Seven journeys

by Doris Shadbolt

"Emily Carr (1871-1945) was an extraordinary Canadian artist and writer; she is now a national cultural icon and is considered one of the great artists of the Americas. She found inspiration for her paintings in the lush forests of the British Columbia coast and in the compelling totem poles in Native villages.". "Among the collections of Emily Carr material at the British Columbia Archives is a special cache of thirteen small drawing books that offer a direct connection with her artist's hand, eye and mind. Spanning the years 1927 to 1930, at a turning point in her life when she was in her mid-fifties, these sketches record seven significant journeys - to isolated Native villages in coastal British Columbia and to eastern Canada to meet fellow artists in the Group of Seven. Two of the journeys were metaphorical - to abstraction and to nature itself - but they both were an intrinsic part of all the others as well as a part of the process of developing the powerful painting style that i