When history meets art

By Ginette Bars, translation Sheila Lord  (February 2011)

    

The sculptures situated in front of 525 Champlain, Hemmingford, are creating a lot of interest, and visitors to our village often stop to take photographs of them. The creation of the two works was inspired by the wish of the Priest family to honor their ancestors, who first settled in Hemmingford six generations ago.

One of the sculptures depicts Joseph Priest who lived from 1871 to 1959. He is leaning on a pike pole, his foot on a block of wood, working in the local sawmill around the year 1906. The other sculpture is a likeness of Romain Priest practising his trade as a metalworker around 1930. He lived from 1908 to 1964 and is seen here standing at a metal guillotine.

These sculptures are the work of Craig Dew, a resident of St. Bernard de Lacolle, who plies his craft as artisan-blacksmith using traditional methods such as fire, bellows, hammer and anvil. Craig is passionate about history and restoration and is meticulous in his reproduction of articles belonging to the heritage of Quebec.

The artist used tools which actually belonged to Romain Priest, as well as recycled metal, in the produc- tion of his sculptures.