There was no pre-determined theme. I asked about the man, his interests and goals. Determined that he liked bringing people together in meaningful and memorable ways. He also liked music.
Over the next month, I thought of ways to represent his spirt through sculpture. I came up with the guitar theme because it made me think of people gathering around a campfire to sing and be happy together... I also felt the guitar represented a scenario where if passers by were to hear a guitar being played, the sound might draw them nearer to investigate, meet and participate in a new and shared experience…
Sensing the sculpture needed more, I looked up some poems and settled on 5 that I thought captured his essence. Then, a group of 5 people who knew him best were asked to rate them in order of preference. “MUSIC, says the things that words alone can never say” was the favourite.
The sculpture took about 2 months to design and fabricate. During this time there was constant communication and consultation with C.A.D. designers, laser cutting operators, machinists, press operators and concrete contractors.
The sculpture is now located by the pond at Blue Mountain Resort Village, in front of the Westin Hotel, in the Town of The Blue Mountains, Ontario.