It was October 2015 when I got involved with the creative aspects of The Escape Effect.
I like to refer to my role as “Escape Artist” since I work on the creative side of things. I started by helping put together props and puzzles which included painting, wood burning, gluing things together, and more. I’ve also helped develop puzzles for the rooms. The first task I had after the rooms were built was wallpapering Sherlock Studies. I had never wallpapered before, but after a few how-to videos I managed to paste and paper the walls over two weekends. Most of the time I paint things.
I have been in the veterinary field my entire adult life. I only work at The Escape Effect part-time on the weekends. The rest of the week I can be found managing at Seminole Trail Animal Hospital.
My husband, Russell, got involved first. As we are DIY type people and have renovated almost our entire house, he thought that The Escape Effect was a project that we could do together. It sounded like fun. So we’ve been doing this for at least one day every week for almost three years.
My favorite game is Sherlock Studies. I love crime-solving and trying to figure things out. I really like that the crazy-genius of Sherlock is reflected in this game.
The Mind Map in Sherlock is my favorite prop. It was tricky to put together as a puzzle. I painted it once and then we realized that something wasn’t quite right and it had to be repainted. The final map isn’t my handiwork, though the process of creating the final version is a testament to how hard we all work to create things and make sure the puzzles work correctly. It’s my favorite because it is so “Sherlock” in the way that you use it to solve the puzzle. If you haven’t played the game yet, you need to and you will see what I’m talking about!
I’m excited about our fourth game. Being in the room and watching it come to life has been amazing. It’s fun to see the verbal vision of the environment become a physical reality through wood-working, paint, and a lot of creativity. I think players are really going to be transported into a much different era when they walk into this room.
In a way, I feel most like Dr. Watson. He’s analytical, quietly observing things. I tend to be quieter when thinking things through and trying to figure stuff out.
Most recently I have been painting in the fourth room. There’s a lot of wall surface area and I’ve applied paint to about 60% of it! And there’s still more painting to do…
This is my favorite Bob. I met Bob recently. We arrived one Saturday, walked into the fourth room to assess the day’s work, and there was Bob. He was leaning against the wall and immediately got our attention. Bob’s name had been mentioned many times over the last couple years and this was my first time to see Bob in person! He hung out with us all day, supervising the work. I was super excited when he agreed to take a picture with me!
