Local Artist Creates the Heart(h) for Camp Glenorchy

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Local Artist Creates the Heart(h) for Camp Glenorchy

Dan Kelly and John Golden at work building the Scheelite Shelter and Cookhouse at Camp Glenorchy.

GLENORCHY, NEW ZEALAND, 30 JANUARY 2017 -- A Glenorchy artist with the mountains in his blood and creativity in his heart, is helping build what will become the heart(h) and soul of Camp Glenorchy http://www.theheadwaters.co.nz/whats-coming/camp-glenorchy/ . Dan Kelly – local artist, designer, sculptor, avalanche specialist and wearable arts designer – is creating the central outdoor gathering place for New Zealand’s first Net Zero Energy campground, located in Glenorchy. With the roots in Glenorchy’s natural and cultural history, the new campfire shelter will include details from the Scheelite mine that once operated in the surrounding mountains.

The Scheelite Campfire Shelter and Cookhouse is being hand-constructed by the artist using large ancient stones, recycled timbers and the remnants of an old scheelite mining trolley and railway track. The shelter consists of a large 26m long by 5.5m high stone fireplace, complemented by a mobile brazier BBQ to be made from an old mining trolley. A kinetic water sculpture, inspired by the old water-driven scheelite ore battery stamper once positioned at Glenorchy Batter on Mt Judah, will be built into the shelter to collect rainwater, with additional overflow directed to the adjacent wetland.

“If you know where to go around the district, you often come across stone ruins, and what’s always left standing is the fireplace which was the heart and soul of the house– it was where you cooked and where you lived in winter,” said Dan. “We want to create an outdoor fireplace that is built from giant local rocks and weaves in details from our local heritage and landscape.”

Debbi Brainerd, who with her husband Paul are the founders of Camp Glenorchy, adds, “This shelter is a wonderful example of how having a talented local artist such as Dan can combine extraordinary natural beauty with cultural and historical details that will make the campfire shelter the ‘jewel’ of Camp Glenorchy. It will be a beautiful juxtaposition to the more traditional-looking energy efficient buildings adjacent to the structure.

“Our goal is to create an indoor-outdoor space that allows guests to interact with nature, while providing shade as well as shelter from sun and wind,” she said. “The shelter will create an outdoor gathering place with lots of character, where guests and visitors can come together to share stories of their experiences tramping in the surrounding mountains and traveling in this beautiful place.”

Information about Dan Kelly’s Scheelite Campfire Shelter is posted on large display panels next to Mrs Woolly’s General Store (see attached photos) and on the Camp Glenorchy website at www.CampGlenorchy.co.nz. Camp Glenorchy is slated to open in late 2017.

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