The new work was constructed in one solid piece of gray Barre granire
7 feet in diameter and 6 1/2 inches thick. It was relocated to a position
off the sidewalk and protected by gates so that there would be no vehicular
traffic over it. The work was constructed by Colonial Granite who had
also made an earlier work for me further east on the street called "a
monument to a lost opportunity" in 1992 to my complete satisfaction.
Tom Cole was responsible for the work. Thanks Tom.... The new work was
installed in September 2003.
the next work is
called "compass rose"
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This
artwork had a difficult birth - it was originally made with over 400 hand
cast concrete letterforms that were embedded in a concrete matrix. The first
version of the artwork had a central disk with brass flames and a hand made
aluminum bunny embedded in terrazzo. Corrosion and cracking finally made
it necessary to rebuild this low monument with better, permanent materials.
While doing this work, Wiley Thomas worked closely with me as an assistant
- unbelievably hard, sorry that your original work is gone Wiley . . .
The
second iteration of this artwork object was made of five parts - a central
disc of polished black granite surrounded by four granite pieces to form
a nine foot diameter disc that is flush with the pavement. The location
where it is installed is at one end of a pedestrian mall connecting Rideau
street and George Street in the Byward market area. The Rideau street end
is bracketed by a submarine shop and bars, the George street end terminates
near the provincial liquor store and is a shortcut between a couple of hostels.
The central polished
disc of the artwork is an image of a bunny being skinned in preparation
for a meal which is surrounded by schematic flames - it could be thought
of as a drawing in stone suggesting a campfire. The text that surrounds
this spot is taken from a surveyor's journal written on Christmas in 1826.
In the text the author gives a pithy account of camping in "Dow's great
swamp" describing his fellow campers humble meal and how they shared a drink
in a single tin cup. He ends his tale with " . . .and with our heads
frozen to the place where we lay. We spent our Merry Christmas in 1826."
This work relates to the street through a couple of routes - it is
an historical mnemonic device to remind us of one of another time and place
whose context is a key to understanding Ottawa. The construction of the
Rideau Canal was an enormous task from the point of view of either an administrator
or a labourer. There is an irony intended in that the little granite campsite
in the pavement is partly there as a response to the removal of the warm
shelters that covered much of Rideau street and that many of the people
who frequent this pedestrian mall are campers too . . . the site is often
busy with street people and residents of the nearby shelters. 
Sadly,
the second disk was destroyed as well . I forget exactly when but I believe
it was in 1999 as a result of a blow from an extremely heavy concrete
object. It was a pathetic sight and I was convinced that it was over for
this part of the re-development project. The artwork sat on the street
as an embarassment to everyone concerned. It was only a matter of time
until it was jackhammered out of the sidewalk and put our of its misery.
In 2002 city staff were able to obtain some funds from an insurance policy
on the artwork. When this was combined with the global budget for the city's
improvement of the Waller street pedestrian mall it became possible to rebuild
the work again. Amazingly, there there was also a small amount of money
available that wopuld pay for a new - complementary _ work on the north
end of the Waller Street mall.