Creative roofer pays homage to Veterans with striking shingle artwork

By Hannah Ford. 

MMI Roofing crafts a powerful tribute for Canadian Veterans in Nova Scotia.  

In Antigonish, a small town located in Nova Scotia, Canada, MMI Roofing and Carpentry paid tribute to their veterans. Antigonish is a tight knit community, with a population of under 10,000, that has consistently supported each other, including veterans. Matthew Macinnis, the owner of MMI Roofing and Carpentry, created an intricate work of art made of shingles to honor Canadian veterans.  

MMI Roofing and Carpentry is renowned for their talented shingle art and this project for veterans was no exception. Matthew used one of his own shop buildings on Somers Road to create the shingle art. On one side of the roof, the Nova Scotia flag is displayed proudly, and its bright and vibrant colors can be seen from high above. The other side of the roof features the silhouette of a soldier standing in front of a grave. The new legion poppy stands in fiery red contrast to the rest of the image on the righthand side and the sacred symbol represents a campaign to remember the soldiers who fought for Canada. While paying homage to the many deserving veterans in the area, he also holds onto the memory of his grandparents. “My grandparents met in the war, in World War II, and if it wasn’t for that we wouldn’t be talking on the phone right now,” Matthew told Saltwire Network. “That’s mostly what it’s about, just trying to keep the memories and people alive and know the freedoms we have today, they just didn’t fall out of the sky, people had to fight for them.”  

The artwork was made of six different shingle colors, and it took two days to install the artwork. “This might be our best one yet,” Matthew said. “Three guys did the letters, two guys did the poppy, two guys did the soldier and the cross, and then about eight of us put it all together on the roof, so it was a huge team collaboration this time, which was really awesome — everybody wanted to get involved in it.” The art began as a conceptual drawing and transformed into a full-sized stencil that spanned over the entire roof.  The creation process for this masterpiece included precision cutting the shingles and fitting them all together. Matthew crafted this large shingle puzzle and solved it in his workshop by ensuring all the shingles fit together at the right angles. He then installed the shingles on the roof row by row.  

This was not Matthew’s first attempt at shingle art. He has done several other works including the Nova Scotia flag, a Canada flag, a Montreal Canadiens logo and more. MMI Roofing and Carpentry is the largest asphalt shingle installer in Antigonish and makes it a priority to support Nova Scotia and its veterans through their inspiring art.  

Original image source: MMI Roofing and Carpentry