During the 2021-2023 school years, students in Art, Language Arts, Social Justice, and First Nations Studies classes contributed to a life-size paper mache sculpture of Emily Carr created by local artist Tanya Bub and supported through a grant initiated by the Fernwood Community Association.  Through the leadership of the teacher-librarian and classroom teachers, students learned about Carr through a particular lens, including painting style, writing style, and cultural appropriation.

 Excerpts of student projects cover the surfaces of the three figures – Emily Carr in the center surrounded by two students.  Projects include student writing, QR codes linking to multimedia presentations, personal statements, and facsimiles of original abstract art creations inspired by Carr’s art. 

The openings in Carr’s jacket and leg, the mirror, the podium, and stance of the students invite interpretation. Each viewer may be provoked to different feelings, thoughts, reactions, questions.

The creation process itself mirrors Carr’s philosophy, since it began with a vision that evolved in surprising ways over time. Carr once asserted, “You will have to experiment and try things out for yourself, and you will not be sure of what you are doing. That’s all right, you are feeling your way into the thing.”