Photo courtesy of NAC
The National Arts Centre in Ottawa/Canada received a unique gift: a model of the NAC Orchestra made entirely of toothpicks! The model, which consists of 12, 500 toothpicks, was created by Go Sato, who immigrated to Canada 41 years ago and who for the past 40 years has worked for Agriculture Canada and Agri-Food Canada as a Scientific Illustrator. The model took him three years to make, including three weeks of his holidays to finish it.
A long-time NAC Orchestra subscriber, Mr. Sato painstakingly crafted an orchestra of 61 musicians, the size being based on a Romantic orchestra, specifically Beethoven. The percussionist and the conductor are standing, while the rest of the musicians sit on chairs or stools. As an added challenge, Mr. Sato used only rounded toothpicks, as they do not bend easily.
Photo courtesy of NAC
