Firestarter & Time Keeper
Sculpture: 12 x 10 x 4’ 2”. Western red cedar, Matrix G, steel cable.
Sun Dial Wheel: 12’ diameter, granite stones. Site: Wanuskewin Heritage Park
Description
The sculptural installation, Fire Starter and Time Keeper, was produced by Saulteaux artist, Mary Longman. The work was initially designed for Roadside Attractions exhibition, which was curated by Dunlop Art Gallery and Sakewewak Artist Collective. Roadside Attractions is a public art project that was held from July 1 -August 31st 2018. across Saskatchewan and involved 20 artists. The works were funded by Canada Council for the Arts through the New Chapters grant. This work debuted at the Wanuskewin Heritage Park in Saskatoon and is now a permanent outdoor sculpture installation.
The concept of Fire Starter and Time Keeper began with an initial theme of fire, as one of the four elements of Indigenous teachings. The central sculpture is pump fire drill, a variation of the ancient bow drill, used by Indigenous people for thousands of years. With just two sticks, a string and a rock with a hole in it, and a fire board, a person can start a fire in any situation when matches or lighters are not available. The horizontal cross bar is slid over the vertical spindle and then the rope is twisted around the spindle. The base of the spindle is placed in the socket of the fire board. As the cross bar is pumped up and down, the spindle spins, creating heated friction in the socket, until eventually hot coals of saw dust fall into the notch cut-out in the fire board. The embers are carefully scraped into a ball of tinder, which can be made of many different materials such as birch bark, pine needles, dried moss or grass and cedar bark. The stone’s addition to the ancient bow drill helps to increase the velocity, to achieve a quicker embers and at the same time balances the pumping action.
The sun dial wheel is also a convenient way of telling time and direction when no clocks or compasses are available. By placing a stick in the ground and placing rocks in the cast shadow of the stick throughout the day, eventually a sun dial will be created that indicates the time of day. When it is summer solstice, at high noon, and the sun is at its highest peak, there will be not shadow. The sun dial can also act as a compass, by marking the eastern morning sun and by marking the north star, also known as Polaris, found in Ursa Minor (small dipper), the last star on the handle of the small dipper. The north star has been the guiding light home for Indigenous people for thousands of years, because it is the only star that does not move in the sky.
The sun dial wheel is also a convenient way of telling time and direction when no clocks or compasses are available. By placing a stick in the ground and placing rocks in the cast shadow of the stick throughout the day, eventually a sun dial will be created that indicates the time of day. When it is summer solstice, at high noon, and the sun is at its highest peak, there will be not shadow. The sun dial can also act as a compass, by marking the eastern morning sun and by marking the north star, also known as Polaris, found in Ursa Minor (small dipper), the last star on the handle of the small dipper. The north star has been the guiding light home for Indigenous people for thousands of years, because it is the only star that does not move in the sky.
Acknowledgements
A special thanks to the Canada Council for the Arts for funding the project, the generous support of Sakewewak Artist Collective and curator Adam Martin, and to Wanuskewin for providing the site for this work. I am very proud to have this work located in such as important historical archeological Indigenous site.
I would also like to thank family members who pitched to help work on the piece, I could not have done this work without them: Darcy Longman and Wilfred Longman assisted with the construction and install of the work for several days and for that I really appreciated it. Thanks to my son, art and nieces and nephews who helped haul the stones for the sun dial wheel. Thanks to PMO Custom wood working for the beautiful lathe work.