More driftwood art has been vandalized at Esquimalt Lagoon in Colwood.
Paul Lewis, driftwood artist extraordinaire, was at the Lagoon at 6 a.m. last Wednesday cleaning garbage off the beach when he noticed his swan had been defiled again, but this time it had been taken apart completely. Lewis wasn’t able to recover the swan’s head or one of its legs.
Lewis said vandalism of his artwork has happened a handful of times since the first incident at the end of June. In the last month the heads and necks of the swan and blue heron were snapped off and the heads had been taken off his geese.
Lewis has been down to the Lagoon everyday this summer to see if his sculptures need paint touch ups.
“I gotta check on my babies,” he laughed.
He is planning to make another swan in the next few days.
He said he hopes someone will own up to the vandalism, but is not too worried about it.
Throughout the summer, Lewis has been creating driftwood art for his friends and said it has brought new ideas and opportunities to the forefront.
“This has been the best summer of my life, I tell you,” he said.
Lewis submitted an application for the Nature of Island Artists Art Show, an art show that features artists who live on the Island or the surrounding Gulf Islands, and create pieces based on inspiration from the environment. In the past, the art show has showcased work from Robert Bateman and Morgan Warren.
Lewis came up with the idea of creating two eagles and fish for the art show using intricate root-system driftwood he has gathered from beaches all the way to Comox.
The art show will take place in September at Goldstream Nature Park.
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