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Thursday, September 23, 2010

Decorative painting closeups

There is a band of lacey filligree panels across the bottom of the arch spanning the street. In this picture the horizontal base is not yet painted, but if you see the Arch today, it being painted as beautifully as the other segments.




Phoenix, symbol of rebirth, fertility, the female.



The artisans painting the Arch must be finished by Friday, as they fly home to Beijing on Saturday. Next week, the last of the scaffolding will come down.

There is still a lot of prep work to do before the opening. There are the new-style Chinatown street lights, floodlights, uncrating the lions, etc.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Lions fighting




detail of the panel with two lights fighting (or playing ...) over a golden ball. Double click to enlarge.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

The roof, up close

The Ottawa Chinatown Royal Arch is a royal arch because it has nine roofs, symbolizing eternal life and eternal reign of the emperor. The roofs are made of glazed roof tiles, as are the many figurative elements. These will not be visible in any detail from the ground, except with a telephoto lens.

It is now one month to official unveiling of the Arch, the long building process is drawing towards its culmination.




dragon motifs along the roof peak





the detailed story lines are intriguing, complex like the medieval cathedral stuatuary in Europe


The tiles are cemented together with red mortar. Double click to enlarge any picture to see more detail.




With a human in the picture, the scale of the pieces becomes more apparent




End of a "wooden" beam is capped with a glazed figure




Silhouetted against the sky, figures journey forever