THUNDER BAY – While some people might have had enough of the seemingly endless barrage of snow this winter, Dave Nicholson sees an opportunity.
Nicholson, a Current River resident, has taken to creating large-scale works of art in the neighbourhood's snow-covered open spaces over the last few years.
Using a pair of snowshoes, Nicholson will trudge through the snow and make a pattern out of his path. Most recently, he has made a labyrinth in the field of a baseball diamond at the corner of Cumberland Street North and Grenville Avenue.
“I’ve always been fascinated by geometric designs and line work,” Nicholson said. “When I’ve decided on a design that works in a space that we have here, it’s a neat way to work through it. It’s looking at different lines and different creations.”
“In this particular case, it’s not so much a field of dreams like a baseball diamond. It’s a field of meditation.”
Nicholson’s previous designs include an intricate spider web and an unravelling ball of yarn.
This year was his second try at a labyrinth and took him about two hours.
“This year, since we’ve had so much extra snow, it’s a little slower rather than being on hard-packed (snow),” Nicholson said.
The designs have caught the attention of some of the residents of the multi-storey buildings on Adelaide Street who have a bird's-eye view of the field.
Shirley and Gus Lamontagne, whose seventh-floor balcony overlooks the field, have become accustomed to seeing Nicholson’s art, though they were quite surprised the first year when a design seemingly just appeared.
“We figured the Martians had been here,” he said.
Last year the couple saw Nicholson at work and went and talked to him.
“I think it’s very interesting. People are interested in seeing what he’s done and he does something different every year, which is amazing and for him to be able to do it on such a large scale,” she said.
“How can you put that in your mind to do something like that and have it come out so perfect?”
Nicholson, who used to do snow carvings, appreciates that people have enjoyed his work and said it’s just a way for him to get outside and contribute some positive images.
“This was a way to get some exercise, be creative, get away from the computer and work on a design,” Nicholson said.
“Some people say, ‘Yeah but it disappears and it’s gone the next snowfall.’ For me, that’s an opportunity to create a new piece of work on a new canvas when the snowfall comes.”
