It takes time to make time. That’s what it’s felt like working on Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow – like ringing time from stone. Certain aspects of installation happened again and again and again…

… and again…

… each time with a few more of the kinks worked out. Our outdoor hourglass, measuring 2 ft tall and 3 hours in duration, required several gear redesigns before it would work without problems.

This is the nature of doing something that’s never been done before, especially on a modest budget – there is some trial and error. We were lucky for the patience of cSPACE and our project funders, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, for granting us the flexibility to work through this process. We learned so much designing, building, and installing this project.

The Historic Grant Entrance of cSPACE King Edward is divided into 3 spaces: the outer archway, the arctic entrance, and the stairwell. Each space offered different challenges – whether the work was heavy and overhead, the GPS couldn’t read through thick sandstone walls, the wiring was complicated, or the weather became a factor, each space had different considerations that were specific and challenging.

The Historic Grand Entrance of King Edward School is an active egress, necessary to leave accessible in case of emergencies. This added a safety consideration: we would be sharing our work site with the tenants and guests, entering and leaving the building.

cSPACE houses a Montessori school, and children paraded by below the installation, each time with growing curiosity. We were originally concerned the presence of small kids would be challenging (we had nightmares about raining tools on 3-year olds), but their teachers were thoughtful and remarkably accomodating. Instead of a problem, it was a interesting to hear questions from so many little people. Similarly, we met many of cSPACE’s tenants while working on Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow. 

We’d like to thank all cSPACE’s tenants for their patience and kindness. Especially folks from the second floor – Alberta Craft Gallery, Studio C, Natalie Gerber Studios, and Shona Rae Studios in particular. Special shout-out to the Montessori teachers for sharing cSPACE’s entranceway with us.

When it came down to it, installing Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow just took time.  Even after the hourglasses were installed, there was much troubleshooting, diagnosing of programming errors, figuring out, fixing, and tweaking. Like sands through the hourglass, so were the days of our lives…

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