Edmund Fitzgerald

Date 2-15-08

50 Year Anniversary -
PLANNED DETROIT LAUNCHED CELEBRATIONS
JUNE 7th, 8th 2008

Northern Michigan artist, Patrick B. Pointer

Northern Michigan artist, Patrick B. Pointer, works on the preliminary sketches for his newest three dimensional relief carving to be unveiled at the 50th Anniversary of the launching of the Edmund Fitzgerald on June 7th and 8th.

"This piece will be entitled "Fare Thee Well," to honor those who had anything to do with the ship, from the building to her final hours and to us today who remember those who have come before us," said Pointer. You will see the "Fitz" passing the Great Lakes Engineering Works, where she was built and launched as Hull #301. The record breaking "Mighty Fitz" was the largest ship on the Great Lakes when she was launched and one of the most well known ships of the past fifty years.

Pointer, an accomplished artist was himself inspired at a young age by artwork throughout our country's museums, from Mystic Seaport in Massachusetts, to the Dossin Great Lakes Museum on Belle Isle in Detroit and the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point, to name just a few. "It is my desire to inspire those of all generations young and old to preserve our heritage and understand our history and where we have come from, lest we forget." His art will draw you into the scene to experience a moment in time for yourself.

"This type of artwork is different from most," Pointer explained. "It is like painting with wood… just as an oil or acrylic painter would paint in their medium yet instead of using brushes, paint, and canvas, I use chisels, knives and solid wood to create an almost photographic image." "Like Thomas Kinkade, I use light as my source to emulate the entire piece, drawing the viewer into an experience for themselves." From start to finish, light is important to these pieces. Pointer uses a glass sliding door to do his preliminary drawings until he achieves the proper sizes and perspectives. Unlike a painting however, these three dimensional carvings completely change from whatever angle you look at them. This piece will be approximately 21 inches by 33 inches, carved out of solid Mahogany and framed to a finished size of 27" by 40 inches. A one of a kind signed by the artist himself.

He will also be unveiling his most recent carving this spring entitled, "The End Of An Era" which depicts the S. S. City of Milwaukee, one of the last Train Ferry's as she is being towed to her final destination in Manistee, Michigan. This piece will be unveiled on the actual S. S. City of Milwaukee.

It is Pointer's hope to unveil two separate carvings of the Edmund Fitzgerald at the 50th Anniversary if time will allow. "I am planning on this being a two piece set," Pointer stated. "Fare Thee Well" will be the first of two, followed by "Farewell." The second piece will be an original carving of the Edmund Fitzgerald on that tragic night in November of 1975. "Not really a beginning and an end or a before and an after, because I believe through what we do to preserve where we have come from, the memory of all that were involved with this ship and others, will live on."

Northern Michigan artist, Patrick B. Pointer

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