Preserving a piece of history

Diana Poitras speaks to two artists restoring a storied St. Columba mural

Nineteen sixty-seven is considered one of the most remarkable years in Canada. Amongst other headlines in the news and events that year, it was the celebration of 100 years since Confederation.

Canada’s Centennial was recognized in many different ways throughout the Country, perhaps most notably with the World’s Fair–Expo’ 67–held in Montreal. Here in Ottawa, Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson lit the Centennial Flame on Parliament Hill for the first time.

Even closer to home, Manor Park resident Rod Williamson was inspired to take up his paint brushes and create an amazing mural in the lower hall of St. Columba Anglican Church.

The subject of the mural was a depiction of historic events beginning with the Fathers of Confederation in 1867, through two world wars, flappers, jazz, television, hippies and culminating with his illustration of Expo ’67.
Rod was art director at the federal government’s Department of Industry, Trade and Commerce, as it was then known. He was also a long-time resident of Arundel Ave. and a faithful parishioner at St. Columba. Many hymn and prayer books showcase Rod’s calligraphy skills in

the various dedications. Rod passed away on Remembrance Day in 2014.

Rod’s mural has been the backdrop to events at St. Columba since it was first painted, including Christmas bazaars, Girl Guide events, day-care play dates and karate classes to name but a few.

For some folks, the image is just part of the background without any special significance. Soccer balls have been kicked against the mural. Paper has been taped on the walls. Somehow though, it has survived these past 55 years and if these walls could talk, I’m sure they would have some fine tales to tell.

Fast forward to 2022, 55 years after Expo ’67 and Rod Williamson with his paint brushes, and St. Columba parishioner and artist, Wendy Trethewey enters the scene.

Wendy and fellow artist and collaborator, Eleanor Duncanson, offered their artistic talents to restore the much-loved, but sadly-abused mural. The result is a fully restored work of art that pays tribute to all three artists – Rod, Wendy and Eleanor – and the celebration of our country’s centennial.

Eleanor and Wendy have collaborated on a number of art projects under the name “Elendy”. As artists, Wendy and Eleanor travel, observe, absorb, return home and paint their travel experiences and emotions. As the saying goes, the final result of their collaboration is greater than the sum of its parts.

As Elendy, the work of these two artists may be found in private and public collections nationally and internationally, including “Made in Canada”, commissioned by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and “The Environmental Diversity of Canada”, commissioned by Environment Canada, to name but two.

Eleanor says, “When Wendy first suggested this (collaboration) around 1987, I was very skeptical. The idea that two artists could paint on one canvas, with the freedom to paint into and over another artist’s work went so against the grain!”

Despite those initial misgivings, the two have worked together on any number of projects, with outstanding results including “Expressions of Yucatan”, “The Art of Gardening” and “IncrEDIBLE Art”.

Wendy Trethewey paints intimate interiors and landscapes, sometimes placing a human (or animal) figure within them. She is also a portraitist, military artist and a miniaturist. She works in many mediums, including pastels. Nineteen paintings called “Family Life in the Military” of hers, along with another collaborator, are in the collection of the Canadian War Museum.

Eleanor Duncanson is a native Nova Scotian now residing in Smiths Falls. She specializes in large-format oil paintings of landscapes and florals for public access spaces. In the Ottawa area, she includes among her clients, the Westin Hotel, for whom she produced nine large oil landscapes that had been (and may still be) in their Provincial meeting rooms.

Anyone who would like to see the mural can join us on a Sunday for a church service at 9:30 a.m. followed with a visit to our lower hall where the mural may be found.

The parishioners of St. Columba extend our heartfelt thanks to Elendy for their collaborative restoration work.

This article was written by Diana Poitras, administrator at St. Columba Anglican Church.

For more information about the church and its activities in the community, see Reflections on a busy summer at St. Columba.