Christine Grimard
Northern News Services
Wednesday, February 14, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - A new artwork outside Bullock's Bistro captures the essence of historic Old Town.

Sam and Renata Bullock, owners of Bullock's Bistro, commissioned artist Ann Timmins to create the piece of art now displayed outside the restaurant.

"For me the real important part was to keep this history alive," said Renata Bullock. "We're bringing the past into the present."

The piece depicts the restaurant as a barge peopled with a few of the characters who have frequented the restaurant over the past 15 years, as the barge floats on a river alive with fish.

Depicting the restaurant as a barge reflects the building's history as the original Weaver and Devore trading post. When Harry Weaver and Bud Devore built the store in the 1930s, the floorboards were pieces of the barge in which they and their goods first arrived in Yellowknife, according to Ken Weaver.

Although the building has since been renovated, the Bullocks said this was an important part of Yellowknife history to be remembered.

"We really went through quite a bit of discovery to find out what was going to work," said Timmins on creating the piece.

Timmins and Sam Bullock developed the barge idea when she learned that Sam's family had also built a barge to transport goods down the Mackenzie River.

"We didn't want the bistro on the land, as water is such a big part of life here," said Sam.

"We were really keen on how to develop an idea that really reflected this area," said Timmins.

By using a technique called scratchboard, Timmins gave the artwork an old-fashioned look. Timmins scanned the individual pieces on a computer to create the final mosaic piece.

The Bullocks and Timmins began working on the artwork in February of last year, and it was ready to be sent to the printers last August.

Timmins has had other artwork on display in the Great Hall of the Legislative Assembly, Weledeh Catholic School, the Ruth Inch Memorial Pool, and the Northern Frontier Visitors' Centre.