Monday, May 23, 2016

Canyon Run Arbor Project

I was approached this Spring by Amy and Gary Ward, proprietors of Canyon Run Ranch near Pleasant View, Ohio to design and install a wedding arbor in the woods on their LOVELY property. Canyon Run Ranch has been selected as Ohio's number one wedding venue.

Amy discovered my work on the Internet and we were able to connect at Bear's Mill at John Bundy's and my exhibit at Bear's Mill a few years back, where one of my arbors is permanently installed.

Amy wanted an arbor that was a little more elaborate and came up with a design that presented a number of challenges. Thursday John Bundy and I traveled to the site with a LARGE load of corkscrew willows and a prefabricated frame. Amy showed us to the site down a long wooded lane to a commanding plateau overlooking Canyon Run, which runs into the historic Stillwater river.

John helped me get started and then went to visit his friend Gary Mumaw, a renown Native American relics dealer who lives nearby.

After a lovely afternoon in the woods on the best May day we have had, I had used up all the sticks I had brought, a sign that the arbor was finished. I was a little nervous that it would please Amy, who is a very discriminating customer. She seemed to really like it. Bundy said I outdid myself.

I cannot wait to see some photos of an actual wedding, which Amy promised. This arbor will remain one of a kind and will not be duplicated.

After completing the arbor, we went to Bear's Mill which is just a few miles away to pick up a selection of our work, which had been left on consignment there. Bear's Mill is hosting the national conference of 82 mill proprietors from throughout the United States and they needed the space we were taking up. It was good to see our friend Marti and the terrific volunteers and see the current display of art in the gallery that showcases Annie Oakley, who was from the Greenville area.

Of course we stopped at Sparky's Dog House Tavern in Mt. Summit, both for breakfast on the way down Highway 36 and again for supper as we were returning. The best ham sandwiches.



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