Public Art
Throughout Moose Jaw and mostly in Crescent Park, the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery has initiated the creation and placement of public art in our community. As our mandate is to share opportunities for education, exploration and inspiration through the visual arts and Moose Jaw’s living history, public art contributes significantly to this through beautification of our city, increasing cultural pride, and enhancing the visual identity of Moose Jaw for community members and visitors. Here are some examples of the continued work that we do, partnering with artists, community members and students. These works include indoor works by Cliff Eyland and Joe Fafard, outdoor works by the Samadhi Collective, Karlie King, and Jim Niedermayer, and a series of tile mural projects created in our education programs.
Indoor Public Art
Cliff Eyland, Book Paintings - Moose Jaw Series
on the upper foyer wall at the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery
Cliff Eyland, Book Paintings - Moose Jaw Series, 2014-16, acrylic on MDF board, 300 - 5” x 3”
Winnipeg artist, Cliff Eyland’s installation Book Paintings: Moose Jaw Series is now permanently displayed in our facility, perfectly situated between MJM&AG and Moose Jaw Public Library. A new acquisition into the MJM&AG Permanent Collection by a donation, this series features 300 paintings of imagined book covers, all individually titled. Moose Jaw is now one of four cities in Canada that feature an Eyland installation of paintings – other venues include the Halifax Central Library, Winnipeg Millennium Library and the Edmonton Meadows Library. For more information, check out Features From the Collection.
Joe Fafard, Peggy
A major public art purchase for the Permanent Collection that we are currently focusing on is Joe Fafard’s bronze sculpture Peggy, a seven foot tall filly, which is currently on exhibit in our lobby. We intend to place Peggy outdoors in front of our main doors in Crescent Park. We believe that this acquisition will not only support and highlight a significant Saskatchewan artist with an international reputation and enhance the permanent collection, but will aid in beautifying the City of Moose Jaw and the park, as well as raising the profile and visibility of the gallery within the community. The acquisition of this significant work will be done over a number of years through fundraising efforts. Donations for Peggy are greatly appreciated.
Outdoor Public Art
Crescent Park Tree Rejuvenation Project
2024
Sadi Rose ᓴᕀᑏ ᒥᐦᑯᑲᐧᓂᕀ - Seven Sacred Grandfather Teachings
Sadi ᓴᕀᑏ ᒥᐦᑯᑲᐧᓂᕀ (Vaxvick) is a University of Regina graduate in a Bachelor of Indigenous Fine Arts and resides in Moose Jaw. This up and coming artist paints, carves, beads and teaches. On the tree she chose to carve, Sadi wanted to convey the spirit of Moose Jaw’s diverse Past, Present and Future and marks another milestone in 2024, the 150 anniversary of the signing of Treaty Four. Through the Seven Sacred Grandfather Teachings the artist connected her Indigenous roots as a Nêhiyaw and Saulteaux registered on Ochapowace First Nations on Treaty Four territory. The Seven Sacred Grandfather Teachings include love, respect, courage, honesty, wisdom, humility, and truth and are represented by animal images on the tree. She chose to highlight animals that are connected to the land while separating them with a continuous long braided sweetgrass strand around the tree. Sweet grass has three strands that represent mind, body and spirit. The final touch was using coloured stain to complete the artwork to bring out the natural wood grains.
Carly Jaye -
Birds of Crescent Park
Our third tree art project goes to Carly Jaye who is a self-taught artist born and raised in Moose Jaw. You might recognize her work as a majority of her public work is in the downtown core of Moose Jaw. Her mural work is not just restricted to walls on building, she also creates work on benches, garbage cans, glass windows and even clothing. The theme of colour is very much how you would describe Carly’s work and her painted tree will be created in a pop art style which will be a great additional to the tree carvings.
Karen Watson -
Tribute to the Snowbirds
Karen Watson has returned to Crescent Park this year to add to our collection of tree art. Karen used her carving abilities to celebrate the 100 anniversary of the Royal Canadian Air Force and to pay homage to the Snowbirds, the 431 Air Demonstration Squadron which is so familiar to citizens in Moose Jaw. In Karen’s vision, she will capture two Snowbirds in a spiral formation with human silhouettes underneath and a Snowbird logo carved into the trunk. She is a resident of Moose Jaw and a self-taught artist with a passion for sculpting realistic forms in wood and clay. Her first carving was in 2017 while working with her father on a carving and her passion grew from there. In the last couple of years you may have seen samples of her work on residential properties around the community: a soldier, eagle, horse head, and peacock. This is the second carving in Crescent Park as she completed, “The History of the Band Festival,” in 2021.
2021
Kamron Garbe - Great Blue Heron
A chainsaw carver from Regina, Saskatchewan. He has a passion for woodcarving, live chainsaw carving and sculpture. With a journeyman carpenter for a father, he was on construction sites from a young age and grew up loving art, transitioning from drawing, painting, woodworking, wood burning to carving. He is a juried member of the Saskatchewan Craft Council, award winner at Prairie Canada Carving Championship 2018, and participated in live chainsaw carving in Swift Current 2018 and the Cathedral Arts Festival and Wintergreen Fine Craft Market 2015-2019. Kamron’s work in Crescent Park will pay homage to the natural beauty of the park and wildlife that come and go through migration. He will carve a great blue heron with the local flora at the base for a structurally sound sculpture. He wishes to create a sculpture that will have people reflect on the sheer majestic nature of the heron which is found throughout North America in the summer and during migration.
Karen Watson - The History of the Band Festival
Karen Watson is a resident of Moose Jaw and a self-taught artist with a passion for sculpting realistic forms in wood and clay. Karen used her first chainsaw in 2017 while working with her father on a carving of the crucifix and her passion for it grew from there. Starting in the last couple of years you may have seen samples of her work on residential properties around the community: a soldier, eagle, horse head, and peacock. Karen submitted two proposals and the committee selected a piece which will pay tribute to Moose Jaw’s rich history of the Band and Choral Festival which put Moose Jaw on the map. Karen will capture the spirit and excitement of the festival with the upward movement of band instruments intertwined with musical notes, marching band attire and banners.
Dustin Stearns - Red Tail Hawk
Dustin Stearns is an artist who was born and raised in the Moose Jaw area and comes from a creative family with his father also being an artist. Dustin’s work has been progressing over the years and you can see some examples of his work in the Wakamow Valley area. For the Crescent Park 2021 project, he submitted 3 proposals and the committee selected a flying hawk as the winning entry.
2017
Samadhi Collective - Douglas Lingelbach and Kevin Bendig
Douglas Lingelbach is a chainsaw carver from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He has been carving for the last 25 years in both ice and wood and has participated in national and international competitions at the Manitou Beach Maple Madness Chainsaw Carving Competition, SK, Chetwynd World Championship Chainsaw Carving, BC, Festival du Voyageur Chainsaw Competition, Winnipeg, and currently working on a commissioned War Memorial sculpture in Saskatoon, SK.
The second artist that was selected for the Crescent Park project is Kevin Bendig who is a carver originally from northern Saskatchewan, but has relocated to Nelson, BC where he is studying to be a doctor of Traditional Chinese medicine. He has been carving for over 6 years and has worked with Doug Lingelbach on a number of collaborative projects.
Both artists worked together on the Crescent Park tree projects, and completed 2 trees. The first tree focuses on the rich history of hte railway. The tree features a large bust of a railway worker with symbolic western red lilies and wheat bundles intertwining around the tree. An added feature is a carving of an old steam train that is a functional bench.
Their second project in Crescent Park features a Burrowing Owl, which is an endangered native bird, but also a symbol of our community. Along the tree, other features will be added to commemorate the Canada 150 theme, which includes maple leaves and the Saskatchewan map carved into the back with other flora and fauna wrapped around the tree.
Canada 150
History of the Railway
Artists Kevin Bendig and Doug Lingelbach pose in front of the History of the Railway tree that has incorporated original rails which were donated by the Canadian Pacific Railway to complete the piece.
2016
Karlie King
Karlie King is a mixed media visual artist from Regina, Saskatchewan. She used clay as her material to work on this project. The first part of her time was spent creating slabs in the clay studio at the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery, which were layered with patterns and textures in an organic symmetrical pattern. Later they were fit and molded around the tree and designed with opened areas of the tree showing. Once the tiles were fired, they were permanently installed onto the tree.
Karlie King standing beside the completed tree with clay tiles attached to it.
Jim Niedermayer
Jim Niedermayer is a chainsaw carver from Pine Falls, Manitoba. He has been carving for over 7 years and has participated in competitions in Manitou Beach, SK, Northern Manitoba Trappers' Festival in The Pas, MB, and the National Canadian Chainsaw competitions in London, ON. This year he helped organize a competition in his hometown of Pine Falls. For the project in Crescent Park, he selected the swan as his focal point, as wildlife is his passion, and the swan is a bird that symbolized the park for many years.
Jim Niedermayer standing beside his completed tree carving which depicts a swan carving on top.
Education Programming Artwork
2017 - Canada 150 Crescent Park Sculpture and Gardens
On the West entrance into Crescent Park (corner of Langdon Crescent and Cordova Street)
Almost 500 people participated in making tiles for this project.
Students from St. Mary's School - Kindergarten and Grade 3 classes, St. Margaret's School - Grade 1, 3, 4, 7 and 8 classes, Sunningdale School - Kindergarten classes, St. Agnes School - Grade 5 & 8 classes, St. Michaels School - Grade 3 class, King George School - Grade 6 class, Sacred Heart School - Grade 8 class, Prince Arthur School - Grade 4/5, South West Daycare students, Project 104 students, Intellectually Challenged Adult Art Class, Nichole Cornea.
Grant McLaughlin was the artist who created the model and cement work for the maple leaf and applied the tiles to the surface of the project
Christy Schweiger, Education Coordinator at the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery, designed placement of tiles for project, cut slabs of clay, cut tiles from clay, dried, loaded them into kiln, fire tiles (bisques), made glazes to work on project, coordinated classes to participate in project, had participants paint tiles with themes, once painted a clear glaze on tiles, fire tiles (glaze firing), designed where each tile goes on project.
An additional 30 hours were done through contributions of volunteers to help with tile cutting tiles, scoring tiles, applying clear glaze on tiles, removing glaze off back of tiles, count and keep inventory of tiles.
2014 - Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Anniversary Tile Mural
Inside Crescent Park over the Long Bridge on the Maintenance Building on the way to the Phyllis Dewar, outdoor pool
The mural is a collaborative piece of 150 ceramic tiles commemorating the Diamond Jubilee of her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Several local groups came together to share their talents, including St. Agnes School Grades 3 to 6 students, Phoenix Academy, Moose Jaw Girl Guides, and members of the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery Intellectually Challenged art class. Special thanks to Nichole Cornea for her participation in this project.
Christy Schweiger, Education Coordinator at the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery, designed placement of tiles for project, cut slabs of clay, cut tiles from clay, dried, loaded them into kiln, fire tiles (bisques), made glazes to work on project, coordinated classes to participate in project, had participants paint tiles with themes, once painted a clear glaze on tiles, fire tiles (glaze firing), designed where each tile goes on project.
2013 - Celebrating 100 years in Crescent Park Tile Mural
Inside Crescent Park over the Long Bridge on the Maintenance Building on the way to the Phyllis Dewar, outdoor pool
272 make up this 2 part mural that depicts the history of Crescent Park and its 100 year + history in our community. Local schools participated in this projects and a tile with their teacher and grade are marked on the framed mural on the left and students contributed to a birds eye view of Crescent Park with landmarks is on the right.
Christy Schweiger, Education Coordinator at the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery, designed placement of tiles for project, cut slabs of clay, cut tiles from clay, dried, loaded them into kiln, fire tiles (bisques), made glazes to work on project, coordinated classes to participate in project, had participants paint tiles with themes, once painted a clear glaze on tiles, fire tiles (glaze firing), designed where each tile goes on project.
2011 - Shaw Cable Backdrop
Students in our summer Teen Art Class worked with Lee Stearns to create this backdrop and learned how to airbrush.
2010 - YMCA Mural
Students in our summer Teen Art Class worked with artist Monica DeCampo to create a tiled mural that hangs in the main YMCA building in Crescent Park.
2009 - YMCA Mural
2008 - Wakamow Valley - Terra the Turtle Sculpture and Tile project
2008 - Elgin Park Mural
Students in our summer Teen Art Class worked with Lee Stearns to create this mural in Elgin Park and learned how to airbrush.
