A Questing of Balance
The “17bc rockatree” public art project began on June 30th 1996 under a rare blue moon.
The location was chosen by a large white granite boulder which had rolled from the daffodil field above
and came to rest on a rock bluff beside the Pat Bay Highway, (17BC) between Victoria and Sidney, British Columbia.
I’d been noticing that boulder for months and became convinced it would make an ideal foundation rock. The site can be viewed from both directions, while pedestrian access is difficult. Tumbling rocks roll into the drainage ditch about 5 meters below where some can be retrieved.
Fellow rockatier, Glen McConnell agreed to assist
although neither of us knew if we could work in such a challenging location.
The first time we set foot on the site, the noise of the cars and the blast of wind from semi’s cruising
by at 100K was so intense it was difficult concentrating on the job at hand. As soon as we got to it, choosing rocks and
carrying them down from the edge of the field, the distractions diminished and the balancing went well.
Looking back on our ten year Public Art project alongside 17BC, to the thousands of rocks Updee and I lifted, carried and balanced, to the hundreds of people who honked and waved when they spotted us, to the untold millions who sped by and caught a glimpse of something mysterious, i remember George Harrisons’ words, “all things must pass”…..and they did.
Spring brought a move to SW Saskatchewan and the beautiful Frenchman River Valley.
