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Ron Baird in Granada

Ron Baird, RCA in Granada, Nicaragua  

In January 2013 the internationally known sculptor, artist, master printmaker, and RCA academician Ron Baird volunteered to conduct a studio in Granada, Nicaragua. This was part of a pilot program to invite Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) academicians to volunteer at the local school of the arts “Tres Mundos.” Ron and his wife Sarah stayed in our house in Granada and made a remarkable connection with several instructors at the school. The original plan was to conduct a printmaking workshop with these instructors to inspire their teaching at the school, but unfortunately before he arrived Ron was not informed that the print shop was closing pending relocation.

As an alternative, Ron decided to conduct a studio in sculpture. There were no funds for materials, so Ron and his instructor/students collected discarded pieces of metal in Granada. They made larger-than-life metal sculptures by hand of local insects such as grasshoppers, rhino beetles and leaf cutter ants, sometimes cutting the metal with machetes! The appeal of these sculptures is in the abstraction of form and the remarkably clever way different types of found pieces of metal have been used in combination with the ingenious folding and assembly of sheet metal.  

Ron and his students also made metal busts of prominent historical figures in Nicaragua. At the end of the workshop, there was a one-night exhibition and sale of these sculptures at the Casa San Francisco Hotel, and all were quickly sold! Even though I was in Montreal at the time, I was very fortunate to have been able to purchase the rhino beetle, the grasshopper, and several of the leaf cutter ants for our house in Granada. The beetle and grasshopper perch in our courtyard facing the wide front entrance doors that are usually open to public view. I like to think of these insects as our full-time Cuidadors or caretakers, frightening away ladróns. If you would like to see some photos of our house with the sculptures, here is a link:  

http://robertmellinarchitect.ca/gn.html  

Saludos a todos,

Robert Mellin, RCA, FRAIC, Architect Associate Professor (Post-retirement) McGill University

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