Emily Carr Comes Home By J.B. Staff In December of 2003 a bronze maquette depicting Emily Carr and her creatures was unveiled in the drawing room of her childhood home on Government Street. It has been on public display at various locations around Victoria, but now it has been purchased and will stay at Carr House permanently. The 38-cm-high maquette is the creation of Edmonton artist Barbara Paterson. She spent several years researching this famous Victorian to come up with the likeness she calls “Our Emily”. We see Emily seated on a rock, sketch pad on her lap. She looks fondly at her beloved monkey Woo, perched on her shoulder, who in turn gazes at a dog snuggling at Emily’s feet. On February 19th a crowd gathered at Carr House, here in James Bay, to witness the official installation of “Our Emily” in the garden of Carr House. Present on the day was the sculpture’s creator Edmonton artist Barbara Paterson as well as various city and provincial officials. The day also marks the beginning of a new start to raise money to create a larger stature to be erected in Victoria. The final statue would tower a little larger than life size, surrounded by three granite “pods”. To create such a monument is no small undertaking. The artist sculpts a full-size version in wax. A foundry then makes a mould from the model, to cast the final version in bronze. The price tag, $200,000, would be met by donations from the general public, corporate sponsors, and government funds. If you wish to contribute to the statue fund, cheques should be made out to the Victoria Parks & Recreation Foundation Society with a note on the front of the cheque citing the "Emily Carr Statue Fund". (This part is very important as the Foundation supports a number of projects). Send to: Victoria Parks & Recreation Foundation Society 633 Pandora Avenue Victoria, BC V8W 1N8 The VPRFS will issue a tax receipt to the donors.