I first met Phil Ashbee, when he created trophies for the 1999 Van Isle 360 race. Phil, an artist with Aboriginal ancestry, is just one more Hidden Hero in our Mid Island arts world.

Phil's life-journey took him through various phases and struggles as an athlete, a construction worker, and during the past ten years, as an artist who has been driven to connect more and more closely with his native roots through books and long discussions with traditional and spiritual leaders.

From this foundation, Phil has become aware of the connectedness of Shamans and spiritual leaders around the world. It's this universal connectedness, and what he sees as a growing human desire to live in harmony with Mother Earth, that is energizing his art these days.

This is the theme behind his proposal for a piece of public art to be placed on the waterfront near the new Pacifica condos. The city will be selecting the winning proposal in the next few weeks.

Most of his twenty years in construction were spent close to nature and close to the water while working with the Department of Fisheries building fish ladders and hatcheries. Perhaps it is this background that accounts for his strong artistic urge over the past year to build fountains.

Phil envisions this piece of public art as a weaving together of traditional West Coast spiritualism with the growing universal quest to live in harmony with the earth. He wants to create a space where all can gather, strangers and neighbours alike, to give thanks to Mother Earth.

His design sees water spraying forth from the spout of a Killer Whale located in a ceremonial bowl. This water represents positive life energy flowing into our world, filling the ceremonial bowl and flowing forth into a "spiritual pond" whose banks will provide benches for those who gather here.

When you look more carefully, you will see a frog on the edge of the ceremonial bowl. Frogs and Killer Whales represent the keepers of ancient wisdom in West Coast tradition. Spiritual ponds are places where people come to ponder life's mysteries.

It was only after he created this design that Phil learned from the elders that this place on the waterfront and around to the Millstone River was, for centuries, known as a "spiritual pond," a place people came to seek harmony, honour, balance, and universal wisdom; a place where they shared peace and equality. It was also where people were welcomed to the territory.

Four figures will be featured standing on rocks at the edge of the pond. The rocks too are symbols of ancient wisdom.

The most dominant of these figures will be the traditional Welcoming Chief who will be seen with arms open facing east across the harbour welcoming visitors, greeting the sun each morning and giving thanks to the creator. Traditionally this figure is the community's spokesperson and thanks giver who pays respect to chiefs past and present and encourages everyone to have gratitude for all things.

The north, south and west sides of the pond will feature watchmen whose mythological role has always been to protect children and the community in general and to celebrate our heroes; fathers, mothers, and all others who encourage us to be gentle with Mother Earth.

Finally the healing sound of the water, our life energy, spilling forth from the ceremonial bowl will muffle the city soundscape and add to the meditative qualify of this powerful piece of art.

In Phil's mind this work will be the focal point of an unofficial ceremony that will take place every twenty-four hours, a perpetual celebration of life.

I'm sure there will be many fine artists competing to create this piece of art but it seems to me that Phil's concept is definitely worthy of serious consideration.