b"Gillis Quaries Jayden Doner and Jeffrey Dolovich pose in front of finishedmotif at Marion School. Photos courtesy of Gillis Quarries Limited.designing the mural over to Mackenzieentrance of Marion School, though,such as accommodating the multiple Skoczylas, one of its architects andthe team chose to install the artworkcoursing schedules, avoiding slivers a member of Shoal Lake 40 Firstthrough the process of reverse routing,at the mortar joints and testing slabs Nation. Skoczylas began by consultinga technique through which each piece ofof stone to ensure durability, given with Marion Schools resident elder,the artwork is extended from the wall. the complex geometry and variable Elder Chickadee, to form the initialInstead of routing the design intoresponse to the router bit of any given vision. Through her eyes, childrena piece, we wanted this to look likepiece of stone. are like flowers in that each is uniquesomething that was dreamed up ontoRoma Masonry played a key role and different, Skoczylas says. Also,the wall itself, notes Skoczylas.in piecing the floral motif together. watching them grow through theCo-owner Carmella Bergagnini says her schooling process is a reminder to theWith the design and installation teachers too that theyre there to helpmethodology set, the next step wascompany is proud to be on the project the children develop and flourish intobringing the Tyndall Stone floral motif toteam and to have an opportunity to unique individuals. life. This fell to Gillis Quarries Limited,get their hands on the one-of-a-kind When deciding which flowers would bewhich supplied the Tyndall Stoneinitiative: These days our masons dont featured in the stone mural, Skoczylasfor the installation and provided thealways get the opportunity to install drew inspiration from flowers and plantsin-house technical expertise to translateunique masonry designs and not only is that are indigenous to the Prairies andSkoczylass design into a this floral motif eye catching but is adds representative of the regions Metisthree-dimensional design for depth and character to the wall. Itheritage. Reflecting on the uniqueCNC programming.is stunning.artistic initiative, Skoczylas says she isGilliss draftsperson, Jayden Doner,Indeed, assembling the pieces to match honoured to have contributed to a piececoordinated with Graham Bergeron, thethe walls existing coursing was no small of art that evokes Indigenous culturecompanys drafting manager, to conducttask. To help Roma Masonry, the teams in the school: Back in the day, thatthe computer modelling and CNCstone mason contractor, Gillis numbered heritage was just swept under the rug.programming. This resulted in creatingevery piece and assigned each to a You werent able to see pieces of art120 numbered pieces that had to be cutspecific location.that represented your people and yourand assembled perfectly to achieve theWe are very proud of Jayden's brilliant culture, she says. So, artwork like this is really important, especially in schoolsstand-out look. execution and, as always, so impressed with large Indigenous populations ofWhile visiting the site to view thewith the expertise and artisanship of children. They resonate with the childrenfinished result for the first time, I wasRoma Masonry, a longtime stalwart of and express who they are in a spacefascinated as Jayden explained allthe educational sector, says Dolovich. made for them. the nuances, considerations andAfter visiting the site in person, I have PIECE BY PIECE modifications that went into the 120to say, some days just seem to stand out The floral motif was a captivating visionpieces, recalls Dolovich. There were afrom the rest, he adds. With gratitude, on paper. To make it pop at the frontlot of details that had to be considered,this was one of them.Issue 3 | Fall Edition | 2024 BUILD MANITOBA 39"