Karen Blanchet

Karen Blanchet, is a full time artist and one of the main artists contributing to the murals of Legal. She grew up in Australia, but has found her soulmate in Alberta. Currently  living in Legal, where she has commenced “Blanchet Fine Arts School” in 1990. Karen has a Bachelor of Arts, an honors in french and certificate in teaching.  She is the director at the Galarie Inspirations Gallary. Awards for Karen Blanchet include ACFA-Centralta Bourse, Bon Accord Exhibit and Doghide River Festival.

Karen Blanchet has always loved art. Her mom would give her all kinds of materials to work with. “She put pencils in my hands and I drew, and I always loved drawing and painting.”

Karen did not always paint. There was a period in her life where a career in art did not exist instead she went to university to become a lawyer. Law did not suit so she managed a bachelor of arts instead. Later she took a post-graduate course and acquired a Profession A Teaching Certificate..

During Karen’s short teaching period, she was assigned art classes to middle school students.  As there was no official art curriculum at the time, Karen created her own syllabus. When the provincial government of Saskatchewan released their official art program little over a year later, Karen was pleased to see that she already covered all the requirements in her art class. She had managed to create a sufficient art program before the government.

Her husband realized she was constantly drawing and encouraged Karen to pursue her interest. Now a full-time artist, Karen gives lessons to the community, and in 1998, she was commissioned to paint her first mural on the subject of the Grey Nuns.

“I had never, ever [painted] anything that size, but I’ll tell you what: it cured me of small!”

Since then, Karen has painted five murals in Legal, but nine in total.

While Karen’s artistic style has gone through many changes over years, one thing that remains consistent is her unique signature. Instead of signing her name, she writes: “In the Glory of God”. When asked of the origin of her motto, Karen explains, “I find that today’s contemporary art has so much suffering in it, that we don’t need more ugly. We need more beauty and hope. So I’m hoping my work actually shows that. With the grace of God, we can overcome just about anything.”

Art and religion are both very important aspects of Karen’s life. She enjoys painting people and scenery. Some of her favorite mediums include oils, watercolors and mixed media. When not painting, Karen enjoys reading and enriching herself in church-orientated activities, especially theology. She is looking into a career of art mentoring and is excited for the new direction her life has taken, aimed towards God and religious beliefs.

Bishop Legal

The town of Legal and the St. Emile Church were both named in honor of Bishop Legal. Emile Legal was born in 1949. He was ordained priest by the age of 25, then moved to Canada in 1979. He joined the Oblate brothers and offered his service to the Piegans and the Blood Indians of southern Alberta.

In the top left corner of the mural, Father Legal stands next to a tent. He lived in a tent much like the people he served. At the bottom left, another picture of Father Legal shows him in a field, baptizing the First Nation people. In 1897, Monsignor Vital Grandin conferred Father Emile Legal to the title of Bishop and asked him to be his successor. Bishop Legal was a modest man and was unsure of the responsibilities of being head of the St. Albert Diocese, but eventually accepted his position, as it aided him in his task to help spread the word of God. He spoke many indigenous languages and wrote books on the First Nation’s culture. He was also an architect. He helped design floor plans and construct churches, including Legal’s first church. The image in the top right shows him standing in front of St Emile church, which he helped create. After many years Bishop Legal was named head of the newly created Diocese of Edmonton. He was also a strong advocate for catholic schools, and pursued funding when Alberta was made a province. The bottom right picture contains Bishop Legal standing next to the Knights of Columbus, the organization that sponsored the mural.

“I wanted him to come alive, and the rest snapshots of his life,” says Karen when asked about the mural. “I discovered that I don’t have to be complicated for a mural to look good.” 

Knights of Columbus

Four pillars support the structure within the Knights of Columbus. They are loosely associated with the four levels of initiation although there is a great deal of overlap. The first pillar is Unity primarily a first degree concern, Charity is associated with the second degree, Fraternity is linked to the third degree and Patriotism is tied to the fourth degree.

From the center of the mural which hosts the dual emblems of Legal Council #3223, both French and English, emerge four triangles representing the four pillars and the four degrees. Inside each triangle we can see the concrete manifestations that each pillar inspires.

The top contains local images indicating the united commitment of the Knights to the youth of our community. Many volunteer hours built the Knights of Columbus ballpark that also hosts a wonderful playground for the younger team members. Ongoing financial involvement with the youth shows up in sports arenas, in particular, hockey, soccer and basketball. 

On the left is a fine example of charity as the Knights came together to build a house to accommodate wheelchair mobility when one of its members was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. 

On the right we see signs of fraternal solidarity with the Church and community in a pro-life sign reminding us that all life is sacred, in fundraising events and in support of the pope. 

At the bottom we see evidence of patriotism with the flag and fourth degree members in all their regalia.

- Written by Karen Blanchet

Charrois Family

This mural was painted to show a typical winter evening in the Charrois family home during the 1940‘s.

Jean-Baptiste and Claudia Charrois were the proud parents of eleven children. Claudia is seen working on the family loom, accompanied by her daughters Alexandra and Simone. The loom is of great importance to the family as it is now displayed in the Provincial Museum of Alberta. Jean-Baptiste is smoking his favorite pipe near his sons, Patrick and Leo, who are playing the violin and the accordion, respectively. At the table, Aurel and Willie are playing chess, while their brothers Gloria, Adrien and Antonio play cards. Adelia and Adeloza are knitting in the foreground of the mural.

The family never had a proper chance to be all together under the same roof, as the eldest had already left home when the youngest was born. The mural was unveiled at a family reunion in 2000 and the Charrois family was delighted to see it.

Karen is a friend of the Charrois family, which made it all the more smoother to research and sketch a draft for the mural. At first glance, the heads seem a little too big for their bodies. Karen had to undergo the difficult task of taking head-shots from wedding pictures, then transforming them to create a casual, relaxed setting. “They’re all standing up, stiff as boards, with this not necessarily happy expression on their faces.” Oil lamps are the source of light in the painting, and in order to understand the effect the lighting would have, Karen lit one of her own lamps to see how far the light reached and the effect it had on different surfaces. “I shut the lights [off] and I lit it, and I thought, Oh my God, it has a whole foot around it that’s lit. How can we light a room with one lamp?” Karen then tried three lamps, with no success. In order to have a mural that was bright and full of detail, she exaggerated the lighting.

The Grey Nuns

This mural depicts the journey of the Grey Nuns, from its inception to the present day. A common spirit that unifies the mural is manifested through the daisies. In France, daisies are called marguerites, and the many daisies symbolize Marguerite d’Youville, the founder of the Grey Nuns. The Grey Nuns were founded in Montreal in the year 1738.

By 1844, Bishop Boniface Provencher of St. Boniface, Manitoba had asked the Grey Nuns to come to Western Canada. They traveled across the country in birch bark canoes and ox-driven carts, from Montreal to St. Boniface to Lac La Biche. The Nuns provided a number or services to several communities, mostly in the domains of health and education.

At the bottom left corner, one can see the convent the Nuns helped build in 1923. The building is still standing today and is now Ecole Citadellle, a francophone school. Sister Dorilla Simard, who taught there for thirty-five years, was well-known in the community and is fondly remembered by many citizens of Legal. The other buildings in the mural are the General Hospital of Edmonton and Morinville’s St. Jean Baptiste Church. Jesus stands at the top of the mural, spreading his arms and the light of Christ to all the people in Western Canada. The original version of the mural had a crucifix, but was altered to show a resurrected Christ.

The Grey Nuns mural was Karen’s very first mural. “I learned what not to do,” she laughs. “I learned a lot about what not to do.” Karen started painting the mural in late summer and as autumn rolled along, it soon became clear that she would not meet her deadline. A small fort was built so Karen could continue to paint well into the cold weather, but even with a heater, the wall was much too cold for the paint to dry. To prove her point, she painted the red accents on the mural, then waited two weeks for the pain to adhere to the wall. She then told the committee, “Okay, let’s see what happens when we throw a bucket of water on it,” and did exactly that. The paint came running down and the committee agreed to postpone the deadline.

Paroisse

Karen has also completed several tableaus, which act like miniature murals. They are located in St. Jean Baptiste Park. The mural focused on the church and how it was, in many ways, the center of the community. The various costumes worn by the townsfolk references how people from many different ethnic groups come together to form a village.

A portrait of Father Morin is shown on the left. He is a symbol to the town of Morinville, as he has done many things for the community. When he worked as a missionary, he helped recruit over 600 families for the fields of Central Alberta. He also served as Morinville’s postmaster and helped bring the town its first telephone line.

When first asked to paint this tableau, Karen created a colored draft of the picture. It was collage that ran vertically and the images contained a full spectrum of color. However, the committee asked her to present a second idea. Karen returned equipped with a plain, horizontal scene, devoid of color. The committee loved it, and so came the idea of a monochromatic picture.

Political Service

Not only does this mural represent the many levels of government, it also honors those from the community who have made a difference. The names of all the mayors of Legal up until the present day are found on the two lists located at the bottom of the mural. The fleur de lis shown on the mural symbolizes the common french heritage and the important of french in the community. The town office, the building this mural is painted upon, can be seen in the background.

Above are three portraits of town mayors. Télésphore St. Arnaud, the first mayor of Legal, is the uppermost portrait, located on the same “level” as the Legislator, whereas the other two portraits are beneath him. Télésphore was also MLA of the constituency of St. Albert, representing the farmers of Alberta.

The second portrait is of Dave Brodo, who donated a large proportion of funds towards community projects such as the ACFA building. He was also the MLA of the Redwater Constituency.

Lionel Tellier is seen in the final portrait. He served as Alexandre Lavoie’s lawyer for the infamous Lavoie Case. From 1940 to 1944, he was an independent member of the provincial parliament. He was named “Queen’s Counsellor” for his many years of service.

When Karen was asked to paint this mural, her initial thought was, “Oh yeah. Politics are my favorite subject!” The mural displayed on the town office is not the entire unit. A final panel,  which displayed the last level government, the federal government, as well as another portrait, is missing. A final portrait was painted over.