Coastal Creative

In order to help reduce the remote Salmon Coast Field Station’s reliance on a diesel generator for washing clothes, I was commissioned to design and build an 8-speed bicycle-powered washing machine from recycled parts. With insufficient space in existing station buildings, I also undertook the design and construction of a new shed for the machine using reclaimed and salvaged materials, with fellow volunteers helping install the cedar-shake cladding.

In 2008, I was asked to design and fabricate a sockeye salmon costume for Wilderness Committee campaigns. The success of ‘Tum Tum’ led to a commission for a bear costume as well. Subsequently, I was approached by the City of Coquitlam for a commission to design and fabricate a family friendly coho salmon costume for the annual Salmon Come Home festival hosted by the Hoy-Scott Creek Watershed Society, with a short two-week delivery schedule.