Carved on the Canadian ShieldFour artists from three countries visited Haliburton for a three week sculpture symposium in 2017 in celebration of Dysart 150, Ontario 150, and Canada 150. Beginning with a block of limestone, each artist was tasked with creating a piece that reflected the theme of carving on the Canadian Shield.
When asked to participate in the 150 Sculpture Symposium, “Carved on the Canadian Shield”, I knew that I wanted to sculpt a canoe. The canoe is so much a part our heritage, created by the Indigenous People, used by the early settlers as transportation, exploration, trade, and commerce. Today the canoe is much a part of the local community, for sport and recreation, and is an integral part of the tourism trade.It is a bit of an enigma, seeing a canoe in the forest but that is part of the fun. I wanted it to be interactive, for children to be able to climb over it and play games in it, to simply enjoy.