Drawing instruments, sun, and moon in recycled toolbox tray

Artist: Sheryl Boyle

This piece began with a trip to a local blacksmith, Whitewater Forge, in Beachburg, Ontario, where the artisan was busy melting waste metal to create new works. The powerful cycle of heat was visible in the colours: black, red, yellow, and white. The blacksmith formed an iron spiral into a circle encapsulating the sun-like heat. The spiral sun was then complemented with a brass moon reclaimed from a kitchen faucet — a representation of the night-to-day cycle that powers our planet. At the centre of this composition is Associate Professor Sheryl Boyle’s architectural drafting compass from high school, establishing architecture’s role in creating spaces through drawing within the larger cycle of light and dark. The composition is carefully installed, with screws and brass clips, into a toolbox tray picked up from garbage in Luskville, Quebec. This tile is a commentary on cycles and their role in architecture, not just the cycle of night-to-day but also promoting material and waste recycling. The materials for this tile were collected over 13 years.