LETHBRIDGE, ALTA. -- A southern Alberta artist has completed an exhibit that will soon be installed in one of North America’s top performing venues, the Edmonton Convention Centre.
The art piece by Lethbridge sculptor Catherine Ross features 2,035 gold coloured hand-formed birds that will be suspended five meters above the convention centre floor.
“This has been such a pleasure to make this piece,” said Ross, only days after hanging the last bird.
It’s not an exaggeration to say when Ross creates art she is prepared to go big. Her latest project, called “Migratory Path” takes up a large part of her back yard studio, and has been several years in the making.
“You know, we had COVID, so you can’t do anything else.”
The idea behind the project actually was actually formed more than two decades ago.
“I started making gold birds in 2000, but not for this piece. I had other ideas for them.”
But when Ross she saw a call for a public art installation at the Convention Centre in 2018, she immediately knew it would be the right place to make a home for the birds.
Turns out her intuition was strong, and her piece was selected.
“My premonition is just optimism,” she laughed, “but if you don’t have that I don’t think you can be a sculptor, because there’s a heck of a lot of work here.”
SWARMING OF BIRDS
The Edmonton Convention Centre is recognized as one of North America's five top performing venues, bringing people from around the world together to learn, innovate, trade and celebrate. Ross said that gathering of people, is represented in the murmuration or swarming of birds, depicted in her artwork.
“It’s about movement and it’s about community. If we are going to put it down to two words.”
The finished sculpture is almost eight meters long, just under three meters wide, and about three meters deep.
Ross said the first 1,000 birds she created turned out to be too small, and made from the wrong kind of clay. So she started over.
“I got the right scale, I got the right clay and the birds pleased me.”
From there she began making them every day.
Each bird was modelled by hand, drilled, triple fired and glazed, a painstaking process that involves delicate timing to ensure the pieces don’t crack or break.
“And then, once you’re done that, you’re ready to hang,” she said. That part of the project took another three months.
TRANSPORTING TO EDMONTON
The next big task, is packing up the piece, so it can be transported to Edmonton for installation.
The sculpture breaks down into six easy pieces that can be packed in bubble wrap and placed in crates for shipping.
Ross said she feels lucky to have the opportunity to make a piece of this scope that’ll will live in a prominent location, where people will be able to enjoy it on a daily basis.
“They’ll be able to enjoy it as the light streams in from the windows and skylights, and a few hot lights shining on it," she added, smiling.
“It's going to glow like nothing you can imagine.”
