Preparations

This year we are addressing one of the top tourist attractions in the Keweenaw.  I will be placing new art pieces at Quincy Mine.  The Quincy #2 Shaft Rock House has been perched on top of the hill above Hancock all my life, since 1908 in fact.  It’s presence there has been a welcome to visitors and proof of the hard labor of our ancestors.  The red metal has been destined for cross country trade since time immemorial when native Americans took copper from the rock of the Keweenaw.  From early copper culture to electrifying America, the copper found here was always traded from coast to coast.

The second location of new sculptures the I will be working on is the Quincy Smelter. This site, though lesser known, is a transportation hub.   Of course, a smelter is where the raw material was processed into ingots, but this site on Portage Lake is also the shipping hub for all the Quincy Mining Company’s operations.  Materials like wood, water, coal, slag, stamp sand, ice, and of course copper were all crossing on the docks along the water. 

I have been spending a lot of time thinking of the Smelter. The essence of the site is the idea of so many moving materials.  The import and export of a list of materials to keep this facility operating took various forms of transportation in many directions as well as many men. 

It’s a strategic position, the smelter offers a clear vantage point to see both east and west, up and down the canal. It has the potential to frame a view of the lift bridge as well as sunrise and sunset. It also offers a clear view to the south across the waterway to Houghton.  This is the exact spot where many of the materials used and moved through the copper country landed and departed.  The sculpture that ends up here must embrace this.

That’s all for now.  I am working on designs, just bought tickets for my travels and am eagerly anticipating feedback from my friends at the park.  Shooting for a late July installation this year.