Hi! If you just stumbled across this or perhaps found the sculpture in person and scanned the QR code then you must have questions. Here are answers to the most FAQ.

Why?

Because it's cool.

Who made it?

Darrell Toland. The guy in the house behind the sculpt.

What is it?

It's a character from the Hayao Miyazaki film "Castle in the Sky." In the story, this robot is the last of it's kind, left to tend the gardens of a long dead civilization. It's all alone except for a few animals that inhabit the garden. It's a kind of sad and melancholy character.

Is it going to stay here?

Yes.

What's it made out of?

It's a fiberglass and styrene shell on a steel and foam frame. The pedestal is 3500 lbs of steel reinforced concrete and was a bugger to pour by hand.

Does it have a name?

In the film, only "robot" and some fans refer to it as "The Guardian" but we call it "The Gardener"

Does it move?

Only at night. It walks around the neighborhood, peering into windows and checking to see if children are asleep. If not, it reaches in and grabs them and takes them away. Hahahahahahahah! Just Kidding! (maybe) It has lights and sounds like in the film tho.

Does it have a camera?

Smile and act casual. Also has a death ray laser shooting eye. Range untested.

Included here on this bloggy thing are photos of the build, some shots of people that have discovered it and stuff they've left behind. Enjoy!

If anyone would be interested in commissioning something like this reach out: tolandcreative@me.com