Friday, January 18, 2008

Build me a Submarine....

Hey, I make armour, not submarines. Okay, this one is a copper weather vane.
Still...no deal. It will be a pain. Well, its for Bill xxxxx. The submarine captain? Yeah, the one who has been fighting to get subs in the Canadian Navy for, like for ever.
So Alison, Bill's wife managed to convince me to step outside my comfort zone and build a copper submarine weather vane for her famous husband on the occassion of his retirement.
The sub has been documented on these pages before, but these pictures show the presentation to the client. Its rare that I get a chance to document it this far!
Here Shayne, Bill's brother is assisting me to level the blessed thing out. You see a lot of Shane from the back since he is always the one out in front doing stuff!


Wheeling it in the first time. The stunned looks on the faces all around tell the story. Not quite sure "what" story, but a story nonetheless.


The navy guys are exchanging jokes, I am admiring my work, and Shayne is catching a few zzzzzzzs. This was during the stage of the retirement party where people told stories about the life of the retiree. I think Shayne has heard them all before.


This is Alison, my client. She is neatly blocking the view of her famous husband. Observe the shadow box which is given to all retiring sub captains...the flag/pirate flag.

This whole proceedure was held during a luncheon at the Naval Officer's Mess in Ottawa, and I felt quite priveleged to be in the company of so many people we as a nation have put our trust in. If the camera were to be turned around, you would see 2 vice admirals, an admiral, 4 naval captains (colonels) including the only female naval captain in the Canadian Military, dozens of the well wishers one accumulates over 35 years of service, and of course me...

Good luck on your retirement Bill.

1 comment:

Jennifer said...

It's absolutely beautiful! If they were stunned it's because of the astounding quality and workmanship, I am sure.

You should do more weather vanes! Maybe I can convince you to do some more metal sculpture? :)