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Friday, September 21, 2012
Quench Peter W. Rusland
News Leader Pictorial
A
rtist Peter Lewis thinks big about water. He gained fame for his Great Divide Waterfall over Edmonton’s High Level
Bridge. The Cowichan Station artist is also proud of his illuminated waterfall Splash built in Durham, England for Lumiere 2011. The native Welshman’s Rain Water feature was a hit at Vancouver’s Expo 86. And he gained recent global applause for his Running Water creation at the London Olympics. But Lewis also has compassion for his community, and its dogs. His genius for gurgling art surfaces next month in Quench — an 8 1/2-foot, Fiberglas totem-pole drinking fountain for people and pets — going to city hall’s west side facing Craig Street for the city’s centennial. “I ¿rst got the concept walking past Bucky’s (Sports Shop) where I saw a dog bowl of water, and thought it could be used on a fountain. “Then I thought ‘Wouldn’t it be neat to build a drinking fountain in the shape of a totem pole?’” Enter fellow artists Richard Gibson and Rande Cook, plus Blue Gold Water Systems’ hydrologist Lauren Holman making Quench a reality in Totem Town. “The raven on top is the trickster that’ll occasionally spray a mist of water,” Sharon Jackson of the city centennial committee, said about the $65,000 fountain doused by provincial dollars, and ongoing local fundraising. The fountain boasts the mythical bird perched on the hat of the First Man holding an eagle bowl “into which water falls, so you drink from the eagle bowl also designed to ¿ll water bottles.” “The First Man has his foot on the
City of Duncan marks its centennial with world-class fountain project downtown
magical frog holding a bowl for dogs to drink out of.” Lewis, 63, quickly noted Quench is a team project coming on stream Oct. 26 at 2 p.m. “Rande’s the sculptor who came up with the brilliant idea of an eagle pouring Rande Cook works on the sculpture that will provide the centrepiece for the wawater into the terworks of Duncan resident Peter Lewis (right), as the two combine with Richard bowl so you’re Gibson and Lauren Holman to create a new showpiece for downtown Duncan. drinking from the “I came up with the design, Rande eagle. executed the carving, Richard executed “The raven on the top’s a trickster, the casting and molding, and Lauren’s and he projects water on you, and if you executed the plumbing. dodge him, he’ll hit you.” “It’s a good team effort,” said Lewis, “It’s beyond your wildest imagination who created The Salmon Pool at Cowhow beautiful it is,” Jackson said of the ichan Tribes’ HQ. totem toasting Duncan’s water that’s “Quench seems to be going as if divine among Canada’s best. providence is on this,” the Cowichan “Nothing’s been done like this in the Rhododendron Society member said of world before.” Lewis saluted Jackson, Mayor Phil Kent the fountain in the casting stage. “There’ve been no hiccups, and that and council for sharing his vision that’ll shows the professionalism of our team,” see 25 Quench clones sold at $45,000 to said Lewis, who is also busy drafting an global collectors, institutions and cities aqua-art piece for Brazil’s 2016 Olymsaluting the City of Totems. pics. “The money goes back into city cof“My role as an artist is to inspire people, fers,” he said of the pro¿table project. and I hope to do that by making this “I got the concept about two years ago, drinking fountain. and approached Councillor Jackson at “It’s great living in Canada where we Island Bagel. can express ourselves like this.” “I didn’t realize Duncan’s centennial He and Jackson mulled who’d be ¿rst to was coming up, but it was on her radar.” Lewis loaded his vision onto his friends’ quaff from Quench. “We’re trying to ¿nd a dog of distincradar. tion — and a prominent Canadian, who’s “I’m just an artist who’s a designer and not a politician,” Jackson joked. whose brainchild was the concept. Lewis suggested various notables who “I’m putting it all together and working could be ¿rst to sip from the unique closely with (public works staffer) Len fountain. Thew. “I’m also waiting for a guy with “Landscaping around the piece has to crutches to drink from it, then throw his be sensitive so people can have group crutches away,” he said. photos, and so it’s wheelchair accessible.
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