Cim MacDonald has given many aspects of the Chemainus mural project a new lease on life after 25 years as the curator.
鈥淗er curator job involved repairing murals as needed with touch-up and sealing after each annual inspection tour,鈥� noted Tom Andrews, the current president of the Chemainus Festival of Murals Society. 鈥淪he also did partial and full restoration of murals when required based on age from 10 to 20 years if the original artist was not available.
鈥淲hen Cim started as curator, there were 40 murals and statues. Today, there are 71 so her scope of work increased dramatically over 25 years.鈥�
鈥淚t was an interesting job over the years,鈥� MacDonald conceded.
The time has also passed very quickly and 鈥渋t doesn鈥檛 seem like it,鈥� she added of the 25 years doing the task.
鈥淪andy Clark was still around. She was the one who got me into it in a way, between her and Linda Tucker.鈥�
Clark did three of the murals around town and one of the sculptures. She died in 2010.
MacDonald has also been an active artist, painting 10 murals as well as doing her curator job, including: The Telephone Company (1992); Passing the Torch (2006); two Emily Carr paintings on the Long House (2010); Compass, Keeper of Secrets and Sacred Cedar (2016); Kew Gardens Flagpole (2017); Mount Brenton Golf Course (2021) and Service Above Self on the Rotary bunker (2022).
鈥淪he was also a great ambassador taking the time to talk to everyone who stopped by to ask questions while she was working,鈥� Andrews pointed out. 鈥淪he cared about the murals and did an amazing job keeping them maintained, colourful and looking like the way they were originally painted.鈥�
鈥淚 really enjoyed talking to the visitors,鈥� said MacDonald. 鈥淭he earlier days there were lots more tourists around. Most of the time I鈥檇 been working after hours, too.鈥�
The initial murals were painted on the surface of buildings with large crowds watching.
鈥淭hey just want to be able to communicate with somebody, the artist,鈥� MacDonald indicated.
Since the murals are now done on plywood, frequently at the artists鈥� own homes or studios, that doesn鈥檛 happen anymore. 鈥淵ou miss that part of the connection,鈥� conceded MacDonald.
However, with her golf course mural in 2021 she spent some time doing touch-ups after it was installed and kind of revived that element somewhat.
Travel was one of the unique perks that once went with the territory.
鈥淭hey used to have mural conferences around the world,鈥� MacDonald said.
As a result, she made trips to such places as Tasmania and Scotland, and the last one before COVID was in Newfoundland.
There were some interesting developments that led to a heavier workload for MacDonald, not the least of which was the time when a car crashed into the side of the Chemainus 台湾MM裸聊室 Credit Union building and damaged the Logging With Oxen mural.
鈥淭hat was a big job for her,鈥� said Andrews. 鈥淭here was nothing to paint over. She had to do it from scratch.鈥�
But in typical MacDonald fashion she did a phenomenal job and you can鈥檛 even tell the difference from the original, Andrews noted.
That was typical of the extremes MacDonald鈥檚 job would sometimes entail.
鈥淪ome years there wasn鈥檛 much to do and other years it was almost too much,鈥� she laughed.
MacDonald is obviously going to miss the job, but other factors have made it more difficult.
鈥淲ith this climate change, I鈥檓 happy,鈥� she indicated. 鈥淚 ended up with heat stroke a couple of times trying to work.鈥�
Fortunately, MacDonald did not wind up suffering any injuries despite being in some precarious positions and heights to do the job.
鈥淲hen I started, nobody trained me as such,鈥� she summed up. 鈥淚 learned a lot by doing some of the stuff.
鈥淚 had a pretty good time with the whole thing.鈥�
Current and former Festival of Murals Society board members held a luncheon at Thai Pinto in Chemainus last Wednesday as a send-off for MacDonald.
Tricia Oldfield has taken over the position.
don.bodger@chemainusvalleycourier.ca
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