Emily Carr

Today, December 13th, is the birthday of Emily Carr, one of Canada's most iconic artists. She was born in Victoria, British Columbia, on a stormy night in 1871. She was the second youngest of nine children, and as she grew up her artistic inclinations were encouraged. Later as a young woman she made several sketching and painting trips up the coast to visit Aboriginal villages.

She focused much of her work on sketching and painting native villages and totem poles on location along the coast all the way up to Alaska, in the hopes that the Museum would be interested in purchasing her entire collection as a historical record.  But they turned her down, claiming her paintings were "too colourful". Totally disheartened, she stopped painting for the next 15 years, turning her attention to running a boarding house and raising dogs, to help pay expenses. She started writing, and did eventually return to painting, encouraged by members of the Group of Seven, notably Lawren Harris.

I've always admired her work, so Marianne and I made an art doll figure of her for our Artists series years ago. To this day she still sits at her easel in my display case.

Back in 2013 when I was shooting my Special Days series, I did a tribute to Emily Carr for her birthday that year, but it wasn't up to today's standards. So I decided to do it again.

I set up her studio on my dining room table. I filled it with her paintings, some Indigenous art, and native regalia. Then I tried to imagine the scene with three little girls there for some art lessons, even though she hadn't really been much of an art teacher. She had taken a teaching position at the 'Ladies Art Club' in Vancouver in 1905 - but for just a month. She was unpopular because of her rude behaviour, smoking and cursing at the students, so they boycotted her classes.

So my scene is totally imaginary, how it might have been if a friendly Emily had actually taken children in for art lessons. 

​Emily had a pet monkey. Woo, who I imagined would have been a total distraction...

...and Holly was distracted by one of Emily's puppies...

...while Byuri was watching Emily....

...who was totally absorbed in finishing her painting.

So everyone was pretty much on their own...

Elin and Holly tried on some native hats that were lying around...

While Byuri offered to take Woo out for a walk in her buggy...

Leaving Emily to just focus on her painting.