excerpt
Ken warned her that BC law offices of the day rarely hired women lawyers,
and the Bar exams were considered the stiffest in the land. When the top
environmental lawyer in the province confirmed this, she condescended to
study and accordingly passed with impressive marks. Finding a job presented
more of a problem, and her spirit was nearly broken before Ken learned that
the Sierra Legal Defense group was looking for a lawyer. The entry position
paid far less than Karen was used to, but the opportunity for advancement
was promising and it was in her chosen field. He persuaded her that the
future rewards would soon compensate for the lower entry position. Her job
required extensive travel, but she quickly became respected for her ability
as a giant-killer and moved through the ranks to a position where she was
challenging internationally prestigious law cases.
She was now not only ferociously committed to her pursuit of
success, but ever more dismissive of Ken’s attempts to support her in her
endeavours. No matter what action he took, Karen grew more and more
distant. It was an untenable position for the man who had always made
things happen.
~~
Ken was also finding it difficult to re-establish himself in the west coast
galleries after his long absence. It is a sad fact that whatever prestige one
gains in central Canada, public awareness doesn’t necessarily filter through
the glass curtain into the west. More than two decades of regular press and
television appearances had made Ken a household name in Ontario. His
paintings enjoyed international acclaim together with a solid following in
Toronto, however west of Muskoka he was hardly known.
The Isumataq project generated an interesting statistic. The unveiling
of this colossal painting on Parliament Hill had been the most outrageous,
incredible story perhaps in Canada’s history. It had garnered a total of 532
hours of TV time (not including repeat broadcasts). Outside of Ontario there
was far less media attention paid to the subject. In Manitoba, it translated into
just over five hours, and in British Columbia, coverage was an astonishingly
meagre hour and one-half.
The western press constantly moans about the focus on central Canada,
but here was a national story, created by an artist from the West, and …
Libros Libertad 