Following in a heroB次元官网网址檚 footsteps sometimes means filling some pretty big shoes.

Sooke artist and writer Sheila Thomas wants to fill those shoes as she prepares to live the life of Canadian art icon Emily Carr for a year.

ItB次元官网网址檚 a project thatB次元官网网址檚 been with Thomas for years. SheB次元官网网址檚 always loved Emily Carr because the artist chose an authentic life for herself despite the ridicule she faced.

B次元官网网址淚 started to read CarrB次元官网网址檚 books and in them she talked about the drudgery of everyday life, and the necessity to run a bed and breakfast when all she wanted to do was paint. It painted a picture of me,B次元官网网址� Thomas, 55, said.

ThomasB次元官网网址� idea germinated when she took an art class with Nicholas Pearce last year with the hopes of painting Carr. There was a problem, though. No colour photo of Carr existed.

So Thomas did what she does best: came up with a creative alternative. She would rent a costume, pose as Emily Carr, have a friend take photos, and paint from that. She succeeded and the piece was shown in the About Face art show in Sidney last spring.

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Now Thomas is painting a canvas for her life and will live the life of Emily Carr for one year travelling B.C. in the artistB次元官网网址檚 footsteps.

Thomas is converting a small school bus into a home in the West Coast style of Emily Carr. She plans to hit the road with her easel, brushes, paint, and her 75-pound poodle, Stroodle, early next year. Meanwhile, sheB次元官网网址檚 also working on a play about Emily Carr.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e never done anything like this in the past,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 think IB次元官网网址檓 too crazy.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚 think at the heart of every creative person, they want to have time to do what makes them happy. ThatB次元官网网址檚 what itB次元官网网址檚 all about.B次元官网网址�

Jan Ross, curator of the Emily Carr House in Victoria, said itB次元官网网址檚 not unusual for people to follow in the steps of Carr, or at least make her a subject of intense study.

Over the years, artists have retraced CarrB次元官网网址檚 steps, written books, and in one case learned to read by studying the artistB次元官网网址檚 writings.

B次元官网网址淭here are so many points of contemporary connectivity with Emily Carr. She was an environmentalist, feminist, and her connection with Indigenous people is so deep,B次元官网网址� Ross said.

Thomas is drawn to Carr not just through her artwork, but her eccentricity.

B次元官网网址淪he was her own woman in a time when you werenB次元官网网址檛 allowed to have a voice,B次元官网网址� Thomas said. B次元官网网址淪he poo-pooed society and the social status.B次元官网网址�

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Thomas hopes to hit the road in her refurbished school bus B次元官网网址� nicknamed Klee Wyck after CarrB次元官网网址檚 book B次元官网网址� complete with kitchen, bathroom, seating area, toilet, shower and solar panels B次元官网网址� sometime in January.

SheB次元官网网址檒l visit communities, talk about Carr to anyone who will listen, visit schools, and teach art classes.

ThereB次元官网网址檚 one thing she wonB次元官网网址檛 do: dress as Emily Carr.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 not that crazy,B次元官网网址� Thomas said.

Emily Carr at a glance

B次元官网网址� Born Dec. 31, 1871 in Victoria, B.C.

B次元官网网址� Studies at California School of Design at 18

B次元官网网址� Visits several southern Kwakiutl villages in 1908

B次元官网网址� Participates in National Gallery of Canada exhibition

B次元官网网址� Klee Wyck published in 1941

B次元官网网址� Died March 2, 1945 in Victoria, B.C.

editor@sookenewsmirror.com
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