St. Paul artist Herman Poulin is down to the final brush strokes on a project to celebrate the area’s francophone culture.

Poulin finished up an outreach tour at l’Association Canadienne Francaise de l’ Alberta (ACFA)’s St. Paul facility on Friday. The tour had him visit several locations gathering input for what the final project will include.

“We did a tour of nine areas from schools to seniors’ lodges and today we’ve come back to our home place at ACFA,” Poulin said on Friday.

The central part of the monument will be a cubic stand, with paintings on each of the four outward-facing sides. The pictures, printed on metal, will show different aspects of francophone life.

“As we did our tour we were able to share, discuss, and exchange ideas,” Poulin said. With the information he has gathered Poulin will take his notes, sketches, and studies back to his shop to complete the project.

Right now the monument is “about 90 per cent complete. Maybe 92 per cent,” he said. The metal pieces are cut, and only the actual painting remains to be done. The paintings will then be embossed onto metal before installation. 

Crowning the sculpture will be a 1909 plow from St. Vincent, donated by the Gratton family. Richard Brousseau crafted new wooden handles for the plow. The theme of the monument is “Laissons nos traces,” or “Leaving Our Traces.”

Beneath the plow, the four pictures on the cube will represent francophone heritage; arts and culture; the importance of ACFA and its mandate; and French education. Each picture will be framed to resemble a postage stamp. 

“When you go around it, you will know the contributions the French gave to the community, and also  what the community gave back to the French,” Poulin said.

The monument will also incorporate a mosaic with pieces including everything from pebbles to computer keys. The stones are obviously ancient, but the keys are from the present. 

Or are they? The past, Poulin says, can be much more recent than we think.

“Our past is growing all the time, this is basically it,” he said. “Keys from computers and all the technologies will bring it back and that’s going to be the futuristic aspect. And then we touch back to the pebbles on the ground.”

The sculpture’s base will be a rusted iron box. 

At first glance the rusty look may suggest decay. Poulin says it does symbolize age, but also stability and permanence. He uses an all-natural European technique that stabilizes the metal’s oxidation and leaves a lasting patina.

“There’s no man-made finish that can imitate rust,” he said. “Two coats of double-boiled linseed oil, and it will never peel like paint does. And it’s natural.”

The rust will contrast the polished metal elsewhere on the monument.

As proud as he is of his own French heritage, Poulin recognizes and celebrates the many cultures that make up a community like St. Paul. He has been called upon to lend his artistic vision and skill on other projects that reflect cultures other than his own.

“The hardest part of a sculpture, or anything, is  research,” he said. When working with Ukrainian or First Nations or Métis cultures, Poulin calls upon the people with firsthand knowledge to guide his work.

“You give the research to the people that have that culture so you are able to give it reverence. Because it comes from them.

“I’m not worthy to look up the research of the Métis Nation—they understand it, they’ve lived it,” he said. “But when they bring it to you, this is where you are changed.”

The sculpture should be complete in a few weeks. It will be installed in Lagasse Park sometime in the spring, and officially dedicated around St. Jean Baptiste Day June 24.

Poulin says the “Laissons nos traces” theme is important to generations of francophones, and is relevant to people of all cultures and backgrounds. 

“Everybody leaves their tracks, their traces, their footprints,” he said.

Some of the elements Herman Poulin will incorporate into his final design. JEFF GAYE
Artist Herman Poulin. JEFF GAYE
Poulin points to a drawing of the finished sculpture. JEFF GAYE
Staff from Conseil scolaire centre-est learn about Poulin’s inspirations. JEFF GAYE