Redwood Forest Mysteries
You and your pet can both take a drink from this beloved water fountain made out of a tree stump in Redwood Park.
Artist: Derek Rowe
Location: Redwood Park (17900 20 Avenue)
Category: Civic collection
Year Installed: 2002
About Redwood Forest Mysteries
Redwood Forest Mysteries is a drinking fountain for people and dogs. The sculpture is formed like a large tree stump out of concrete and grooved and stained to look like wood. Embedded in the aesthetically pleasing wood-textured surface are relief sculptures of frogs, foxes, butterflies, and lizards—“wound into the very structure of a stump of life”—as well as portraits of Redwood Park’s original homesteaders, Peter and David Brown. The old stump underscores the interconnectedness of the park’s creatures with its forest.
More on Redwood Forest Mysteries
About the Artist
Derek Rowe was the owner of Art Form Sculpture Studio Inc. (formerly Renaissance Studio), which specialized in unique cast concrete sculpture, architectural decoration, fountains, fireplaces, and gargoyles for building exteriors and interiors. The Studio’s team of talented craftspeople also built:
- Veterans’ Park Memorial;
- Langford Fire Hall Statue;
- and all of the exterior decorations for Shoal Point development in Victoria.
After years of running this business, Derek’s interests have returned to painting and digital art. His current studio is in Vancouver.
His other public artworks in Surrey are Teamwork and The New Recruit.