This was a stage backdrop done for the Great West Life Symposium, "Dilemmas of Modern Man". Actual size: w= 30' h= 60' d= 3'. It took 2 weeks to build and an all nighter for me to assemble and install it on stage. |
I constructed the whole face out of 4X8 sheets of styrofoam. This was then covered with upholsery fabric using a water based paste. Once complete, it was attached in sections to the plywood backdrop as the exhibit needed to be modular or it never would have fitted through doors. |
A model of Grant's Old Mill in Winnipeg that I was subcontracted to make. This is more or less an architectural model since the structure hadn't been built yet. I didn't even have plans to work from...just a few beat up old photos of a ruin. |
The entire mill was fabricated out of styrene plastic. The roof comes off to allow access to an aquarium pump inside. Yes, it actually was a working model! This is the completed version with all the painting and groundwork done. |
I was employed for a good number of years by the largest exhibit manufacturer in Western Canada, Daly Display. It was one of the most interesting jobs I have ever had. This is a booth exhibit for Saskatchewan Tourism. |
This isn't the most exciting example of the work I was doing here. Unfortunately I have very few photos of this time in my life. That's me on top of the exhibit. |
This isn't the only museum exhibit I've worked on, but it's probably the most amazing. This is called a "Habitat" in museum vernacular. These are always life sized. This exhibit is on permanent display at the Provincial Museum of Alberta in Edmonton and is a part of the Anthony Henday Hall which deals with the prehistoy time period of Alberta. |
This exhibit depicts a buffalo hunt 2000 years before the arrival of Europeans in America. There were about 8 people working on this and it took over a year to complete. I was responsible for painting the figures. You have no idea what it took to get a match for the skin tones of native aboriginals of this particular tribe. They actually brought in about 20 models and compared colour swatches to their skin! |
The background is actualy a curved painting designed to blend into the display and gives the illusion of distance and reality. The reeds are real....carefully preserved by a glycerin method and then hand painted to restore the original colour. The buffalo is a product of taxidermy while the natives are fiberglass castings of real people. Painting the cast figures was quite painstaking, and I had to even duplicate sunburn in the skin tones. The results were worth it, since they look so real that you would swear you could see them breathing. |
These are the models we used to take body castings of standing in front of the completed work. They were stunned when they finally looked at the exhibit and thought it was a bit spooky...like being outside of your body and looking at yourself. They performed a Sweetgrass Ceremony to consecrate the display. |
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