MONROE - What bothers Cory Newingham most about the theft of his "Rick and Morty" fan art from his front yard is that it's probably hidden from sight now.
"It's probably just sitting in a basement or garage being enjoyed by one or two people," the 28-year-old Monroe resident said.
The positive reaction from people passing by his house at the corner of 16th Street and 16th Avenue was one of the biggest joys Newingham derived from the art piece. He spent painstaking hours in October carving and painting the pop-out recreation of the popular TV show's signature image: the title characters, Rick and Morty, emerging from a green portal to another dimension.
A thief took the wooden lawn art, which measures several feet around, sometime between Friday evening and Saturday morning, Feb. 2 and 3.
"I didn't have it chained down or anything," Newingham said. "It was probably a drunk person walking home from the bar."
Newingham reported the theft to Monroe police and posted about the theft publicly on Facebook. His Facebook post got shared 134 times in the past week, with commenters chiming in with their condolences.
"My parents chain their wood carvings up," one woman wrote. "Sad a place like Monroe is getting bad enough we have to do that nowadays. Either way I hope you get it back ... it is awesome! LOVE that show!"
As of Friday afternoon, Monroe Police Captain Jerry Dahlen said his department does not have any leads on the stolen "Rick and Morty" art.
Lawn art thefts are "a trend that happens in the summer sometimes," but he hasn't seen many others in Newingham's neighborhood as of late.
Dahlen recommends that residents who display lawn art, especially art they've made themselves, keep a photo of it.
"Pictures always help, especially something like this where it's specialized or unique," Dahlen said. "We can put it on our Facebook page."
A picture also gives officers a visual, he added.
Newingham hasn't personally received any tips on the case, either.
"I haven't heard anything. I'm not really expecting to see it again," he said. "I plan on making a new one anyway."
He estimates it took him at least eight hours to carve Rick, Morty and the interdimensional portal out of plywood with a jigsaw and hand-paint the pieces. The Cartoon Network show follows the misadventures of a crotchety mad scientist named Rick and his fretful grandson Morty. It's one of Newingham's favorite TV shows. He even owns board games based on key episodes.
Newingham, a forklift driver at a Brodhead farm machinery manufacturer, studied graphic design in school and paints in his spare time.
Besides his "Rick and Morty" piece, he's painted homages to the '90s fantasy movie "The Crow" and Comedy Central's "Futurama" and carved a series of 10 "Deadpool"-inspired folk art pieces, one of which swings from his front porch (another he donated to a silent auction to benefit his father-in-law's cancer treatment).
He's also painted nature-inspired imagery onto varnished sections of leftover wooden pallets from his job. One of the pallet pieces hangs in his entryway, and he's given away others as gifts.
Newingham's block gets heavy foot traffic, with a church across the street and Monroe Middle School down the block. Passing children walking to and from school have stopped to compliment him on his lawn art, he said.
He even sold one of his "Deadpool" pieces to a passerby.
"One lady stopped and said she wanted one for her grandson," he said.
But now he has to contend with the reality that lawn art is easily stolen, too. He said his neighbor across the street told him she's also had lawn art stolen from her front yard.
"It's a shame," he said.
"It's probably just sitting in a basement or garage being enjoyed by one or two people," the 28-year-old Monroe resident said.
The positive reaction from people passing by his house at the corner of 16th Street and 16th Avenue was one of the biggest joys Newingham derived from the art piece. He spent painstaking hours in October carving and painting the pop-out recreation of the popular TV show's signature image: the title characters, Rick and Morty, emerging from a green portal to another dimension.
A thief took the wooden lawn art, which measures several feet around, sometime between Friday evening and Saturday morning, Feb. 2 and 3.
"I didn't have it chained down or anything," Newingham said. "It was probably a drunk person walking home from the bar."
Newingham reported the theft to Monroe police and posted about the theft publicly on Facebook. His Facebook post got shared 134 times in the past week, with commenters chiming in with their condolences.
"My parents chain their wood carvings up," one woman wrote. "Sad a place like Monroe is getting bad enough we have to do that nowadays. Either way I hope you get it back ... it is awesome! LOVE that show!"
As of Friday afternoon, Monroe Police Captain Jerry Dahlen said his department does not have any leads on the stolen "Rick and Morty" art.
Lawn art thefts are "a trend that happens in the summer sometimes," but he hasn't seen many others in Newingham's neighborhood as of late.
Dahlen recommends that residents who display lawn art, especially art they've made themselves, keep a photo of it.
"Pictures always help, especially something like this where it's specialized or unique," Dahlen said. "We can put it on our Facebook page."
A picture also gives officers a visual, he added.
Newingham hasn't personally received any tips on the case, either.
"I haven't heard anything. I'm not really expecting to see it again," he said. "I plan on making a new one anyway."
He estimates it took him at least eight hours to carve Rick, Morty and the interdimensional portal out of plywood with a jigsaw and hand-paint the pieces. The Cartoon Network show follows the misadventures of a crotchety mad scientist named Rick and his fretful grandson Morty. It's one of Newingham's favorite TV shows. He even owns board games based on key episodes.
Newingham, a forklift driver at a Brodhead farm machinery manufacturer, studied graphic design in school and paints in his spare time.
Besides his "Rick and Morty" piece, he's painted homages to the '90s fantasy movie "The Crow" and Comedy Central's "Futurama" and carved a series of 10 "Deadpool"-inspired folk art pieces, one of which swings from his front porch (another he donated to a silent auction to benefit his father-in-law's cancer treatment).
He's also painted nature-inspired imagery onto varnished sections of leftover wooden pallets from his job. One of the pallet pieces hangs in his entryway, and he's given away others as gifts.
Newingham's block gets heavy foot traffic, with a church across the street and Monroe Middle School down the block. Passing children walking to and from school have stopped to compliment him on his lawn art, he said.
He even sold one of his "Deadpool" pieces to a passerby.
"One lady stopped and said she wanted one for her grandson," he said.
But now he has to contend with the reality that lawn art is easily stolen, too. He said his neighbor across the street told him she's also had lawn art stolen from her front yard.
"It's a shame," he said.