When we went to Osoyoos, BC a week or so ago, we were lucky enough to stay at the
Spirit Ridge Vineyard Resort and Spa, adjacent to the golf course that DD and SIL manage.
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| The back view of Spirit Ridge, taken from the golf course |
Spirit Ridge, and a lot of the resort town of Osoyoos, is built on land leased from the local Indian Bands and the band is represented on the Board of Governors of the resort. The First Nations influence is very much evident there in the decor, colors and style of Spirit Ridge. The result is beautiful, and relaxing, and speaks to the beauty of the native culture. One thing in particular I noticed was the metal sculptures, not only at Spirit Ridge, but also at the school our grandchildren go to and the community health center.
These pictures were taken on a rainy, overcast day. I didn't Photo Shop them so the grey background color is the color of the overcast sky. I think it provides a better contrast than a bright blue sky would have.
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The sculpture at the entrance of the Nk'Mip (pronounced In-ka-meep) Desert Cultural Centre at Spirit Ridge.
Osoyoos is technically part of the Sonora desert. |
In all of these sculptures, what appears to be white painted on the black metal is actually cut out designs. What you are seeing is the sky through the cut outs in the sculptures.
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| This large structure is in the center of the resort. |
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| A native drummer on one of the buildings |
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| This is one the sculptures on top of the resort shown in the first picture |
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This one is facing the previous one, also on top of the resort in the first picture.
I like the way the mountain and trees are visible through the mist. |
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| This is one of a series on the Community Health Center |
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| This one is either on the Health Center or the School |
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| He's on the school. The white lines on his body are cuts in the metal |
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| This one, I think, is leading the procession on the school roof. |
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| Another one on the school roof. |
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| I think this one is on the school too. |
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This one is in front of the Health Center. I don't know if it is the work of the same artist or not.
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That's just some of the First Nations art work around the valley. Mary told me the name of the artist is Smoky. I searched the internet for information on him/her, but couldn't find anything. That doesn't stop me from enjoying his/her creations though. Hope you liked them too.
3 comments:
Wow, take out the cloudy/dense sky - and your art could be in Arizona. I can just picture it in our some of our foothill towns! Interesting how similar B.C. can be to whatever 'we' call home. Thanks for photographing each of the art/statues. Most interesting!
You know I never ever thought about the Indian culture being up that north - but of course it was. Very interesting.
pretty spectacular aren't they?
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