Joanne McQuarrie, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter | [email protected]
A unique idea came to be during a board meeting at St. Mary and St. George Anglican Church in October.
"Somebody came up with an idea to create a huge Christmas card about the Christmas story - the birth of Jesus," said Jennifer Ottaway, a board member who is a painter, illustrator and sketch artist.
"I heard them say that, and somebody said, 'Not the traditional story...something different.'" Ottaway's artistic gears started turning and she volunteered to give that idea some form.
Ottaway was given a budget to work with.
With two sheets of plywood, some exterior primer and a small selection of basic primary colours, she had a starting point, and threw her own supply of paints into the mix to make stronger colours.
Her creation, a detailed scene, took 20 hours to do - but then she did have an eight-foot square canvas to cover.
Ottaway chose the image she painted, "because there was a story in it鈥�.
She said, 鈥淭here's action: King Wenceslas was sitting in the castle, saw a man outside collecting firewood. He asked his page - his servant - where that man was, where he lived.
鈥淭he poor man lived in a cave on the king's property. He and the page went with supplies to give to the man.
鈥淎t the end of the story, the page, a young fellow, says he's tired and cold, and the king said, 'Follow in my footsteps.' And apparently there was warmth in the footprints."
Ottaway said it was nice to see the church members working together to find a solution, especially this Christmas.
"We had other plans, but they've been squashed by COVID," she said.
She said the church group purchased lights to be set up by the card.
"Light is primordial - it helps our spirit, helps our health," Ottaway said.
"In the Anglican Church, there's an advent wreath with candles on it. They represent hope, peace, joy and love. So we're making a wreath to go in front of the card - an outdoor wreath."
Reverend Andreas Sigrist said, "I just love it, how it came together. It's something Jennifer created. She has a gift."
He encourages people to follow and to exercise what they're passionate about and what they're good at.
Sigrist said, "The art depicts the beautiful spirit we see emerging in our community, especially in this pandemic. It's brought out something beautiful.
"There's a lot of things we can't do, but the card is an expression, an act of hope. My hope is this art can communicate something that words can't. I hope people can come to look at it, and kids see the details.
鈥淭hat's another important thing: asking questions. They're (important) for discovering the truth."
