“ My art is the finest expression in form of what I wish to say ,” she said , “ And so my ministry is the performance and teaching of art .”
College sits a Sasquatch made of a prickly mesh of rebar , watching over those going up and down the stairs . In 1976 , she was commissioned by the government of Australia to build a sundial on the former grounds of the Australian pavilion from Expo ’ 74 . The gnomon , a seven-foot-high steel pillar surrounded by a concrete base ten feet in diameter , is decorated with plants and animals indigenous to Australia . Another pillar , made in 1967 , stands in Indian Trail Park in Spokane . Ten feet high and resembling a steel totem pole , it contains 30 panels and honors native peoples , settlers , and missionaries .
Besides the famous goat , Sister Paula ’ s most recognizable public sculpture may be the woman and little girl holding hands in the Browne ’ s Addition neighborhood of Spokane . The woman is Anna Stratton Browne , the wife of J . J . Browne , the 19th century billionaire after whom the neighborhood was named . The child is her daughter Alta . Built of copper piping welded to a steel and brass frame ; they are collectively based on three figures from Georges Seurat ’ s 1884 painting “ A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte .” Seen from the front , Mrs . Browne and Alta are based on the mother and daughter in the background of Seurat ’ s painting . From the side , Mrs . Browne echoes the woman in the foreground , with her impressive bustle .
The pair of statues was funded by setting aside a minuscule percentage of the cost of building the fire station across the street . The Browne ’ s Addition neighborhood association wanted something that would commemorate one its most distinguished citizens and reflected the early days of the neighborhood . “ Mrs . J . J . Browne and Daughter ” soon became a beloved fixture of the neighborhood , but they were vulnerable to mischief . Some men tried to steal the sculpture by wrapping a chain around it and dragging it behind their vehicle . Unfortunately for them , their prize weighs half a ton . It wouldn ’ t budge . Fortunately for everyone else , the crime in progress was well in sight of the people in the fire station , who ran out and caught the thieves and held them until they were arrested .
A more alarming incident occurred in 2014 , when Anna Browne literally lost her head . One morning , the residents were alarmed to see only a bare pipe where Mrs . Browne ’ s neck had been .
It turned out that a woman on the block was worried when she noticed the head seemed wobbly . It had clearly come loose , perhaps
“ Mrs . J . J . Browne and Daughter ” Browne ’ s Addition , Spokane | 2005
from an attempt at vandalism . Afraid someone would steal it , she pulled the head off and took it to her own home for safekeeping . Later that day , she called Spokane Arts , the organization that coordinates public art , and informed that she had the head , which she took with the best intentions . The workers who reattached the head added a reinforced pipe , which explains why Mrs . Browne ’ s neck is longer and narrower than it used to be .
Although she said again and again that she would never retire , Sister Paula Turnbull finally did so early in 2018 , when she was 96 . She died on July 20 of that year . To others , it may seem like a contradiction for a woman with a religious vocation to devote her life to art , but it didn ’ t to Sister Paula . “ My art is the finest expression in form of what I wish to say ,” she said , “ And so my ministry is the performance and teaching of art .”
“ My art is the finest expression in form of what I wish to say ,” she said , “ And so my ministry is the performance and teaching of art .”
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