SNOWDOWN Time-Capsule

SNOWDOWN Time-Capsule: a collection of artworks packed in snow, emerging at a melting pace

March 2022 // Theme by Maggie Schaefer

Guest blog post by Maggie Schaefer
Saturday, June 29th 2024

Artists in order of appearance or in this case emergence from the snow:

Wayne Garrett
Nick Johnson
Lisa Brawn
Audrey Lane Cockett
Autumn Whiteway (Stories of Ecology)
Caitlind r.c Brown
Maggie Schaefer
Jennifer Ireland
Carla Coma
Erin Green
Nicole Wolf
Daniel Schaefer
Jessica Semenoff
Ryan Statz
Ben Jacques
Michelle Ku
Jack Bride
Gary McMillan
Tom Brown
Chad Veinot
Rebecca Reid
Sarah Slaughter

Curated by Maggie Schaefer
Program Illustration by Heather Reinhardt

On January 3rd, 2022, in the midst of the Covid 19 pandemic, Caitlind r.c Brown and Wayne Garrett asked me if I was still interested in creating a theme for The Hibernation Project. My response,

“I’ve been struggling with a theme because I’m not sure if social distancing will be an issue.”

I paused for a minute to think. I remembered seeing photos of wild snow creations in Mount Royal, Montreal last winter, a former Alberta College of Art and Design classmate posted on his Instagram stories after he snuck out after Covid-19 curfew hours to take,

“Has there ever been a snow sculpture extravaganza?” I asked.

“Omg we have not, but I love that!!!! The only wild card is whether or not there’s enough snow….. But it would be super fun!” Caitlind responded, her enthusiasm gave me a jolt of adrenaline.

_{Instagram stories by Caitlind (above)}

Our discussion went on for an hour, figuring out event logistics and other sources of inspiration. During our back and forth texting I found and shared with Caitlind an article published by the Globe & Mail about snow sculptures that popped up in Parc La Fontaine, Montreal, following a snowstorm on January 16th, 2021. Images within the article showing the phenomenal explosion of creativity the snowstorm had inspired were the closest example I could find to explain to Caitlind the types of snow sculptures I had seen on my former classmates’ Instagram. We also discussed snow sculptures artist Gary McMillan created in his front yard, in Calgary, seen posted on his Facebook. I decided to create a theme called SNOWDOWN: a gathering place for snow sculptures, set to take place in Caitlind and Wayne’s yard, at their home in Ramsey, a community in Calgary. By late January I knew I wanted to invite local artists I knew in Calgary, and a few who had moved to Vancouver and Toronto, to submit artworks I could put in glass jars and bury in the snow to be revealed as the snow melted. Luckily Wayne had a sizable collection of glass jars that Caitlind offered to donate. I called the mini-exhibition SNOWDOWN Time-capsule. I reached out to local artists I knew in Calgary, and a few who had moved to Vancouver and Toronto, to submit artworks. A call for submissions was also made on both The Hibernation Project’s and my Instagram stories to encourage submissions by our followers.

_{Instagram stories, including a sneak-peek of artist submissions}

January 28th my husband Daniel Schaefer and I headed to Caitlind and Wayne’s to work on our projects. While Daniel worked on his snow racer for Slippery-er Slope, a theme by Mike Tan,

_{Daniel working on his snow racer}

I worked on the shelves, with assistance from Wayne and materials from their garage, to place the artists’ time-capsule submissions on. We settled on scraps of wood and some old pallets from the garage to build the shelves with. At a later date I painted the interior of the shelves fluorescent orange and the exterior white. You can see Wayne working away on the shelves in this next picture taken from a video on The Hibernation Project’s Instagram story. I’m taking a break to explain to the audience what we are working on and to ask for artwork submissions as Caitlind films and ask questions.

_{A still from a video taken and posted by Caitlind on The Hibernation Project’s Instagram stories showing Wayne working on the shelves while Maggie is asked questions}

Patiently I waited for a snowfall as it was needed for my SNOWDOWN theme to happen and to bury the shelves. A new theme by Caitlind and Wayne called BEACONS: light sculptures and illuminated experiments for winter darkness was due to occur February 12-13th, so earlier in the week I transformed the large old evergreen in their backyard into a glowing beacon to attract snow.

_{The lights hung at the same height, illuminating the trunk of the old evergreen. Photo by Caitlind R.C Brown}

_{The tall old evergreen and Rebecca Reid placing her time-capsule submission on the shelf. Photo by Caitlind R.C Brown}

I called my beacon Waiting for Snow. Rebecca Reid attended Beacons Sunday, February 13th, and quietly placed her time-capsule artwork submission on a shelf.

_{Rebecca’s artwork submission quietly waiting on the shelf waiting to be buried. Photo by Caitlind R.C Brown}

My beacon worked, a few days after it was lit for the Beacons exhibition it finally snowed enough to bury the jars. On February 20th, Daniel Schaefer and I placed the jars onto the 5 shelves then packed snow tightly around them. Pleased with ourselves I took one photo thinking it would take weeks to melt and that I could come back from time to time to document the jars slowly emerging. I was wrong, the next day Caitlind informed me it had completely melted.

Again, I waited patiently for snow. We kept our eyes on the weather reports. Finally a large snowfall was due to arrive Friday, March 4th evening. Caitlind and I immediately put the message out on our Instagram pages, this time inviting the audience to come make snow sculptures at SNOWDOWN. At the event I buried the shelves for the final time with Daniel. Caitlind kindly accepted my request to take pictures of the melting time-capsule shelves everyday until all the jars were revealed. For the next 10 days she took the following photos.

Day 1: March 5th

Caitlind’s first photo to document the melting.

_{The shelves in the glow of Waiting for Snow}

Day 2: March 6th

Not much progress in the melting department.

_{Snowpacking holding strong on a sunny day}

Day 6: March 8th

Wayne Garrett’s jar is the first to emerge!

_{A little melting on the 3rd shelf}

_{Wayne Garrett’s artwork begins to emerge from the snow}

The full reveal of Wayne’s Jar.

_{Wayne Garrett’s Photoshop Phantasea series digital collage featuring Daniel, Maggie, and their cats Zoey and Honey in a phantastic setting Photo by Maggie Schaefer}

Day 7: March 11th

Some melting is starting to make an impact on the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th shelves. Things are getting interesting!

_{From left to right, Nick Johnson and Lisa Brawn’s jars emerge on the second shelf. Audrey Lane Cockett & Autumn Whiteway’s jar and Caitlind r.c Brown’s jar emerge on the third shelf. Maggie Schaefer’s Jar emerges on the fifth shelf}