Gallery Wall Featuring the drawings of James Marshall

James, who more than often goes by Jim, is no stranger to those in Medicine Hat familiar with his work, which includes pencil and pen drawings, and his more noticeable brick murals located in various areas throughout the city.

In the facility’s entranceway is one of the artist’s early brick murals completed in the 1980s and located beside St. Joseph’s Home is a representation of some of the best brick mural work Jim has done, he says with pride. The park houses a gazebo, heritage tree that is more than 100 years old, and a winding path leading walkers through the story of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion in what is known as The Stations of the Cross.

St. Joseph’s Home has had a place in Jim’s heart for many years. He had an interest in a building on the property but was unsuccessful in purchasing it. Finding a different historic home and land in Riverside, meant St. Joseph’s and the nuns were close neighbours. Because his grandmother also lived in the building, he would visit often and help the nuns with errands.

During this time, Jim was immersed in his brick murals and had completed a smaller scale station of the cross project in Sarnia, Ont. for the St. Michael’s Parish. A couple of years after its completion, the Head Nun at St. Joseph’s Home, Sister Barbara, took a trip to Ontario and saw the brick art installation.

Upon her return, she wasted no time telling Jim she had a problem, and he could help. She took him aside and showed him the park next to St. Joseph’s Home. It was trees and an uneven grassy area, but still beautiful. He suggested it could be spruced up with sidewalks and benches and a small gazebo. She liked the idea and told him to “get the job done”. While she didn’t have any money for the project, she cheekily added, he could also add the Stations of the Cross in brick.

Jim came up with the idea of creating 17 panels. The cost of the cement for the bases, the sidewalks, gazebo and landscaping could be amortized over the 17 panels by selling bricks. He would do the artwork and installation for free. A few months passed, but the project wasn’t progressing. The Priest at St. Patrick’s Church decided to take it over and within a month the project had been oversold, with additional brick walls required to accommodate the donors’ names.

The cement and work for the sidewalks and gazebos were donated at cost. The monetary donations were used to purchase the bricks as Jim donated his time at no charge. He worked on the stations progressively, finishing a few each year, starting in 1995 and completing in 2004. These stations are different than the smaller ones he created as the nuns didn’t want it to be too graphic. Jim imagined himself seeing the crucifixion through the lens of a camera. He wanted the images to be powerful in their messaging.

Jim developed a love for the preservation of history at a young age. He has worked with other volunteers trying to save historic places in Medicine Hat. Those buildings that have been physically lost have been preserved in a different way by laying his pencil to paper. By creating historic images through drawing, he has tried to recognize the history in the area, and the outstanding historic places in and around Medicine Hat.

An artist his whole life, Jim worked at the IXL brick plant in marketing. He was playing with sculpture and pottery but began to wonder if the bricks and clay could be used for more than just building. He started carving them and at architectural conferences he would attend, he would create small brick murals. It was a way to promote the business and show the versatility of the medium.

With a taste of what he could do, he left his secure job at the plant, intent on making a living with art. His determination and passion has paid off for the last 40 years with his drawings in many places and his brick murals now numbering in the hundreds, located throughout Canada, the United States and even in Japan and England.

Written by Rosemary Sanchez, Unit Clerk at St. Joseph's Home, Medicine Hat, Alberta

Learn more about St. Joseph's Home in Medicine Hat