Low Profile Bowls
The silhouettes of a writer/journalist, a ballerina, a native Chief who was an actor and writer, and a popular urbanist and activist are the basis of a new series of bowls. How did you decide on these particular individuals as the subjects for your Low Profile Bowls? I began the project two days after Celia Franca passed away, in February 2007. As I was reading about her, and all the amazing things she'd done (her accomplishments extend far beyond founding the National Ballet of Canada), I couldn't believe that I'd never heard of her. This was not long after the CBC's "Greatest Canadian" contest aired, so I decided to revisit their top 100, out of curiosity (neither Celia nor Jane Jacobs made the list, by the way). I found that although I agreed with most of the choices, there were some unbelievable reaches and unforgivable oversights. So I made my own list-- Canadians who had accomplished great things, and deserved more attention. My criteria required candidates be outstanding, important Canadians with a broad scope to their accomplishments--no single-threats allowed. I ended up with a very long list, and if I ever have the time, I would love to produce a bowl for each name on the list. However, for the initial batch I had to pair down my selection to four, so I chose the candidates who had the best facial profiles: Jane Jacobs, Celia Franca, Pierre Berton and Chief Dan George.
