opting to come to this, rather than her 40th reunion in Au-gust! Much more fun!