Building a ‘Crow-noceros’ turns into real adventure for Calgary artist

“I was making this big crow and then I come out and I threw this rhinoceros head on it.”

Watching an artist at work is usually a pretty interesting experience.

And in one Calgary neighborhood, it’s now got people pondering a burning question.

“When I was building it, people would walk by asking ‘What are you making?'” artist Neil Meyer said.

Meyer had been working in his garage with the door open, allowing passersby to watch the progress of his project: a sculpture made of repurposed wood.

“I was making this big crow and then I come out and I threw this rhinoceros head on it,” Meyer said. “My wife was like ‘Well, why don’t you call it a Crow-noceros?’”

Meyer’s put his completed Crow-noceros in his front yard, planning on taking it along on his annual visit to the “Freezer Burn” festival in central Alberta.

“The theme this year is ‘Midnight Menagerie’ – hybrid creatures,” Meyer said.

Freezer Burn is an offshoot of the famous “Burning Man” festival in Nevada, with creations like Meyer’s usually going up in flames.