The Durham West Arts Centre is a 'hub' organization working to establish links with artists, arts groups and arts lovers. We host exhibitions, activities and events at the Centre as attractors. We want to meet and talk to the groups and individuals who are willing to help build the infrastructure for a permanent arts centre in Ajax-Pickering.
PAGE 2: He's an original piece of work
Falkenberg is one of a kind in conversation, art and life
Mr. Falkenberg's life path crossed into Pickering shortly after graduating from a Toronto art college in 1965. He and Laura moved to their current home about 36 years ago. It's truly an original. "When I saw this place, I thought 'this is it'," he said. "The apple trees were in bloom. I didn't even see the house." That's where he had his work cut out for him. "It was a ramshackle shack at the time," he relates. "There was nothing, just a hollowed out frame structure." Even on this visit to the home, he pointed out recent renovations and what he still plans to do. He's done some of the work himself and, more importantly, designed and controlled all of the work.
Aside from his art, his other source of work over his career has been designing furniture, homes and business offices. That work was inspired by his college mentor, Bob Keiser, who encouraged Mr. Falkenberg to try his hand at industrial design. Through Mr. Keiser, he bid for a job designing an apartment building and the rest is history. "It changed my life," Mr. Falkenberg says. "This is what I wanted to do and there's even a possibility of making money at it."
The next big break in his life came in 1985. That was when he embarked on a mission to create a piece of art for the then new Canadian Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. And it was no easy task to get the job. It stemmed from keeping an article he clipped from a magazine. He went to see the architect of the embassy and then created a piece but it was rejected. "I was absolutely deflated," he says. "But then, I thought they didn't actually say, 'don't come back' so I went back to my studio and said 'I'm not leaving here until I come up with a solution to this problem.'"
So it was back to the drawing board and based on some of the comments he heard, specifically the importance of grass and not taking up too much space in the garden, inspiration struck. The sun coming in through a window hit two pieces of slate and he knew he had something. In a short time he had a new model, a maquette, to show the architect. He called it 'Triad' and it sits in the embassy in Saudi Arabia still. However, he's never been to see the eight-foot sculpture. He had to turn down a trip there once because it was on short notice and that would mean his wife couldn't join him.