This pole carving is under refurbishment, was designed by the late Garry Wayne Thurber, artist and teacher. Garry started the project but eventually asked two of his friends, Don Bird and Bill Wisniewski, to help him finish it.
The pole was made from the trunk of a cottonwood tree that was cut down due to old age. It was a project that took many years to complete, and was finally erected in its current location in 2014.
About Garry:
Garry Thurber was born in Candle Lake, SK, lived in Salt Spring Island, BC where he ran a studio gallery and ultimately came to live in Lumsden, SK. Interested in art-making from his early childhood, Thurber’s practice began as a therapeutic act: when he was seventeen years old, he suffered a fall at work and broke his neck, subsequently taking up painting and sculpting to regain fine motor skills and to pass the time during his lengthy recovery. Garry was self-taught and produced a series of imaginative, thoughtful sculptures.
During his time in Lumsden, he was the curator of the Letter Box Gallery & Gifts, an art gallery located in the old Post Office building, which was built in 1931, one of the oldest buildings in Lumsden.
Works from his series, Return to Atlantis (a mythical short story written for his children), are in numerous private collections. His work is represented in the collection at the Mann Art Gallery in Prince Albert, Dunlop Art Gallery in Regina, and in the Regina Public Library.
