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JH: That is very interesting, Pat. It often takes a sculptor to visualize a project and put it together. I’ve noticed in my travels across communities generally it’s the person with the sculptural knowledge who puts these projects together and makes them work. PF: Yeah, I wouldn’t have done this if someone else hadn’t come to me and asked if I would donate a sculpture. I said sure, but why not do something that’s more meaningful than putting one piece down. It’s been a labour of love. It’s pretty all-encompassing because it’s not just a matter of putting sculptures down somewhere. You have to get involved in civic planning and relationship building and you have to deal with a bunch of wacko artists (laughs), which is a lot of fun and an interesting process - to get the community to engage in different mediums, different styles, and to talk about it all year round. And then a bunch of other things come out of the woodwork, and what happens is a bunch of little other things come out of the woodwork – writers, poets musicians and dancers. Everybody else wants to get in the game - and how we react emotionally rather than intellectually. And it’s usually these other artists that get us to do stuff. Sculpture has helped everybody else in the community. That cultural stuff can be powerful in all communities; it’s just not exposed all the time.
JH: Indeed. I know you also have another project. You are truly a cultural worker in many senses. You seem to like to start projects that are cooperative and involve other people. Can you tell us about your other project? PF: Well, we were looking for ways to make this outdoor sculpture program sustainable. Not all artists have an inventory of large pieces and they don’t always sell right away. So we drafted up a concept and put a business plan together to try to figure out if we can get an indoor program working where we lease sculptures. That way we expose companies and corporations to sculpture in a safe and renewable way. So we lease pieces for a
minimum of a year and change them out. That way they get something fresh every year and the artist gets exposure and rental income. The idea is to try to give artists pensions over time, people like us, sculptors who’ve been doing this for 30 odd years. Lots of times we are self-employed and don’t have pensions and this is a great way to get passive income and hold on to assets, as well as build a legacy over time. It’s great for businesses because they get an opportunity to see fresh art every year and get exposed to different artists and have employees take part in the process of choosing what they’d like to have in their business.
JH: So where are you taking this geographically, Pat? PF: Right now I have buildings in BC and Alberta, but we have visions of making this quite a bit larger. It could be modular and go into the cruise line business and that way go all over the world, or start one in Vietnam for their sculptors over there.
JH: Your projects keep getting larger as you move along, Pat. PF: Sure. Part of my plan is always to get something up and running and create a succession plan. Most artists have lots of ides but they are useless unless you realize them. So you have to be able to continue and figure out how it can be sustainable. And then get the next idea up and of the ground.
JH: Pat, that is terrific. I thank you for speaking with me and I wish you the best of luck with all your projects. PF: Thank you so much for all your help and it has been so great to meet you guys because you are shakers and movers too. Have a blast in Belize at the symposium.
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