An artist put his skills to work brightening the walk along Okotoks’ pathways.
Gordon Mackey has created over 30 sculptures, predominantly human or animal caricatures, and hidden them along the pathways near the Sheep River.
“I just thought it might put a smile on a few people's faces to see a little bit of art,” said Mackey.
Affixed only to dead fallen trees and logs, each sculpture is accompanied by a small metal plaque with dialogue on it.
One of the earlier additions to the cast of odd characters is a singer who has lost his voice. The accompanying plaque pleads for passersby to sing him a song (this writer performed Last Saskatchewan Pirate.)
So far the project appears to have had the desired effect of bringing cheer to walkers.
“I’ve had favourable comments, nothing negative so far,” Mackey said.
“I’ve had phone calls from people down there and they say, ‘I’m just at such-and-such head (sculpture) and I wanted to let you know that we like it.'”
After stumbling upon one, a walk turned into a scavenger hunt for Okotoks resident Julie Clausen.
"My boyfriend and I went for a short walk. I found one and then we had to find the rest," Clausen said in a comment on Mackey's Facebook page. "I felt like we were in the Enchanted Forest.
"We had so much fun. Thank you!"
Mackey, who has lived in Okotoks for a number of years since moving down from Sexsmith, near Grande Prairie, primarily deals in painting, ranging from realistic portraits to outright surrealism.
Similarly, the clay cast of small heads and characters also each have their own quirks, and are ‘frivolous,’ as he put it.
“Well, it’s not fine art, you know,” he said. “It was not meant to be serious — if I wanted to make a reputation as a fine artist, I would not have done this.
“They’re nothing terribly realistic or fancy or anything like that, but they are whimsical and fun.”
He had no defined endgame, just hopes that people enjoyed the figures and are prompted to take in their environs more.
For more information about Mackey’s artwork, visit Gordon Mackey Art on Facebook.
