Looking over the Squamish Skate Park, a teen boy sums up his thoughts about the bright new watermelon paint job on the park's bowl.
"It is awesome," he says, noting he lives in the neighbourhood. "Really cool."
He is riding his bike this day, but skateboards, too, he says.
Alex J. Fowkes is the artist who shepherded the project, and the 11 youths at the camp, through the blistering hot days of mid-July.
Fowkes said a watermelon theme is not new to skate bowls—it is bright, summery and associated with the fun of childhood, and it also has practical characteristics.
"The main part of it was creating something that had a cohesive feel, but also was engaging and fun for the kids to do. But ultimately, for me, it was something that we could achieve in four days," he said.
"So, in terms of mural execution, the design is very simple, really. But I knew it would have a lot of impact."
Indeed, the bright pink, combined with the colourful greens of the fruit’s rind, stands out from several metres away, and from above.
Fowkes said the hope is that the bowl’s artwork will be changed and added to over time.
"The idea is that it doesn't have to last forever. The idea is that someone's going to come along and spray paint it, someone's going to add to it, someone's going to evolve it, someone's going to change it—that's inevitable," he said. "It's not meant to be perfect forever. And that's kind of a cool lesson for the kids as well: you make something, and it's about the making of it, not just always the final piece, because it will get marked up, it will get changed. People are going to scratch it up, mark it up; it's going to evolve. I'm hoping that people collaborate with it."
For Fowkes, the park bowl wasn't just a canvas; he has skateboarded for about 22 years.
Engaging youth
While Fowkes determined the watermelon theme, the youth were engaged with every step of the execution of making it come to life, he said, noting they went through 35 gallons of paint, which they got for a deep discount from Cloverdale Paint.
"A lot of the kids said the stencil part was their favourite because they added all the seeds on—they got to stencil those themselves—and then they got to view the final product."
Fowkes praised the youth's enthusiasm, even in the up to 33 C heat.
"They were just super helpful in every aspect, so, that just makes it all worthwhile. They're so excited. They had all the energy all day," he said.
A few of the kids even skated on the finished product.
Fowkes said he is looking forward to the new paint job being centre stage at the upcoming Beef Under the Chief competition, which is part of the Bowl Series, on Aug. 10
’Gobsmacked’
Clea Young, executive director of Squamish Arts, said that this being her first year in her role, she was "gobsmacked" by the program and its results.
"I just love to see this continue in other parts of the skate park because I think it really transformed it. And I do love this relationship with Youth Services. I think it's really great," she said.
Sea to Sky Community Services executive director Jaye Russell said that the project not only engages the youth, but also the wider community.
"It gets the curiosity brewing through the rest of the community, like, "What's going on there? What's happening,'" she said, adding it also sparks the interest of other area youth who may then be interested in joining in the action at the youth centre and participating in some of the activities and programs offered by Foundry Sea to Sky.
She noted that this camp didn't require the youth to have any experience in art or skating.
"It was very inclusive that way," she said.
She encourages any young people to stop by the Youth Hub, at 38648 Buckley Avenue, to see what may spark their interest.
It is open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 3 to 7 p.m. for drop-in for any youth in the community from 12 to 24 years of age.
"We have a dinner club. We have skateboarding programs for girls. They go hiking, have ice cream parties, movie nights, and do gardening projects," Russell said.
On Wednesdays, there are drop-in youth counselling services, as well.
Find out more on the Squamish Youth Services website.
Find out about Squamish Arts programs on their site.
Note: the teen quoted at the story's start was not with a parent at the time of the interview, so The Squamish Chief chose not to name him.
