After first discovering the installation work of Caitlind Brown and Wayne Garrett we were thrilled to learn of the artist’s recent endeavor SOLAR FLARE.
Architectural drafts of SOLAR FLARE by Ivan Ostapenko. The aluminum core of the structure provides a rigid support for 146 5-foot acrylic tubes which function as homemade fiber optics – the rays of the sun.
Patrick Southgate, a friend and welder, working on the aluminum core of SOLAR FLARE.
The partially assembled core of SOLAR FLARE, pictured with Chica, the resident cat at Coyote Works fabrication studio in Cochrane, Canada. Finding a space equipped and willing to create metal works can be difficult for artists, but when you find the right one, it’s even more sweet if there’s a shop cat.
Lighting tests. SOLAR FLARE blundered through several different light technologies (including animated LEDs) before settling on an extremely analog lighting: one solitary metal halide light bulb, set into the middle of the core.
Wayne Garrett fitting rays into the sun.
Installing SOLAR FLARE onsite in Downtown Calgary. During installation, temperatures fluctuated between -5 and -15 degrees Celsius (23 and 5 degrees Fahrenheit).
Setting the sun into the sky, assisted by friends and fellow Calgary artists Lane Shordee, Andrew Frosst, and Ivan Ostapenko.
SOLAR FLARE, glimmering through the snow in December 2013.
Featured Image: SOLAR FLARE photo by Tom Fitz
All images and video © of the artist