Sculpture Commission
for Smed International
Ltd.













Detail of sculpture

(Click on any Image to see a higher resolution version)

From the opening of the show in Calgary to my return from Paris on the 11th of April, it was a non-stop excitement but not really a holiday, as some of my friends liked to think. Preparing, installing and dismantling two art exhibitions in the 3 weeks I had been away was exhausting and stressful. To add to the pressure, I was awarded a sculpture commission by Smed International Ltd., in Calgary, a week before our departure for Slovenija. I was thrilled to be able to produce another sculpture using my tracks of bears cast in Kamchatka, but its architectural application certainly added another challenge. Mogens Smed with input from his construction manager and architect was extremely helpful.

Two days before I departed for Slovenija, I engaged Alec Caldwell, at Caldwell-Coolley Foundry in Calgary, to complete the cement pour while I was on the road! Alec and his staff worked with me the year before to create the intricate molds for the sculpture that became the entry piece for the Calgary Exhibition. I knew I was leaving this difficult and heavy task (4,000 pounds of tracks were to be cast in cement). There are few sculptors out there that I would trust to complete this task, without my supervision. I held Alec Caldwell's skill in high regard and he had not let me down. In mid May, I had converted my barn to an outdoor studio. Ewa Sniatycka was hired to assist me with the most difficult part of the commission - the acid etch of 50 two foot square tablets! Please view the web site: :www.smednet.com/frameset.html (Click on News & Stories and then Big Paw Prints to Fill to see the story and images).

Two days after landing in Calgary, Charlie and I gave the closing lecture for the exhibition Through the Eyes of the Bear. The lecture was about the fieldwork we perform in Kamchatka. We had a terrible snowstorm and were worried that no one would come but 53 people came out. This was wonderful. With the end of the lecture came the take down of the exhibition.

The exhibition was a great success with 1631 casual visitors viewing the work, 1160 students enjoying school tours created for the exhibition, 450 people attending the opening reception, 53 for the lecture and 136 family members enjoying "family activity days". This brought the total attendance for the exhibition to 3,430 people!

Gallery educators told me that the children viewing the exhibition enjoyed the colors, the movement and the themes behind my work. The children received a guided tour focusing on the content and the art techniques. After seeing the work, the children sat down and created their own masterpieces using some of the techniques I use in my work such as the collage technique with photographs.

Following are a few exerts from the comment book, located in the Art Gallery of Calgary during the exhibition, which I would like to share:

"Through The Eyes of The Bear" by Maureen Enns is an absolutely splendid and breathtaking exhibit. In addition, to the creativity expressed, it evokes a sensitivity and understanding of the bear that is rarely experienced.
Dick, Ottawa - March 24, 2000

Great to finally see your work first hand after hearing so much about it and reading the field notes. I enjoy your use of vibrant alive colors and the marriage of abstract and high realism photo. Fun to see the footsteps knowing their history and concept of the bear's eye view.
Debra - March 30, 2000

Really enjoyed having so much info available to educate us all on the research project. Wonderful to be shown that humans and bears can, in the right situations, co-exist. I believe the exhibit promotes hope for a brighter future between bears and people.
Thanks Jen

- Maureen