spotiight JOHN MARTIN Gilbert...mechanical wizardry and a quick imagination. FROM THE imagination of John Martin Gilbert come creations wild and wonder- ful, creations that with clev- er simplicity delight the child within all of us. A packed workshop overlooking asmall West Vancouver cove is where the ideas spring to life, first as sketches then as finished pro- ducts. Lining the wall are numerous boxes, each filled with an assort- ment of odds and ends — some people’s junk is Gilbert’s treasure -~ that will eventually appear in one form or another as part of his works. “Pm a child myself, as we all are,’’ says Gilbert, the man behind xpo 86’s popular UFO H20 waterpark attraction. ‘‘That’s the common denominator with peo- ple.’’ Behind Gilbert’s inventive works — among them the Vancouver Art Galiery’s Leonardo’s Thank-You Machine, a whimsical look at that artist/inventor — are his many talents as designer, artist, humorist and mechanician. A former advertising agency art director, he worked on Disneyland’s Tomorrowland be- fore plunging back into advertising and later striking out on his own 20 years ago. Animating inanimate objects and adding quirky personality traits, Gilbert with keen insight and deft mechanical manipulations NEWS photo Terry Patera An Exotic Safari into the heart of Fine East African Indian Cuisine An Invitation to join our SECOND ANNIVERSARY celebration Bring this ad and get one Free Dinner Entree when a second dinner entree of equai or greater value is purchased (up to $11.00 value) + not valid with any other promotional discount + not valid for buffet *maximum 2 coupons per dinner party «valid Aug 1-31, 1988 1344 Lonsdale North Vancouver Reservations 984-2775 19 - Friday, August 26, 1988 ~ North Shore News brings to life a world filled with smiles. Present projects slowly taking shape are a Christrnas television special and a roof-top play area for Children’s Hospital in Van- STEPHEN BARRINGTON feature writer couver. In the Santa’s Surprise TV special, fed-up elves have decided to rework the toy-making process, coming up with new-fangled Gilbertized twists on traditional techniques. Best described with the explana- tion ‘they become what they are,”’ the new-look toy-makers include a quality control inspector bearing a striking similarity to a microscope, a multi-armed xylophone tester and an all-seeing many-headed supervisor. Through inventive approaches and clever problem-solving, he br- ings his ideas to life, animating them in such ingeniously simple ways as to routinely fascinate even engineers. As many as 20 Gilbert creations, all with assorted moving parts, will through skillful filming appear to be the same size as the real-life performers. For the Children’s Hospital pro- ject, he has revamped the usual playground fare and added such ftems as an elephant in a wheelchair, bald-headed bugs doubling as planters and a broken-legged stork with a pro- peller-like bow tie. “Rather than a physical playground, it’s a playground for the mind.” At 62, he is guarded about revealing his age. ‘‘People aren’t known to be creative in their 60s. They get sent out to pasture. “I don’t want to be seen as some old guy in his cottage carving wood, I'm not.”’ HORSESHOE BAY’S ALE IS BACK A traditional Real Ale with no preservatives or additives. Each Restaurant has its own recipe crafted to taste best with each menu. We use the finest British malts, and Horseshoe Bay’s own clean clear Black Mountain Water from peaks sur- rounding the bay. AVAILABLE ONLY IN HORSESHOE BAY! at these fine Restaurants vat rvfereatirietn ret Boathouse) 6695 Nelson Ave. ys C4l8 Bay St. 6408 Bay St. HORSESHOE BAY BREWERY TOUR INFORMATION CALL 921-6116