Christina Woods
Sculpting inspiration
As one of five sisters in an Italian family,
Windsor sculptor Donna Mayne has always
been fascinated and inspired by strong
women.
In 2004, Mayne lead a team of eight
participants in a jobs creation project which
resulted in the “Reaching Out” mural on the
corner of Wyandotte Street East and
McDougall. The mural, painted by nine artists
including Mayne, depicts community leaders
who played a significant role in shaping the
McDougall Street neighbourhood. The mural
depicts Bishop C.L. Morton, Justin Jackson,
Rev. J.T. Wagner, Walter Perry and Alton C.
Parker, and Mary Ann Shadd.
An American teacher and abolitionist,
Quaker-educated Shadd moved to Windsor in
the mid-1800s and opened a school for the
children of American slaves who had escaped
to Canada. She started a widely distributed,
weekly newspaper printed in Windsor called
The Provincial Freeman to encourage
relocation to the Windsor area and provide
settlement information for slaves traveling
along the Underground Railroad. This earned
her the distinction of becoming the first
female newspaper publisher and editor in
Canada. In her later years, Mary Ann
supported the suffra gist movement alongside
Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady
Stanton. When she graduated from Howard
University at sixty, she became one of the first
women in the U.S. of African descent to
obtain a law degree. In 1994, Mary Ann Shadd
become a Person of National Historical
Significance in Canada.
For thirteen years Donna Mayne has
wanted to find a way to pay tribute to Mary
Ann Shadd and she’s on her way to
accomplishing that goal with the completion
of a clay sculpture. A $2500 grant from the
City of Windsor Arts, Culture and Heritage
Fund has allowed Mayne to create a clay study
which she hopes will eventually be used to
cast a complete figure. It is currently on
display at Maison François Baby House
Museum, 254 Pitt Street West. The ACHF
grant covered Mayne’s expenses, supplies,
museum travel, funded a photo shoot and a
portion of her time and labour. The clay bust
started out as a base on a turntable and then
Mayne fashioned a form using plumbers’
pipe, cardboard, wire mesh, and Styrofoam.
She then affixed Prima plastilina clay and
used various hand tools for shaping.
Creating the clay study was no small task
and Mayne did a lot of research in
preparation, including correspondence with
the Canadian Quaker Archives. She had
invaluable help in the form of Teiana Harris
who agreed to be a model for Shadd’s
likeness. “Having a model was so helpful as I
only had one, over-exposed photo of Mary
Ann to work with. Teiana helped me to
achieve her physical appearance but also
reminded me to focus on the personality of
the woman. I asked Teiana to pose with her
chin up, as if she were walking in the wind so
I could capture the determination of Mary
Ann’s personality.”
Mayne hopes this project will strengthen
public support for an addition to Windsor’s
already impressive collection of public art.
“My goal is to create a lasting tribute to Mary
Ann Shadd with a life-size bronze. I intend to
portray her determination, stepping forward
against the forces of determination. Held
close to her will be the Provincial Freeman
(her weekly paper) – a symbol of hope,
equality, and the social justice for which she
strived.”
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August 2017 - The HUB 9