Calling
all horse and sculpture lovers, community minded souls, artists,
able bodies, active minds…….
Bring your Camera!
WHAT
IS THE IRON HORSE???
IT'S
A TIME CAPSULE
IT'S A SCULPTURE
IT'S A COMMUNITY PROJECT
IT'S LOADED WITH KID'S MEMORIES
Imagine, driving up THE BIG HILL in Mount Albert, enjoying a view
of the new Millennium Garden, then setting your eyes on the larger
than life size horse sculpture grazing in front of Mount Albert
Public School. And there will be some special thing in one of
the time capsule compartments that your child, your neighbour,
your grandchild, your community, your service group, your business
has contributed….. And you know that without the support
from the local community and YOU, it could never have happened…….
It's an unbelievable idea and it's happening in your town!
What
have we been up to?
Last
year:
The Mount Albert Community…
Raised enough money to cover most of the costs of materials and
labour thanks to the generosity of individual community members
and groups, students and their families, local businesses, service
clubs and federal and local government grants….. THANKS TO
ALL!!!
Students
from MAPS got into the act…
Loading the time capsules, learning about some key historical
symbols in Mount Albert ( the railway, the horse, the blacksmithing
trade), doing some amazing art projects and an art show, writing
plays, visiting Ross Tanner (blacksmith/sculptor) and Jakob Bachorik
(student sculptor) at work where they watched them forge and weld
parts of the sculpture.
The
artist, Ross Tanner…
Has been working away at perfecting and developing the design
for this very intricate structure, creating the materials and
tools he needs, forging the sculpted parts of the horse (2 legs,
the ears and mouth), constructing the compartments so that they
can hold the history of our community for years to come, welcoming
visitors to watch him at work
School
staff…
Have supported all the fundraising, helped kids on coming up with
neat ideas for each grade's time capsules, helped with administration,
supported kids to be creative, helped out with planning and project
management
Our
Steering Committee…
Has found the skills and services in the community to help
Has come up with creative fundraising strategies like buy a piece
of the horse, Balloon ride raffle, historical and remake of historical
photo sales, T-Shirt design and sales
Has created, sold, schemed, made presentations to community groups
and government to raise money, organized site visits for 600 students,
negotiated with the Board, supported the artist in countless ways,
kept going at the project like a dog with a bone (a horse with
a carrot?)
AND NOW ALL OUR EXCITEMENT AND HARD WORK HAS COME TO A CLIMAX…..
THE IRON HORSE HAS COME HOME TO Mount Albert Public School!!!!!!!!!
Thematically
and conceptually, this imposing public sculpture ties together
the past, present and future of Mount Albert. The railway
and the horse have been and are still an integral part of this
community. The media and techniques employed to complete
this project invoke a sense of tradition, but also employs more
modern abstract/futuristic forms.
The history
of Mount Albert is rich with images of the railway connecting
the community with the outside world and along with that is
the surrounding farmland which is particularly devoted to horse
farms. The residents of Mount Albert and surrounding areas
will see in this monument a permanent symbol of the rich heritage
of their community. It will foster pride and a strong
sense of community identity. The children of the school
who will be intrinsically involved in the development and in
the function of this sculpture will see it in the years to come
as a lasting reminder of their own important role in this project
and in their community.
PROJECT
CONTACTS:
Mount Albert's IRON HORSE TIME CAPSULE PROJECT
Jenny Carver (905) 473-6526 jcarver@interhop.net
Amanda Brittin (905) 473-9849
Josie Norton, Librarian Mount Albert Public School (905) 473-2940
