The Sawyer Dialing Prize

Fred Sawyer, in cooperation with the North American Sundial Society, established a continuing yearly award, the Sawyer Dialing Prize to be presented by NASS to an individual for accomplishments in or contributions to dialing or the dialing community. Each year a panel makes recommendations of those people who have significantly contributed to the art of dialing by their dialing art, their ability to teach and educate, their superb craftsmanship, their care in dial restoration, or in their gnomonic skills in design and computer programming tools for others.

At each North American Sundial Society conference since 2000, the winner is announced and awarded with a certificate of recognition, a small trophy sundial, and a cash award of $200. Many of the awardees have chosen to use their cash award to help further the art of dialing by donating it to others, increasing the scope of sundialing around the world. Funding for this award has come from the Sawyer family with a 50% matching donation by NASS.

The certificate and trophy dial presented to each recipient are inscribed with the Greek letters ZHΘI. The ancient Greeks used the letters of their alphabet as numerals. When the hours of a dial were to be numbered from dawn to sunset, the numerals used were A, B, Γ, Δ, E, Φ, Z, H, Θ, I, IA, and IB for the successive hour intervals. By chance, the sequence from the seventh through the tenth hour (i.e. noon through mid-afternoon) spells a Greek word ZHΘI, the second person singular imperative meaning: Live! The Greeks carried this thought further, and an epigram on the certificate, attributed to Lucian - a second century Greek satirist - exhorts:

The first three Sawyer Dialing prize recipients received a Universal Equatorial Dials designed and crafted by Tony Moss of Lindisfarne Sundials, UK. The dial can be set for any latitude and is a special edition containing the NASS logo and the imperative ZHΘI.

Tony Moss Lindisfarne Sundials

Since 2003, Sawyer Dialing prize recipients have received Spectra Sundials crafted by Jim Tallman. Hundreds of Spectra Sundials can be located around the world at The World of Artisan Sundials - Spectra Sundial Locations Worldwide . The unique design of each Sawyer Dial is given as an html link at the bottom of each award description.

------------------------ 2009 ------------------------

At the 2009 NASS Conference in Portland OR, Fred Sawyer announced that the Sawyer Dialing Prize would go to John Davis of the British Sundial Society, “in recognition of the superb quality of the dials he has created, and in appreciation of his historical research to enhance our knowledge of the dialists who preceded us and the craft they left us.” The award money was used by John to help place one of his magnificent double horizontal sundials on the campus of Purdue North Central University in Indiana. John was able to show off the Spectra Sundial by Jim Tallman of Artisan Industrials. Fred Sawyer reviewed the portfolio of sundials and restorations by John, showing a replica of a 17 th century double-horizontal dial, several small engraved horizontals, a beautiful 14” circular dial and several dials based on the “Grocers’ Pattern” of the 18 th century. John created a dial plate for the Isaac Newton sculptured dials at Leicester University and UCLA where Newton’s finger casts the shadow onto an equatorial dial. John has also created everything from vertical dials to pocket dials, including replicas of Humfrey Cole’s 1569 designs. John has also been very active in the restoration of many dials as well. After the award announcement, Fred gave John Davis’ presentation on John Seller, a sundial maker and probable forger who was located in London and worked during the 17 th century.

http://www.artisanindustrials.com/world-of-sundials/spectra-sundial-ipswich-suffolk-england.html

------------------------ 2008 ------------------------

At the 2008 NASS Conference in St. Louis MO, Fred Sawyer presented the 2008 Sawyer Dialing Prize to Kate Pond “for the success of her World Sculpture Project. This project has brought dialing, an appreciation of light and shadow and new connections between traditional art and science to children and adults in countries and cultures around the world.” The prize consisted of a certificate, a cash award, and a specially commissioned trophy Spectra Sundial by Jim Tallman.

Kate Pond presented a summary of her award winning world project. “My sculpture invites participation: with people, and with the sun, shadows and alignments at different seasons of the year. The position of the sun, moon, and stars create a structure for me, like a painter might use a rectangle as a frame of reference.” The first sculpture of her project “ZigZag”, is a simple elegant pipe structure that tracks the time from 10 am to 2 pm on the equinox at latitude 45 degrees, the border between Canada and the US at the dial’s location, Stanstead Quebec. The next sculpture was SOLEKKO at the Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology, Oslo, Norway. Here the sculpture is a triangular cone that casts no shadow at noon on the equinox. All the projects involved children actively playing and learning and included time capsules with art and their messages for the future. Other sculptures were created in Japan, Hawaii, and New Zealand. This last sculpture “Telling Stones” used stone alignments for the rising and setting of summer and winter solstices, equinox, and the rising of the Pleiades in June (the Matariki marking the Maori new year) and the rising of Antares (the Maori, Rehua), at the beginning of summer in December. You can find more of Kate Pond’s works at http://www.vermontsculpture.com/

http://www.artisanindustrials.com/world-of-sundials/spectra-sundial-burlington-2.html

------------------------ 2007 ------------------------

At the 2007 NASS Conference in McLean VA, Fred Sawyer presented the Sawyer Dialing Prize to Mac Oglesby, citing Mac’s unusual dials and his willingness to help others make dials, passing his educational efforts among several generations of people, and his promotion of community interest in sundials. Once again this year the prize included a custom Spectra Sundial designed and produced by Jim Tallman of Artisan Industrials. In accepting the prize, Mac thanked many people who had helped him: Bill Maddux, who introduced him to dials, Fred Sawyer, who brought him into NASS, Bob Terwilliger about Compendium articles, Fer J. de Vries, who helped him through email correspondence, Tony Moss for ideas, and David Roth, with slides of Bill Maddux and Mac and their work. Mac then distributed cylinder azimuth dials he had made as a gift for each conference participant – specific to his/her own location.

ttp://www.artisanindustrials.com/world-of-sundials/spectra-sundial-brattleboro.html\

------------------------ 2006 ------------------------

At the 2006 NASS Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Fred Sawyer announced that the Sawyer Dialing Prize for 2006 is given to Hendrik Hollander, “for his innovative design of a mean-time planar sundial with oblique conical gnomon and modified hour lines and day curves – resulting in a sundial adapted to modern timekeeping while retaining the aesthetic appeal of the familiar dial face.” Fer J. de Vries was able to present the dial to Hendrik in The Netherlands.

One of Hendrik’s conical gnomon dials is on the cover of the September 2006 [Vol. 13, No. 3] issue of The Compendium. Inside that issue Hendrik explains in detail how the cone dial and a number of other bi-gnomon sundials work. In response to the Sawyer Dialing Prize Hendrik sent a letter of thanks to the NASS conference.

http://www.artisanindustrials.com/world-of-sundials/spectra-sundial-amsterdam-netherlands.html

------------------------ 2005 ------------------------

At the 2005 NASS Conference in Chicago IL, Fred Sawyer presented the Sawyer Dialing Prize to Tony Moss, “in recognition of his achievement in combining superb craftsmanship, a lifetime’s teaching experience, and a constant desire to share knowledge, methods, and techniques in the practical art of dialing.” The prize consisted of a certificate, a cash award, and a specially commissioned Spectra Sundial by Jim Tallman. Tony’s prize money went into the construction of the Jamestown 400 th anniversary dial, dedicated in 2007 during the NASS Conference and placed at the Analemma Society’s Observatory Park (Turner Farm Park), Great Falls, VA.

------------------------ 2004 ------------------------

At the 2004 NASS Conference in Tenafly, NJ, Fred Sawyer announced that the Sawyer Dialing Prize would go jointly to Bill Nye and Woodward (Woody) Sullivan for their efforts to transform the Mars Rover Pancam calibration disk into a Martian sundial (with electronically placed hour lines) that could be viewed on the Internet. The award was a foregone conclusion at the inception of the prize some years ago, but awaited the success of the Mars Rover landings in 2004. [Photo Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell]

http://athena.cornell.edu/kids/sundial.html

Unfortunately neither Bill nor Woody was able to attend the conference, but a descriptive paper by Bill was read explaining the corresponding Earth Dial project (“Two Worlds, One Sun”), showing similar styled dials in Utah, Honduras, Ohio, Virginia, Chile, Canada, the UK, Spain, and even the South Pole. Download the PDF created by Nye Labs at

http://www.planetary.org/programs/projects/marsdial/mer_marsdial_nyelabs revealing how to make a replica of the Mars Dial.

Fred noted that at the winner’s request, the cash prize will be used to thank and compensate Hilda Taylor, the undergraduate student volunteer who did most of the computer work for the Earth Dial project. Both Bill and Woody received a certificate and a Spectra Dial by Jim Tallman, with the signature motto of the prize and with a declination line for the date of their choice.

------------------------ 2003 ------------------------

At the 2003 NASS Conference in Banff, Alberta Canada, Fred Sawyer presented the fourth Sawyer Dialing Prize to Helm Roberts for his design and construction of the Kentucky Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial. http://www.kyvietnammemorial.net/

The certificate read in part: “In recognition of his understanding that the spirit of a sundial can not only stir the imagination but also help to heal the heart and preserve fond memory, as evidenced in his design of the Kentucky Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial.” Helm also received the Sawyer Prize cash award and a beautiful special edition of Jim Tallman’s Spectra Sundial in etched glass.

Helm Roberts then gave an intriguing and moving presentation, “Making the Memorial – the Design, Theory, and Construction of the Kentucky Vietnam Veterans Memorial” at Frankfort, KY. The gnomon is made of stainless steel, and the end point of its shadow annually touches the engraved name of each of over 1100 soldiers on the anniversary of the day of death. The political and mechanical issues are fascinating, resulting in a truly artistic triumph.

ttp://www.artisanindustrials.com/world-of-sundials/spectra-sundial-frankfort.html

------------------------ 2002 ------------------------

At the 2002 NASS Conference in Tucson AZ, Fred Sawyer presented the Sawyer Dialing Prize to John Carmichael. Fred presented John with a trophy equatorial dial by Tony Moss and a certificate of appreciation for John’s work in recognition of his efforts to bring dialing to a high tech world and his demonstration that it is still possible in that world to prosper as a traditional craftsman of high quality heliochronometers.

John produces a wide variety of sundials, principally in stone and glass. Many are on public display in parks while others are in private buildings and homes. Visit John’s website at http://www.sundialsculptures.com/ to see the many dials he has produced.

In response to the award, John presented his paper on “Polar Axis Gnomons with Multiple Styles.” In his talk, John outlined his idea for a project to use the structure of the McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope as the gnomon for a sundial. Although the telescope tube is at the correct polar angle for use as a gnomon, the design is complicated by its size and thickness. The style width creates different shadows projected from different edges of the structure as the day passes and the fuzziness of the penumbral shadow complicates the reading of the time.

------------------------ 2001 ------------------------

At the 2001 NASS Conference in Montreal, Canada, Fred Sawyer presented the Sawyer Dialing Prize to Robert Adzema, with the award given “in recognition of his demonstrations, in sculpture and in print, that with a sundial we can experience light as a tangible form and “time and place” as inseparable.” Fred presented Robert with the certificate of recognition and a beautiful trophy equatorial by Tony Moss. Robert will donate the Sawyer cash prize to a worthy cause.

Robert describes “ my sundials are abstract sculptures that measure the apparent motion of the sun throughout the day, the seasons and even the year. These mostly large, public works are carefully laid out, accurate both mathematically and geometrically, cast or fabricated in bronze, steel or stone and permanently set for their exact location. They are about sunlight and shadow.”

For more of Adzema’s work, read about the Suffern Free Library Sundial in The Compendium [Vol. 8 No. 4] December 2001 or visit http://www.robertadzema.com/

------------------------ 2000 ------------------------

At the 2000 NASS Conference in San Francisco, CA, Fred Sawyer announced the presentation of the first annual Sawyer Dialing Prize to Fer J. de Vries “in recognition of his many years of dedication to dialing, and in gratitude for his development of Zonwvlak and his always helpful encouragement and support of the global dialing community.”

Fer could not attend the conference, but he sent a letter of appreciation asking that the cash award be donated in his name to the University of California Regents for use as a one-time prize fund for U.C. Berkeley’s Architecture 140 course where students are required to make a sundial.

------------------------ Presentation to Fred W. Sawyer III ------------------------

In recognition of Frederick W. Sawyer’s effort as president of The North American Sundial Society, editor of NASS’s journal The Compendium, and for giving his time and talent to sundial design and the promotion of sundialing around the world, NASS commissioned Tony Moss to design and craft a sundial for Fred.

The horizontal dial was presented at the 2001 annual NASS conference. It has a gold-plated hand-pierced gnomon with his initials that is set on a phosphor bronze plate engraved for his home latitude.