Weyburn has the opportunity to be, artistically, in the same echelons as Toronto, New York City and Prague, Czechoslovakia - and I'm wondering if the residents of Weyburn and area even realize it.

The connection is thus: an internationally-renowned sculptor, Lea Vivot, wants to donate, repeat donate, a life-sized bronze statue of the Greatest Canadian, Tommy Douglas, a former premier and MP, and former Baptist minister in Weyburn, known as (among many other accomplishments) the father of medicare in Canada.

Now, last week in the Review we ran a pair of photos of maquettes or foot-high clay figures that are rough representations of what the sculptor would like to do. One pose showed T.C. Douglas with a foot up on a bench (a trademark of Vivot's), the other has him standing and pointing or gesturing.

These photos are available to see on our website in case you didn't see the Oct. 3 issue; you may wonder right off, "Is this what the statue is going to look like?" In short, the answer is no, these are only rough representations of a couple poses she was thinking of; she's leaving it up to the community who will be receiving the statue to decide which one works best, or if there's another idea altogether she should consider.

Do people know who Lea Vivot is? Or what her international stature as a sculptor is?

One way people could find out is to check out her website at www.leavivot.com, and there you can read her history, see examples of her work which are literally on display around the world, and read about her interests and philosophy.

Vivot is a Canadian artist who was born in Czechoslovakia; she studied at the Prague School of Stage Design, at the Academia di Brera in Italy, the Ontario College of Art in Toronto, as well as the Art Students League in New York.

She is known for many of her works, including the "Lovers' Bench" and the "Secret Bench of Knowledge". The latter sculpture has bronze castings in many prominent cities, including in front of the National Library of Canada in Ottawa, with inscriptions from poets and writers. It's also located in Toronto on Yonge Street; on Fifth Avenue in New York City; at McGill University in Montreal; in London, England, outside the London Stock Exchange; and in Bonita Springs in Florida.

Not only is it amazing that this sculptor wants to donate to Weyburn a casting of T.C. Douglas, but she is seeking direction from people who live here, and from those who knew (or knew of) Douglas to indicate which sculpture or pose they like, along with any suggestions or comments that people may have.

Seeing as this city was home to "The Greatest Canadian", this kind of honour to receive a Vivot sculpture is an incredible one, and residents should be excited about this.

To pass on one's opinion or suggestions on the two rough figures presented, call one of the ad hoc committee members who have been in communication with Vivot over the past while: Ross McMurtry, Isabelle Butters or Gerald Alexander.

These three have been doing much of the background work, providing Vivot with stories and anecdotes, photos and descriptions of Douglas, memories and any other aspects about the man that will assist Vivot in placing him in her mind before she sets to work on the final sculpture.

The more people who can express an opinion about which sculpture is best the better, and Vivot will know that the community's views are truly represented when she goes to make the final work with full details.