An instructor from KPU's Wilson School of Design in Richmond was behind the design for the brand-new cauldron at the 2023 Canada Winter Games.
Sholto Scruton's design, which was set ablaze on Feb. 19 to kick off the games at Prince Edward Island (PEI), features a Mobius ring with gold depictions of plants unique to different regions in Canada.
“The perpetual ring of fire symbolizes the ongoing inspiration that athletes have continually drawn from each other and pass onwards. The black spruce, silver birch, sweetgrass and red cedar span Canada and represent our unity and our diversity,” said Scruton, a product design instructor at KPU’s Wilson School of Design.
The cauldron was designed by Scruton's Sholto Design Studio with support from Indigenous artist Randall Bear Barnetson and Will Creative, a marketing firm. It aims to highlight the challenges faced by Canadians and "how they inspire and support others to face their own," according to the media release.
“Sports are so important because they teach people to be resilient, to pursue things and to be passionate about things that are really valuable,” said Scruton.
“We compared the Canada Games with an old growth forest, particularly a nurse log and how all these saplings grow out of it, which in turn eventually become old growth logs themselves. In the same way when someone overcomes a challenge, they then provide inspiration and support to others in a continuous, repeating cycle.”
Scruton's design was inspired by his extensive research, which included interviewing athletes. His goal was to create a design that "reflected all Canadians."
“We really wanted to make sure it was inclusive and connected people in the best way possible of what’s awesome to be a Canadian in the Games," he said.
The three-metre-tall stainless steel cauldron was completed in PEI by Charlottetown Metal Products. It will be displayed throughout the Games until March 5, as 3,600 athletes, managers and coaches gather to compete in 20 different sports.
