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Artists: Dan and Janis Sawatzky of Chemainus, British Columbia |
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Desert pioneers Frank and Helen Bagley, their 1927 homestead and general store (The Bagley Store) and an early water tower "City Hall," which made the Guinness Book of World Records, are now preserved in a mural for posterity. But it almost took an Act of Congress to get the artists to the mural wall in time. A bureaucratic snafu, red tape and a bogged down process of work visa forms had left a paper trail several months long and the Sawatzkys stranded in Canada with no way into the States. In a creative effort that matched the creation of this mural itself, an "emergency strike force team" of local residents, Action 29 members, City Hall, and Congressman Jerry Lewis' office, finally pulled off the coup and delivered Dan and Janis to the mural wall ... a week late and a dollar short, but they got the job done. These Artists of Outstanding Merit (the name of the official form that was finally hand delivered to the Visa/Customs office at Vancouver airport) took the delay in stride, however, and painted a fine 12- by 100-foot mural in less than two weeks. Nearly 500 attended the mural unveiling ceremony held on April 26, 1997, including 40 members of the Bagley clan from all over the world. |
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Dan Sawatzky, a Chemainus, British Columbia, artist and theme park designer, calls himself an "Imagineer," and rightly so, as his work knows no bounds when it comes to creativity. He painted a mural in Chemainus in the early 1980s and stayed in the community, adding to its character with the art gallery and home he and his wife Janis built there. He also helped create the multi-million dollar dinner theater in the village's downtown. The Sawatzky family was later commissioned to create the theme amusement park in the world's largest indoor shopping mall in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The latest Sawatzky creation is a theme miniature golf park in Cultus Lake, B.C., called "Giggle Ridge" which is owned and run by the family. Dan Sawatzky is commissioned to do murals throughout the United States and Canada, and his creations are always a family event--wife Janis, daughter Rebecca, and son Peter all work with him. |
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Any software, images, webpages, text, and other materials that are made available to use, view, or download from the http://www.oasisofmurals.com are the copyrighted work of Michael Collins or Vickie Waite or are public domain as noted and cannot be used without express permission of either Michael Collins or Vickie Waite.. |
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