Skip to content
  1. Home
  2. Local Arts

This Port Coquitlam park will soon have whimsical eco-sculptures

Nickie Lewis, Port Coquitlam's summer artist-in-residence, is creating similar eco-installations as in Robert Burnaby Park in Burnaby.
Janis Cleugh

An artist known for her twigs and twine sculptures at Robert Burnaby Park in Burnaby is now designing large-scale eco-installations at Port Coquitlam’s Lions Park.

And Nickie Lewis, who started last month as the city’s summer artist-in-residence, wants the community to help her shape the organic pieces.

For her PoCo series called Mix and Match Creatures, Lewis will use natural materials found in the Lions Way park for her designs to help educate the public about the human impact on Mother Earth.

The completed pieces will be unveiled on Aug. 24.

“Our artist-in-residence program plays a vital role in creating a vibrant community,” said Mayor Brad West in a news release.

“This is a creative opportunity to experience a unique way of engaging residents and visitors in the arts at Lions Park. I look forward to seeing what Nickie Lewis will create during her residency and I encourage all families to participate in the workshops.”

The co-owner of The Wizards Makery, Lewis weaved a giant dragon, a sleeping fairy, a non-binary unicorn, a forest guardian, a 25-foot troll and Ewoks, among other fictional and mythological figures, at Robert Burnaby Park during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Currently, she is based at the Lions Park field house until September.

On Thursday, May 16, she’ll give a talk about the project at the city’s Cultural Roundtable.

For her workshops, participants will be supplied materials; save a spot by signing up via the city’s registration hotline at 604-927-PLAY or the website.

Workshop dates

  • Creature Ideas (2- to 5-years-old)
    • April 19
      • 11 a.m. to noon
      • #94765
    • April 20
      • 11 a.m. to noon
      • #94766
         
  • Collecting Materials & Building (12 years and older)
    • May 9
      • noon to 2 p.m.
      • #94767
    • May 10
      • noon to 2 p.m. 
      • #94768
         
  • Creating Creature Frames (10 years and older)
    • May 23
      • 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
      • #94769
    • June 3
      • noon to 2:30 p.m.
      • #94770
         
  • Creature Part Fill-in (12 years and older)
    • June 8
      • 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
      • #94771
    • July 4
      • 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
      • #94772
         
  • Final Creature Additions (all ages)
    • July 20
      • 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
      • #94773