Emperor’s Sunrise Goes to the Olympics – July/Aug 2008

Here’s a preview of my jade piece, Emperor’s Sunrise, having just been installed at the BC/Canada Olympics Pavilion on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The stunning cedar works are only a small part of what is showcased inside. It was all fabricated here in Vancouver and shipped over there to be put together like a bunch of Leg-O’s.

The stone for The Emperor’s Sunrise was found at a quarry in northern British Columbia in 2001. Gemstone quality throughout, it was too large to handle at the quarry and so was sawed in half. One half was sold to a Thai monastery where it is presently being carved into a Buddha. An art collector in Vancouver commissioned me to carve the other half into an artwork. Sometime during the carving process, the Canadian Olympic Committee became interested in it. Since the 2010 Olympics will be in Vancouver, our Olympic Committee thought the piece would complement the Canadian pavilion in Beijing for the 2008 Olympics. I managed to broker a loan of the piece between my patron and the Olympic Committee and the work was shipped to Beijing in March. On May 22, there was a grand opening of the pavilion, with many Canadian and Chinese dignitaries in attendance and I was taken there to be present at the ceremonies. The Emperor’s Sunrise is now on exhibit in Beijing, receiving broad acclaim, until October.