The Colwood community, and visitors, seem to care for the wooden critters living at the Esquimalt Lagoon.
Each time the driftwood displays, sculptures of birds, fish and more are damaged or stolen, they come through to help the artists recoup, recover and rebuild.
The latest round B次元官网网址� a kingfisher and grey squirrel discovered missing on Oct. 17 B次元官网网址� has creator Paul Lewis dismayed, and searching for alternative options in tracking the artworks.
A barred owl was also rudely toppled.
The bulk of his sculptures are birds, because the lagoon falls in the Victoria Migratory Bird Sanctuary, but heB次元官网网址檚 branched out in recent years to include fish, bears, cougars and sasquatch. LewisB次元官网网址檚 work can also be seen near Juan de Fuca Recreation Centre, where he donated more than a dozen pieces that adorn the 1.5-kilometre trail loop. There they live in the trees and are rarely targeted.
The creative work he does for free on public land is among the reasons Lewis was named the 2021 Arts Advocate of the Year in the Goldstream GazetteB次元官网网址檚 West Shore Local Hero Awards.
But this latest round of beach-side theft and vandalism is far from a first for Lewis. A similar owl was knocked down in spring 2023 when another pair of his works were stolen.
This time, heB次元官网网址檚 had enough, crowd-sourced information on airtags.
B次元官网网址淚 got a flood of information,B次元官网网址� Lewis said. Including a message from an old school friend who had an extra kicking around, and a supporter who plans to order different tracking devices for him.
He plans to hide the devices in sculptures B次元官网网址� something heB次元官网网址檚 adept at, having hidden a vial of his sons ashes in another work about town.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檒l be accessible to me, but for anybody else youB次元官网网址檇 have to rip them apart,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 easy enough to do,B次元官网网址�
Replacement sculptures are already in progress, with Mother Nature already providing the bulk of the supplies, and the hardware store the rest.
B次元官网网址淚 havenB次元官网网址檛 really decided yet. The pieces (of driftwood) talk to me as IB次元官网网址檓 doing it,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檒l continue to make new ones, thereB次元官网网址檚 more wood that floats up on the beach every day. TheyB次元官网网址檙e not going to win; thereB次元官网网址檚 more wood than thieves.B次元官网网址�
He plans to craft a hummingbird B次元官网网址� or maybe a blue jay (not Stellar), but feels it might be too high profile, and targeted for theft.
If it is, itB次元官网网址檒l likely be tracked.
Lewis has no problem letting potential thieves know that. He plans to return signage to the displays, noting that theyB次元官网网址檙e equipped with a tracking device, as one more deterrent.
The theft and vandalism were reported to West Shore RCMP (file No. WS-20319).
