So, over some decades, there have to be as many jobs that got away as jobs that I did. Perhaps 2 lost to one done? I don't know.
This project, a bronze sculpture commemorating Luna the Whale in Nootka Sound for the Mowachat/Muchalaht First Nation, was proposed by a west coast artist, Christopher Walker. Chris had been working with Chief Mike Maquinna on another project.
I was quite excited by this idea, but wanted to include the work of local artists, preferring to be more of a facilitator than anything. Chris suggested that we meet Chief Maquinna in Gold River on Vancouver Island. I knew that there were traditional carvers nearby and worked to create a proposal to present that might include their work.
This project, a bronze sculpture commemorating Luna the Whale in Nootka Sound for the Mowachat/Muchalaht First Nation, was proposed by a west coast artist, Christopher Walker. Chris had been working with Chief Mike Maquinna on another project.
I was quite excited by this idea, but wanted to include the work of local artists, preferring to be more of a facilitator than anything. Chris suggested that we meet Chief Maquinna in Gold River on Vancouver Island. I knew that there were traditional carvers nearby and worked to create a proposal to present that might include their work.
Luna the Orca was very friendly. (Not my image)
It's always hard to present ideas. Public art exists in its own environment, with luck, belonging to the space, rather than competing with it. I had only a notion of what the space might look like, but I did know that it was a small island in Nootka Sound. Taking all kinds of liberties, I came up with this video, created with Photoshop and Rhino 3D to present the idea. I wanted to show some bronze surfaces deeply incised with the work of local carvers, surfaces that resolve into a brief glimpse of a breaching Orca.
My wife and I flew to Comox, BC and drove to Gold River. We met with Chris and Chief Maquinna, who chartered a boat to take us out to his traditional summer hunting grounds at Yuquot on Nootka Island. It was a luminous day. It's hard to conjure walking on a pebble beach, the sea calm, the air still and warm, on the last day of January. Here's a clip for atmosphere. Chief Maquinna is showing us where he grew up, some fallen totem poles, and the abandoned church that has become a museum for native artifacts.
The project did not proceed, but it was hard to conjure a single reason why we shouldn't have made that trip. We spent a few wonderful days in the Nootka area, then drove to Mt. Washington for a few sunny days of skiing. Work is not always about money, right?
Chief Mike Maquinna at Yoquot, Nootka Island
Hiking above Gold River, looking down into Nootka Sound. A job lost, but not a moment wasted.
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