Fall 2009 | Capital Connections
Navy statue gala a rousing success
A gala fundraising dinner was held at CFB Esquimalt's Wardroom Officer's Mess Sept. 24 to benefit the Homecoming Naval Centennial Statue project. More than $60,000 was raised during the evening thanks to the 200 guests and generous support from area businesses.
Both a silent and a live auction were held with 50 combination packages up for grabs provided by 75 donors. Cruises, golfing adventures, spa treatments and nights out on the town were among the items put on the block along with several prizes donated by CFB Esquimalt and the Homecoming Statue Committee including trips aboard a frigate, day sails on the Oriole and dinner at Admiralty House. Thanks to the antics of auctioneer Wayne Ford, bidding heated up for two paintings by renowned artist Len Gibbs and for the Capital Iron/Times Colonist outdoor barbecue kitchen, valued at $40,000.
Gibbs, who served as an Able Seaman many years ago, along with Brian Small, former general manager of Victoria Chamber of Commerce, were "knighted" by "Queen Elizabeth" (aka Carolyn Sadowska) during the evening's entertainment.
The homecoming statue, designed by sculptor Nathan Scott, is a tribute to the Canadian Navy on the occasion of its 100th anniversary in 2010.
It will be located overlooking the Inner Harbour, near Victoria's Visitor Centre, on property owned by the Provincial Capital Commission. PCC CEO Ray Parks sits on the project committee and served as chair of the gala dinner event.
"We are extremely pleased that the PCC had this property available to us," said retired RAdm. Ken Summers. "We couldn't have found a better site in Victoria."
The gala fundraiser event was a total success, Summers said. "It exceeded our expectations, the generosity was tremendous and the spirit and cooperation between the community and the Navy was evident."
For more information, visit www.homecomingstatue.com.
2009 | Canadian Navy
Artist shapes sculpture for navy centennial
Tucked in his Central Saanich studio on southern Vancouver Island, artist and sculptor Nathan Scott spends his days crafting the father and daughter figures which are the centrepiece of the 2010 Naval Centennial Homecoming Statue.
The statue depicts a sailor kneeling on a dock with outstretched arms ready to embrace his daughter, who is running towards him. As Mr. Scott shapes the clay structures, details and expressions emerge on the child and father. "Being able to create and make something come alive is my gift and passion," he says.
Modeling the sculpture and then casting it in bronze will take a year. On May 4, 2010, it will be revealed in Victoria's Inner Harbour in celebration of the navy's 100th birthday.
"It's very honouring to do this sculpture and to have it displayed in such a prominent place," Mr. Scott says. "This project will relate to tourists as well as locals, and it crosses borders because military life and this emotion of homecoming is a global thing."
Scott easily relates to the emotion the characters convey. "My dad did 33 years with Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, and while I never met him at the dock, I'd meet him at the airport," explains Mr. Scott. "Twenty or 30 years ago everybody had someone in their family who was in the military, and I think Victoria is well suited for this project."
Now into his eleventh year as a sculptor, and with 15 public sculptures throughout Canada including the Terry Fox sculpture at Mile Zero, Mr. Scott is a sought-after artist.
"I began this project with photographs," says Mr. Scott. "I had the base get some sailors together to pose as models to photograph. I then had my five-and-a-half-year-old daughter Acacia run towards me while a professional photographer captured pictures of her in motion."
After 320 photos, Scott found the emotion and detail needed and started the armature this summer, an internal frame or skeleton made of rebar covered in styrofoam that supports the modeled sculpture.
"When I work with the clay it's like framing a house. It is starting to take shape, but doesn't have incredible detail yet," explains Mr. Scott. "Sculpting to me is a matter of capturing emotion. I am trying to imagine what it would feel like to me after six to nine months of deployment, and then seeing my children."
The photographs serve as reference for details such as wrinkles in the skin and clothing.
Once the clay sculpture is complete, Mr. Scott will make the mold. The sculpture will be brushed with a polyurethane rubber, and then backed up with a fibreglass mother mold to support the shape of the flexible rubber. This negative mold is then taken off, the clay discarded and the mold filled with wax.
"Once completely reconstructed in wax, I cut it into workable pieces that will be dipped into ceramic to create a negative ceramic shell," he says. "The ceramic shell is then heated up to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit to melt the wax out of the ceramic mold. It's then ready for pouring. The bronze is heated up to about 2,100 degrees and poured into the 1,800 degree ceramic shell mold. Once cool, the ceramic shell is removed from the casting and the laborious job of welding the pieces of the sculpture back together begins."
Grinding and re-texturing each area to create a seamless sculpture takes weeks. The final steps are sandblasting to get rid of impurities and adding a patina to give it depth and beauty. Then it will take a prominent place in Victoria's Inner Harbour for all to see and enjoy.
Host to a Homecoming
Sponsors and Volunteers for Naval Statue
Treated to Fine Food and a Vista to Die For
Talk about a room with a view!
Dozens of invited guests did just that on a balmy summer afternoon in a swank penthouse at Bayview Residences. When jaws weren’t dropping over stunning panoramic views of the Inner Harbour, the snow-capped Olympics across the Juan de Fuca Strait, Mount Baker and Victoria’s cityscape, guests marvelled at the labour of love and gratitude that had united them.
The occasion was the Homecoming Statue Luncheon, a thank-you hosted by developer Ken Mariash and his wife, architectdesigner Patricia Mariash, in the first tower of their billion-dollar baby, the upscale urban oceanview resort community.
The gourmet luncheon, catered by Feys and Hobbs, was a gesture of appreciation to supporters and sponsors of the Naval Centennial Statue Project. The project kicked off in May on Wharf street with the unveiling of a sketch of Nathan Scott’s bronze sculpture depicting a girl joyfully running into the arms of her father, a sailor back from sea.
Honorary Capt. Cedric Steele, co-chair of the project with retired Rear Admiral Ken Summers, said half of the $200,000 needed for the statue and a legacy fund to aid families of Canadian Forces personnel at sea, has been raised since then.
Sponsorships include Pacific Capital Commission, which is making the harbourfront site available; $25,000 from Butchart Gardens, whose owner Robin Clarke was inspired by her father’s navy connection; $10,000 from Bayview; and contributions from Victoria Real Estate Board, Victoria Chamber of Commerce and many local businesses.
The public can also participate by purchasing commemorative bricks to honour loved ones, or pewter miniatures. “The spirit of the community during these tough times has amazed us because people have said they believe in this project,” an elated Steele said. “They say they want to see the Canadian Forces closer to the civilian world.”
Patricia Mariash said the Bayview became a major sponsor because of its close ties with the Esquimalt naval base. “We’re neighbours, and we tend to support things in the neighbourhood,” she said.
The memorial, to be unveiled May 4, 2010, has been embraced because it hits close to home, Ken added.
“We all grew up with stories of uncles or fathers coming back from World War Two and grandfathers coming back from World War One,” said Ken, who is also embarking on a massive redevelopment of Vic West’s historic railway roundhouse site. “I think honouring these people yesterday and today and tomorrow is extremely important.”
Other fundraising events include a gala dinner on Sept. 24, with a silent auction of items including a commemorative painting donated by B.C. artist Len Gibbs.
17 May 2009 | Times- Colonist
Butchart Donates to Navy Statue
Butchart Gardens has donated $25,000 to the Homecoming, a statue planned for downtown Victoria.
The statue, a $150,000 naval memorial, will depict a sailor who has returned from sea and is welcoming his daughter with outstretched arms. A sketch of the piece was presented earlier this month.
The completed piece is scheduled to be unveiled May 4, 2010. It will be located next to the Tourism Victoria Information Centre on Wharf Street.
The statue will mark the navy’s centennial year in the community.
The artist for the Homecoming is Nathan Scott, who has produced a number of prominent statues in the region — including the Terry Fox statue at Mile Zero.
Butchart Gardens owner Robin Clarke said her father had a connection to the navy, and she is proud to be involved in the project. Butchart Gardens is now the title sponsor.
The public can get involved by purchasing $200 pewter miniatures of the statue, or buying bricks that will surround the statue. Bricks are $200 or $350. Any money raised in excess of the required $150,000 will go the Military Family Resource Centre.
10 May 2009 | Times- Colonist
Navy Brass Launch The Homecoming
It was a day “inspired by gratitude,” as Honorary Captain Cedric Steele put it. He was referring to last Monday’s unveiling of an artist’s sketch of the statue The Homecoming on Wharf Street. The event doubled as a 99th birthday party for the Canadian Navy, complete with a singalong to the Naden Band’s rendition of Happy Birthday.
Esquimalt-raised sculptor Nathan Scott and friend Barry Newcomb discuss Scott’s naval centennial statue following the unveiling of an artist’s sketch of it.
More than 100 civic and business leaders and retired and active military officers gathered next to the Visitor Information Centre, on harbourfront land made available by the Provincial Capital Commission to display Nathan Scott’s naval centennial statue.
The sculptor — best known for his Terry Fox statue at Mile Zero — is creating the bronze structure on a granite and marble base. It will depict the happy reunion of a girl and her father, a sailor just home from sea, as her dog looks on.
The project’s patron, Lt.Gov. Steven Point, and other dignitaries — including retired vice-admiral Nigel Brodeur and Rear Admiral Tyrone Pile, commander of Maritime Forces Pacific — were on hand to launch a fundraising campaign for the $150,000 naval memorial statue to be unveiled May 4, 2010.
Funds are being raised through gala events and the sale of pewter miniature statues and commemorative bricks that can be inscribed with the names of loved ones. B.C. artist Len Gibbs, a retired able seaman himself, is creating a special painting.
“You’ve gotta love a man in uniform,” joked Point, playfully adjusting his naval uniform on the podium.
Scott, son of an Armed Forces veteran, said his aim was to “capture the emotion” of a homecoming. “It’s touching. The action of running to her father has been played out in the past, today and will in the future,” the Esquimaltraised sculptor said.
“Nathan has told me it comes with a 10,000-year guarantee,” deadpanned Steele, who envisioned the project after being inspired by a statue built in Halifax for the navy’s 75th anniversary. He expressed gratitude to local businesses, the commission’s Ray Parks and chairman Bill Wellburn for the site, and to his cochair, retired admiral Ken Summers. “He’s my secret weapon,” Steele quipped, as HMCS Brandon hovered behind them. One medal-bedecked observer who appreciated what Summers called “payback to the Navy by the community” was John Mason, 85.
“You get a lot of these if you stay in long enough,” said the veteran, who joined the navy in 1942 and served on nine ships, including as commanding officer on HMCS Algonquin.
The best is yet to come, said Summers in anticipation of the Canadian Navy Centennial next year.
5 May 2009 | Times- Colonist
Naval Memorial Statue Coming to Inner Harbour
Honorary Capt. Cedric Steele, Rear Admiral Ken Summers (retired), Rear Admiral Tyrone Pile, commander of Maritime Forces Pacific, and Lt.-Gov. Steven Point unveil a sketch of the Naval Centennial Statue, The Homecoming, beside the Visitor Information Centre downtown.
Prominent sculptor Nathan Scott — best known for his Terry Fox statue at Mile Zero — is creating the $150,000 naval memorial to be officially unveiled May 4, 2010.