Original artwork enhances Rainbow Falls theme

An Elk Grove Park District graphic artist has decorated the popular Rainbow Falls Waterpark fun house with two stories of original art that enhance its tropical theme.

One of the favorite attractions at the waterpark, the three-story fun house named Pelican Peak, has interactive water features, including a huge bucket that fills with water and spills over every four minutes.

Originally built in 1998, it has been upgraded through the years.

This year, Lynell Ingram created designs for panels circling the first two stories, with those on the first story depicting underwater creatures and the ones on the second story displaying a beach scene.

Ingram, who has been with the park district for eight years, has a bachelor's of fine arts degree from the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design. Her primary job is the creation of park district marketing materials. The panel designs were one of her special projects.

The process was challenging. There are 60 two-sided panels on the first story and 18 panels on the second story, each a different size.

In order to create the flowing scenes, she created an intricate layout. The artwork begins as a pencil drawing, then is scanned into the computer where Ingram uses the drawing to create digital vector artwork. That was sent to a sign company to be transferred onto vinyl.