Town & Country

C M Y K WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, SATURDAY JULY 20, 2019 5 PHOTO BY CHRIS MCIVOR Kermani named the finished piece after the animal he modelled it on and as a nod to the community of Selkirk who encouraged his art. Erin Schultz-Marsh ERIKSDALE CREAMERY MUSEUM Come home to Eriksdale for family fun our 15th Annual Creamery Days Fair & Rodeo Featuring Country Pride & Four Mile Road Fri, Sat. & Sun, August 16, 17 & 18 For information contact: Doreen 204-739-5322 or Sandra 204-739-2067 eriksdalemuseum2@gmail.com • See us on Facebook "Eriksdale Creamery Museum" Fraserwood Hall Fraserwood, MB 10km west of Gimli on Hwy #231 Bingo every Friday night at 7:15pm For Hall rental info: Lori 204-643-5750 A & G A & G Distributors www.midcandoor.ca • (204) 222-5643 GARAGE DOORS & OPENERS RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL SALES & SERVICE Centre St. Gimli 204-642-8588 Outdoor Summer Fun in Gimli, Selkirk, Winnipeg Beach zumbajan@mts.net zumba.com/en-US/profile/janice-keryluk/19828 Zumba Fitness with Jan Show a resident of Selkirk an image of "Elkirk" and they're sure to recognize it. The nearly nine-foot tall driftwood elk sat in Majid Kermani's front yard for almost a year before being auctioned off on Holiday Alley, a two-day winter festival in Selkirk. E lkirk may now be his most recognized piece, but Ker- mani started by sculpting more ephemeral art. After moving to Canada from Iran in 2004 to pursue a PhD in mechanical en- gineering, he started sculpting with sand, creating mermaids, Vikings and sea serpents that wouldn't last more than a day on the beach. "I never thought that my skills could be applied to sculpting till I came to Canada," says Kermani, who was 40 when he started sand sculpting. "My father made plaster deco- rations in the houses in Iran and we didn't look at it as art — but it is art. And now I am making art." But when Kermani moved from Eastern Canada to Manitoba he had to change his medium. "I started doing sand sculpting and I liked it and thought I could do more and more," he says. "Then I moved to Manitoba. I knew I couldn't change the weather so I switched from sand sculpting to ice and snow." Eventually Kermani's front-yard snow sculp- tures started to get attention from neigh- bours, newspapers and local event organizers. "After seeing Majid's sand and snow sculptures around the commu- nity, we were excited to see what permanent pieces he could create for Holiday Alley," says Shirley Muir, one of the organizers of the winter art and culture festival in Selkirk. Muir invited Kermani to one of Holiday Alley's brainstorming meetings. The idea for a wood sculpture came from people wanting to see ice sculptures at Holiday Alley. The problem for the early December event was that there was no guarantee of enough snow. Kermani offered to try his hand at a life-sized animal made of driftwood from the banks of the Red River instead. "When I was a child my mom always encouraged me to do something good for my neighbours," he says. "So, I was proud to be able to make something for the community." Kermani used his knowledge of 3D models and engineering to create the design and make sure the pieces fit and would stay together. Through the construction process he found the community even more appreciative than he had initially imagined. The driftwood elk created a buzz in Selkirk. People would pull over in their cars to take pictures or chat with the artist. "Probably 50 per cent of the time I spent working outside on Elkirk I spent talking with people, and they were here so happy that I was making it." Kermani named the finished piece after the animal he modelled it on and as a nod to the community of Selkirk who encouraged his art. "I thought if I want to name it, it should be a name that reminds people about where it was created and how I feel about this com- munity. I love this community, so I named the sculpture after Selkirk." After months of work, Elkirk was moved from Kermani's front yard to the centre of Selkirk's downtown, the location of Holiday Alley's art auction. The piece started a steady bidding war and finally sold for over $3,000. Kermani has continued to make sculptures from wood and recently finished his third large-scale sculpture — an eagle with a fish in its talons soaring above water. It was one of 63 works selected to be in the Manitoba Society of Artists' Open Juried Competition and Exhibition. The piece is on display at the Mennonite Heritage Centre Gallery until Sept. 14, 2019. BY KIT MUIR SELKIRK CREATIVE SPIRIT Sculptor works in sand, snow, ice and wood "My father made plaster decorations in the houses in Iran and we didn't look at it as art — but it is art. And now I am making art." D D PHOTO BY DARCY FINLEY Artist Majid Kermani with one of his pieces on display at the Mennonite Heritage Centre Gallery.

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