Bought and finished in 2020, the Lighthouse is a fully converted 30ft shuttle bus. With an odometer of over 850,000km, the well-worn vehicle had to be stripped, repaired, and rebuilt while maintaining it’s street-legal status.

Well over 1000 hours were spent on the creation of this project between the builders, Lauren Pearl Eberwein and Coz Sangfroid. Tasks included demolition, carpentry, welding, electrical, insulation/weatherproofing, planning as well as the installation of a PV system relying on 6 solar panels.

The construction of this vehicle aimed to be as eco-friendly as possible, while working with severe limitations to both space and time. The vast majority of the interior was made with reclaimed materials, and the insulation is made of natural wool.

Inside, the bus is furnished with a full living quarter, including sink, toilet cubicle,a bed, fridge/freezer, benches, and ample counter space to be used for varying tasks. The bus’s electrical system is a 12V DC, that can accept any number of USB devices, as well as a pure sine wave inverter that can power all other AC devices. This was all powered by the 600W of solar panels installed on the roof, with an optional 110V connection to shore power.

This bus survived over 2 winters in British Columbia, and still roams the streets and nature. Additional care had to be taken to make sure the bus was insulated and completely weatherproof for the adversities of Canadian winters.

Named after a piece of a very unusual-looking slag Coz recovered during their time spent studying welding at Vancouver Island University, the Dragsonsbreath Wood Stove is a showcase of the knowledge gained during the program.

The piece features a main body made from an 8” pressure vessel endcap with a very thick wall to make it perfect for a stove. A door, custom hinges, chimney, heating pad, legs, baffle, and a removable tray were all added during the creation of this project.

The stove was a culminating project, and as such used aspects from all areas of the program. It began as a design on AutoCAD, then turned to Oxy-Acetylene/Plasma/Gouging to cut the materials. Custom hinges for the door were milled, and assembled. The legs were cut and shaped with saws and grinders and were fitted with self-levelling nuts to be able to make sure that the wood inside the stove burned properly. The legs and chimney had to be properly coped and placed on the main body of the stove, to provide structural support for the legs and ensure that no smoke came out of the side of the chimney. The stove also featured a custom-built operable baffle, as well as a removable tray for the firewood to ensure a better burn. To warm up food or boil water, a tray was added at the top of the stove body, with hooks attached to hang different tools needed for the maintenance of the stove. The stove was finished with a coast of high-temperature resistant paint.

Different parts of the stove were welded with different processes. This was to showcase the different methods learned, including SMAW/GMAW/GTAW/FCAW/MCAW. This resulted in a truly unique, spectacular piece that has provided safe warmth and coziness and is still in use.

Constructed in 2020, the Cowan Tower III is an aerial rig constructed of wood that stands at 21’ in height. The creation portion of this project took a few months, but the rig still stands and is safe for use years later.

The rig features 3 wooden legs at 24’ in length each, with a custom mounting for the “spider” middle piece to slot in and be held in place. The tower features many redundancies to ensure safety for the aerialist and anyone in the vicinity. The triangular nature of the shape provides a perimeter for audiences, and the adhesives, metal/wood fasteners, notches, ropes, slings, and design of the tower make it safe for the performer.

Having studied Welding and Fitting at Vancouver Island University in 2022, as well as working with metal since 2019, I can safely say that metal is my favourite medium to work with. The ability to cut, shape, bend, and configure it to any purpose desired.

Fusing metal together by welding is a beautiful science and art. It not only requires knowledge of each metal involved, but great concentration, and can have beautiful results if done properly. Below are some examples of some projects completed by myself, some functional, some fashion, some both.

Projects Featured:

1- Flower Wood Fire Pit

2-Sculptures made of welding taste/practice plates

3-Weld Metal Pendant, Metal Tempering, Aluminum Storage Box, Brass-braised Tropical Tree Pendant

4-Cast-iron pan repair. Pan-Cast Iron, Gusset- Mild Steel, Handle-Stainless Steel

Working with wood in both artistic and structural applications has proven to be an important life skill. My journey with wood started in 2019, on work with Jackalope Tarna in Toronto, but really took off on Vancouver Island, where I helped build many houses for the locals.

In 2022-2023 I was employed at Tiny Ark, a 2-person operation where me and the owner built custom-designed modular, insulated houses. Not only were these structures visually appealing, their modular nature meant that they could be assembled and disassembled with ease.

Pictures:

1- Goat Mask: Sculpted from a single piece of wood, painted finish/leather strap for mounting

2- Tiny Ark Modular Home (15’ diameter)

3- Tiny Ark Modular Home (25’ in diameter with loft)

It all starts with an idea. Being able to capture the idea and turn it into something alive is a calling for me. I use 3D design as a film to allow the idea to transition into creation. The advances of technology have also made creating complex structures/projects significantly easier to carry out. Whether it’s through AutoCAD, Fusion, Rhino, or Maya, the ability to use and read drawings has proven very useful.

Pictures:

1- Shawnigan Lake Bike Rack Contest- AutoCad

2- Prototype Dragon Staff- AutoCAD

3- Aerial Skull Apparatus- AutoCAD/Rhino/Fusion/Maya

4- Multi-use Performance Booth- AutoCAD

Starting in 2013, I fell in love with the circus, where I discovered corde lisse. A lot of training later would see me perform over Canada and the United States, with an unexpected halt in 2020 when the world shut down. This led me on a vast and exciting journey, and has brought me back to my circus roots, this time behind the scenes working at the Legacy Circus Cabaret in Toronto.

Pictures:

1- Legacy Circus Cabaret- Stage/Curtain set up/Rigging

2- Harvest Festival 2019- Corde Lisse ( Full Video here)

3- Krampus Ball 2019- “Jack Frost” clown/aerial cube act

4- Lunacy Cabaret 2020- Corde Lisse Duo with Zel Tyrant (Full Video Here) (Critical Review)

5- Burning Man 2019- fire acro with New Model Circus Assembly

6- Burning Man 2019- “Emergent Consonance” duo aerial show (corde lisse, chains, aerial straps)

7- New Model Circus Assembly 2019- Double fire-staff

8- Heartbreaker’s Ball 2020- Aerial Heart (Video Here)

Originally built in 2019, Tarna is a large, fire-spewing jackalope mutant vehicle built by a large team of wonderfully-minded, wildly talented human beings. To be part of the team and see the vehicle evolve and improve each year is a huge source of joy for me.

This project is a women-led piece of art, and is where I learned how to work with metal, wood, and plastics. For more information on who Tarna is, check out their Instagram page.

Designed by Zel Tyrant and Chris Polley in 2020, the Beacon Effigy was selected to be built at the 2023 Sideburn Ontario Regional Burning Man event. I was fortunate enough to be a builder and team member for this magnificent structure.

The Effigy stood over 2 storeys tall, was fully climbable and had extensive lighting solutions. As the effigy, it was set alight and burned wonderfully down as projected and what was left was a pile of fasteners and a lot of ash. The team worked diligently to ensure that all possible hazards were removed after the event, adhering to the Leave No Trace standards set by the event. For more info on this project, please visit the Beacon’s Instagram page.