More eagles in the city

These three beautiful eagle statues are from the Vancouver Island Eagles in the City project.

"The Power of One" by Bernadette McCormack

"West Coast Roots" by Lynn Kingham

"Free Fall" by Wendy "Sage River" Rogers

Orca - "Maximilian"

"Maximilian" is another of the Orcas in the City from the Victoria project. It's situated on the Lower Causeway on the downtown Victoria waterfront (or at least that's where I photographed it last summer). Artists of what looks like a cut-glass mosaic overlay are Sara Gifford, Jan Van Sickle and Michael Hofmann.

Orcas project

Last summer in our travels around Victoria we sighted several Orcas from the Orcas in the City project. Below is one of these fun, statues. Though they all start out looking the same, each ends up with a unique personality.

"VictoriOrca" by Peter Karas & Corinne Garlick

Orca on display

This decorative orca lives at the Victoria ferry terminal (Tsawwassan departure). It's part of the "Orcas In the City" project which raised over $400,000 for charity in 2004. It's beautiful from every angle.

Critters and Sir Hornswoggle

This is some of the company you'll have as you explore the Port Alberni waterfront. (In fact, when I first encountered Sir Hornswoggle on the pier, I was sure he was fellow sighseer.)

Easter Pysanka

I've been saving this beautiful Vegreville pysanka statue / weather vane for this season. Here it is today -- a week before Good Friday.

We stopped in Vegreville on our trip through Alberta last fall to photograph this largest pysanka in the world. It was put up in 1974 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the RCMP and to celebrate the cultural diversity of the Vegreville community. Hubby, standing at its base, gives an idea of its size.


Pysanka are traditional Ukrainian Easter eggs. They are made with chicken eggs using a batik process, where wax, funneled through the tip of an instrument that's as fine as a pen (stylus), provides a resist to many baths of dye. The end result is amazingly intricate and colorful.

My husband is of Ukrainian descent and his mom had her own collection of pysanka -- not made by her, though.

For a detailed description of the process and explanation of what the colors signify, visit "Art of Ukrainian Pysanka" by artist and muralist Patricia Buzo of -- Patricia's Palette.

For a collection of hand-made pysanka that spans years, check out Luba Petrusha's Annual Collections gallery. Click on each year (top) to view the collection of that year's pysanka. Absolutely stunning!

Langley carvings - The Conductor

This is my favorite of the Pete Ryan carvings I've seen so far. It's called "The Conductor" and is at the corner of 204th Street and Fraser Highway in Langley.

Wood carvings of Langley - The Farmer

Since moving to Langley at the end of August, we've been exploring its streets and alleys. Along the way, we've made some lovely discoveries -- like the wood carvings done by Pete Ryan. So far, we've found six. Over the next few days I'll introduce them.

Today meet The Farmer. He stands at the corner of Glover Road and Duncan Way.

Cloverdale Cenotaph, Surrey BC

Ernie and I joined hundreds of others at the Cenotaph in Cloverdale this morning for a Remembrance Day ceremony.





A special event this morning was the unveiling and dedication of a new statue on the cenotaph memorial


The representation of a World War 1 soldier, kneeling at the grave of a fallen comrade was commissioned to replace an earlier similar one which was melted down to make bullets for World War II. This new piece was paid for in part with funds raised by Surrey school children.


Before we left, we unpinned our poppies and placed them with hundreds of others on the memorial as a token of our remembrance and thanks to Canadian soldiers past and present.





We remember.

Terry Fox Monument - Thunder Bay, Ontario

When we were in Thunder Bay this summer we made a special trip to the Terry Fox Memorial. This monument, just outside Thunder Bay on Highway 1, is a few kilometers from the spot where Terry Fox discovered cancer had come back and was forced to give up his Marathon of Hope. (He started April 12, ended September 1, 1980. He ran 5,373 kilometers in 143 days on one leg and a prosthesis).

Tomorrow, September 17th, is the day of this year's official Terry Fox Run when people in cities all across Canada and the world run to raise money for cancer research and continue the project Terry started in 1980.

About Terry Fox

Terry's early years

Story of the original Marathon of Hope

Map of Terry's journey. Below that are excerpts from a journal he wrote along the way.

Terry Fox Monument - 2

Terry Fox Monument - 3

Terry Fox Monument - 4


Notice the provincial emblems that line the mid-section of this side of the monument. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Terry Fox Monument - 5



Click on photo to enlarge.

White Rock B.C.

White Rock beach was where we took our walk on Saturday. It certainly still had that summer getaway feel to it.

This small mural depicting the White Rock beach front decorates the front of one of the Marine Drive eateries. (Click on pictures to enlarge.)



One of the many spirit bear statues found in various places around the lower mainland, is on the plaza in front of the old train station. It is part of the “Spirit Bears in the City” project.





The Spirit Bear is actually the Kermode Bear. This white bear is not a polar bear or an albino but a recessive gene black bear. These bears inhabit various parts of the rain forest in British Columbia and have been adopted by some as a symbol of British Columbia.

Why a mural blog?

For years I’ve had a fascination with murals. I love the audacious bigness of murals and the way their presence adds interest and splendor to an ordinary street.

I also love observing the subject matter of murals, which is wide-ranging. Some are symbolic. Others tell a story or focus on a community’s historical events. Still others border on propaganda or advertising.

People put them up for a variety of reasons, it seems. In some towns mural-making is used to memorialize history or give artists a platform. Some cities put up murals systematically with a view to draw tourists. Institutions and businesses put up murals to illustrate their ideals or what they support. Sometimes city governments fund mural projects to give their youth something to work on. Other times shopkeepers put up murals to transform ugly buildings and attract customers.

Regardless of why they’re there, most of them are pretty easy on the eyes and the understanding. I think of them as the art of common people (though usually by uncommonly good artists). If murals were music, they would be folk, or jazz, or country and western.

I’ve taken photographs of murals for years – photos that have customarily moldered in albums or boxes. But now, with my digital camera and access to a blog, I can do more. Which is why I’m putting up this blog – to share my finds with whoever cares to come by.

There won’t be a lot of writing here – mostly pictures. I’ll try to tell what I know about the various murals, like their artists and the message behind the depiction. I’ll also give general locations. Mostly, though, I want this to be a light-hearted, fun place to ogle street art.

Oh yes and the ‘and More’ part of this blog’s title simply means that from time to time, I’ll post other public art as well.

So, shall we begin...