Whale Rider
2004-07-11 06:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
archershipshttp://www.thecoast.ca/archives/080104/thecity.html
Jon Mackay’s at home sweet home, Allison Lawlor reports.
If you can still picture those simple, blue whales you used to draw as a kid you can imagine Jon Mackay’s new home.
Earlier this month, Mackay, a carpenter, and sculptor and deep believer in living in harmony with our environment, moved into his mobile, baby-blue whale.
After months of planning and building, Mackay completed the exterior of his shelter made to suit his modest needs. It’s a plywood, four by four by seven and a half feet structure, designed in the shape of a whale, complete with tail and fins. It has wheels and can be pulled behind his bicycle so he can set up in “friendly backyards.” That’s where he has it parked right now—in a backyard on Russell Street in the city’s north end.
“It is complete and I am doing finishing touches,” he says.
Mackay’s whale, built for just under $3,000, has sleeping and eating space. Eventually it will also have a propane stove and fridge, and the walls will be lined with quilts, with pockets sewn in for storage. A sewing bee organized by a few friends has already been held. For a shower, he has plans to set an area where he could have an old-fashioned bucket system. But he might still have to rely on a few friendly neighbourhood bathrooms.
The whale has a blow hole which serves a unique purpose. It is a periscope from which Mackay can monitor the activity around his home. “I can see who is coming to the door,” he says, adding that there are two hatch doors on either side of the whale.
Mackay spent the first night in his new home on June 5. He’s optimistic that he could live in the whale throughout the long winter months. He insulated it with stiff, two-inch, styrofoam board and has two candles on hand to generate heat.
Mackay, 25, started dreaming about the whale last summer while subletting an apartment and finding himself “crushingly broke.”
“It was every important for me to have rent off the list,” he says. Telling himself that he would own his own home, he had to find a way to make his dream of affordable living a reality.
He wanted something different. A pleasing space that was far from the anonymous, concrete towers where thousands of city dwellers live. He chose a whale, he says, because it’s a shape that works. In his home, he wanted to create a living space where his lifestyle would leave a positive ecological footprint.
“It’s important that I feel a sense of connectedness with the environment,” says Mackay.
He’s now trying to figure out if his new home could be considered a sculpture. “Does functional art exist?” he asks.
Mackay’s excited to see people’s response—even city officials—when they see his whale being towed along a downtown street. Calling himself a folk industrialist, he wants to start conversations about alternative living styles, community and affordable housing.
“I activate but I am not an activist,” he says.
So far Mackay has only towed the whale behind his bike once. The sight elicited the curious responses he wants. “People turned to see it. They were intrigued,” he says. Mackay plans to move his home around more now. On Saturday mornings at the Halifax farmers’ market you might catch a glimpse of them.
“I’d love for people to come by and talk to me,” he says.
Living in a whale is just the first step in what Mackay hopes will be a lifelong experiment developing an “intentional community.” In fact, this summer he and a friend plan to set out on a journey of discovery. They intend to hitchhike across Canada, down through the United States and fly to Hawaii, stopping at ecovillages and other like-minded communities along the way to see what works and what doesn’t. They’ll bring back ideas. For the months he’s on the road he plans to sublet the whale and he’s currently looking for a taker.
Mackay and some friends own a piece of land near his hometown of Pictou. They plan to build on the property and create their own sustainable community.
“Until I live in something else I think I’ll live in the whale,” he says. Who knows, maybe Mackay’s next home will be a treehouse in the woods outside Pictou
Jon Mackay’s at home sweet home, Allison Lawlor reports.
If you can still picture those simple, blue whales you used to draw as a kid you can imagine Jon Mackay’s new home.
Earlier this month, Mackay, a carpenter, and sculptor and deep believer in living in harmony with our environment, moved into his mobile, baby-blue whale.
After months of planning and building, Mackay completed the exterior of his shelter made to suit his modest needs. It’s a plywood, four by four by seven and a half feet structure, designed in the shape of a whale, complete with tail and fins. It has wheels and can be pulled behind his bicycle so he can set up in “friendly backyards.” That’s where he has it parked right now—in a backyard on Russell Street in the city’s north end.
“It is complete and I am doing finishing touches,” he says.
Mackay’s whale, built for just under $3,000, has sleeping and eating space. Eventually it will also have a propane stove and fridge, and the walls will be lined with quilts, with pockets sewn in for storage. A sewing bee organized by a few friends has already been held. For a shower, he has plans to set an area where he could have an old-fashioned bucket system. But he might still have to rely on a few friendly neighbourhood bathrooms.
The whale has a blow hole which serves a unique purpose. It is a periscope from which Mackay can monitor the activity around his home. “I can see who is coming to the door,” he says, adding that there are two hatch doors on either side of the whale.
Mackay spent the first night in his new home on June 5. He’s optimistic that he could live in the whale throughout the long winter months. He insulated it with stiff, two-inch, styrofoam board and has two candles on hand to generate heat.
Mackay, 25, started dreaming about the whale last summer while subletting an apartment and finding himself “crushingly broke.”
“It was every important for me to have rent off the list,” he says. Telling himself that he would own his own home, he had to find a way to make his dream of affordable living a reality.
He wanted something different. A pleasing space that was far from the anonymous, concrete towers where thousands of city dwellers live. He chose a whale, he says, because it’s a shape that works. In his home, he wanted to create a living space where his lifestyle would leave a positive ecological footprint.
“It’s important that I feel a sense of connectedness with the environment,” says Mackay.
He’s now trying to figure out if his new home could be considered a sculpture. “Does functional art exist?” he asks.
Mackay’s excited to see people’s response—even city officials—when they see his whale being towed along a downtown street. Calling himself a folk industrialist, he wants to start conversations about alternative living styles, community and affordable housing.
“I activate but I am not an activist,” he says.
So far Mackay has only towed the whale behind his bike once. The sight elicited the curious responses he wants. “People turned to see it. They were intrigued,” he says. Mackay plans to move his home around more now. On Saturday mornings at the Halifax farmers’ market you might catch a glimpse of them.
“I’d love for people to come by and talk to me,” he says.
Living in a whale is just the first step in what Mackay hopes will be a lifelong experiment developing an “intentional community.” In fact, this summer he and a friend plan to set out on a journey of discovery. They intend to hitchhike across Canada, down through the United States and fly to Hawaii, stopping at ecovillages and other like-minded communities along the way to see what works and what doesn’t. They’ll bring back ideas. For the months he’s on the road he plans to sublet the whale and he’s currently looking for a taker.
Mackay and some friends own a piece of land near his hometown of Pictou. They plan to build on the property and create their own sustainable community.
“Until I live in something else I think I’ll live in the whale,” he says. Who knows, maybe Mackay’s next home will be a treehouse in the woods outside Pictou