The McMillan Arts Centre (MAC) in Parksville is currently home to a unique piece by artist Robert Held.
Held’s glass waterfall, which contains more than 500 drops, was not inspired by any specific waterfall, but out of a desire to raise awareness about the plight of Shelly Creek — Parksville’s last salmon-bearing creek.
“The rest of it is gonna be overdone with houses and buildings and stuff soon,” he said. “So, this is a cool thing to do to try to save the little cutthroat guys.”
Held said since he moved to Parksville a decade ago, he has witnessed many large construction projects go up near the creek.
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Creating the drops took five days of work by Held and two assistants, in addition to many more days on other aspects of the project. They experimented with glass drops of different shapes and sizes. The final product is a result of letting gravity do the work, Held said.
“Each one is gathered on a rod,” he said. “Hot and then we wiggle it around until it’s just the right temperature and then we just hold it up and let it fall.”
Held said he likes to get involved with projects that allow him to give back to his community.
He added he hopes to recoup some of the project’s cost through sales of the individual drops, both at his gallery (708 Island Highway E) and at the MAC (133 McMillan St.) throughout the year.