Turks and Caicos Fountain
Video below
In June of 2005, I got an email from Maeve in Grand Turk in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Carnival cruise line was building a new cruise terminal on the island and the government was looking to beautify certain parts of the island for the influx of tourists to enjoy. So it turned out that Maeve was writing as an unofficial scout on behalf of the government of the Islands regarding a public art project. She liked my website and wanted more information about my fountains. She referred me to a landscaper on the island named Murray who was to oversee the project. They asked for designs that could incorporate elements from the nation’s coat of arms. They especially liked the photos of Richie Muessig’s fountain. I found the coat of arms online and began to think of ways to bring all the elements together. Emails went back and forth. I asked my daughter, Brandy, to work up a sketch. She had worked up several 3D sketches for me before, by hand. This time she decided to do the sketch digitally.
My daughter Brandy’s digital sketch for my proposal to the Turks and Caicos government
In December, I got a phone call telling me that the fountain was a go. I was surprised! It turns out they were serious. With construction of the new Carnival cruise terminal well under way, the money was in the budget for the fountain! For the consultation, they agreed to pay my way: flight and accommodations included.
Following are photos of Grand Turk and the Millennium Clock Tower Park where the fountain will be installed. I took these on my first trip there.
Following are the photos from my second trip to Gran Turk to install the fountain. It was built in my studio when I was located in Tampa and then shipped by container. Murray, the landscaper, decided it was best to keep the fountain simple and to provide flat areas and optional planters so the elements of the coat of arms could be incorporated into the fountain on a temporary basis as desired, rather than be permanently cemented in place as per my proposal and the digital sketch. I built the pool the fountain sits in on location with the help of Murray, and two other local men: Jackson, and DeLaMar. Maeve is the bathing beauty. She came from the beach immediately after the fountain was filled up and running for the first time and surprised us all by just jumping in.
The next photo shows the hard working team who helped me to build the pool and assemble the fountain on site. From left to right you see Jackson, De La Mar, me, and Murray. Thanks so much to my coworkers and all the government officials, especially Bryan from the Tourism Department, all of whom helped make my first public art piece a success!
Below is a photo sent to me by a friend who took a cruise to Grand Turk
