By Steve Fitzsimmons /
For St. Jacobs, Ont. sculptor Timothy Schmalz, the Memorial Cup being held in Kitchener this past May presented a perfect opportunity. He designed a nine-foot high hockey monument, which he debuted at the event to the amazement of thousands of visitors. As well, all participating players in the event received a miniature version of the unique hockey themed sculpture as a keepsake.
The sculptor is well known in the Kitchener-Waterloo area, primarily for his creation of a beautiful 20-foot Canadian Veterans Memorial in Waterloo, Ont. – an ongoing tribute to the Canadian military.
Schmalz, who has watched only a handful of hockey games in his life, has undertaken the mission of building a national hockey monument.
His vision involves using his nine-foot hockey monument model to develop the envisioned 40-foot piece, and then ultimately installing the sculpture on a full NHL-sized hockey rink designed from white marble.
`wAround the monument on the ground – or ‘ice’ – will be granite pucks etched with the names of great hockey players and advocates, past and present. The monument will also include 10 to 12 bronze figures installed on the rink, entitled, “Grace on Ice,” which will depict scenes of great moments in Canadian hockey history. The location of the masterpiece is yet to be determined.
“Before, when we had the Montreal Forum and Maple Leaf Gardens, we felt these shrines would last forever. But times change. I want to create a physical tribute out of bronze and granite and marble that will exist for 1,000 years.”
For Schmalz, this idea has been percolating for some time, and is now gaining support. “The genesis of this idea came around two years ago...I was in Ottawa talking to the historians of the war museum, and I wanted to go see the national hockey monument and I couldn’t find it. To my surprise, I couldn’t find any national hockey sculpture at all.” adds Schmalz.
“What I saw – based on what I didn’t see – was an absolutely huge gap in artwork and monuments reflecting hockey. For a person that has spent his life creating sculptural works reflecting our heritage, I jumped to the challenge and started working on a design. The idea was to create a sculpture that would encompass the totality of the Canadian hockey experience.
There are a lot of monuments of Wayne Gretzky, of individual hockey teams, etc. – but nothing that shows the history of hockey and its vast scope. I was also inspired by the belief that if Canadians are given the opportunity to become aware of their culture in an art form such as sculpture – which is a very auspicious, stately form of artwork – it will instill great pride in our nation’s people.”
Visit hockeymonument.com for more information. |