Herons touch down in sculpture park

A pair of great blue herons arrived at Brandon’s Riverbank Discovery Centre Tuesday afternoon, the newest additions to the Peter Sawatzky Sculpture Park.

The bronze sculpture of the side-by-side herons perched on a log is the latest piece created by Sawatzky, a renowned Manitoba artist based in Glenboro.

“I’ve always loved blue herons, for as long as I can remember. They’re such a magnificent bird,” Sawatzky said, as he kept a watchful eye on the installation.

The sculpture weighs about 200 pounds, is six feet tall and three feet wide, with each bird standing on a tree branch connected to a wider trunk.

It took five people to lift and place it onto the concrete base while Sawatzky stood at a distance and directed them, “a bit more this way, now forward,” he said, wanting to get the placement just right.

“If you’re coming from the Discovery Centre, this one’s pretty well looking right at you. And when you’re coming back, you can see him from another angle,” Sawatzky said.

“That was my plan right from Day 1. I walked all around here and decided how it was going to look,” he said.

The herons are just off the main walking path that runs parallel to the Discovery Centre entrance on Conservation Drive. A log has been placed in front of them for people who are walking by to sit and enjoy the view.

“I chose this spot because there’s a pond in the background, and that’s what I remember about growing up near Altona. There was a big blue heron colony with what must have been 40 nests. So I’d go there and take photographs, and eventually sculpt,” he said.

A crowd of about 50 people gathered to watch the installation of Sawatzky’s herons, including Sylvia Barr, a volunteer at the Discovery Centre whose financial contribution of $160,000 made the placement possible.

“I haven’t been able to stop smiling the whole day,” Barr said.

“I think the Peter Sawatzky Sculpture Park is really futuristic and is going to be a wonderful asset for Brandon. It’s going to bring people from all over Western Canada,” she said.

“So, I’m doing this for the future and everyone who will come and enjoy and be enriched by it.”

The herons are the sixth of Sawatzky’s bronze pieces that have been installed in the park.

In July, a curious bear was placed beside the main walking path, and two months before that, a massive sculpture depicting 11 caribou crossing a river was added to the collection at the centre’s front entrance.

Other Sawatzky bronze sculptures in the park include a doe and her fawn, a lone great blue heron and a jack rabbit that were previously installed.

Barr said she got the idea of paying for and donating the herons while flipping through a catalogue during a volunteer shift.

“Once I saw this, I was on board. You couldn’t have stopped me,” she said.

“I thought I better get my name on there before I lose out. So hopefully this gets the ball rolling and other people will get the idea to jump on board and come up with creative ways to make more of the sculptures happen.”

The long-term goal for the sculpture park is for 10 more pieces, bringing the total to 16, said Riverbank executive director Dean Hammond.

Funding for the sculptures has come from various sources, including provincial and community grants and private donations.

Seeing them placed in landscaped and natural settings has been an overall “game changer” for the Discovery Centre.

“These pieces are magnificent,” Hammond said.

“From a tourism and travel perspective, to know that the Riverbank is being placed on the map, and is one of Canada’s best outdoor spaces because of these sculptures, is just amazing.”

Once the sculpture was in place, onlookers armed with their cellphones were eager to get a photo with Sawatzky, Hammond, Barr and Brandon Mayor Jeff Fawcett.

Almost a decade ago, Fawcett was part of a volunteer group that approached Sawatzky and asked if he would consider a sculpture garden in his honour.

On Tuesday, Fawcett was quick to turn the spotlight on Barr and her contribution.

“Sylvia is such an asset for our community,” Fawcett said.

“We have so many great people here, but she is a single and great example to say, ‘I’m going to do something, and I’m going to leave something greater for everybody to enjoy.’”

All the pathways are open and landscaped to give access to Sawatzky’s pieces, but an official grand opening of the sculpture park will be held at the Riverbank Discovery Centre on Oct. 9 from 2 to 5 p.m.

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