National Tribute Auction

Artist Statement Women have always played a prominent role in the Canadian Armed Forces. Whether it is on the battlefield or as a support system at home for those who serve, women are the often the keystone that holds together the front lines both at home and abroad. While the roles of men often place themselves front and center in our recollection of the Second World War, women like my great aunt Catherine were in the thick of it in logistical, administrative and intelligence roles. In her book, Letters to Edgewood Farm: From a Canadian Girl in WW2, she describes everything from time spent with friends to the challenges of being a women in the forces, lost love, and the impact of the bombs dropped on Britain and Europe that stayed with her long after she returned home. What I remember most from her stories about her time overseas were all the wonderful and inspiring women she met along the way. They not only supported each other in difficult times but were there to share laughter, fun, and the day-to-day life of women in the Canadian Women’s Army Corps. In Belgium on January 7, 1945, she writes about a large explosion which tool the lives of 567 civilians, 296 of which were soldiers which she and her friends avoided through a moment of fate. However she writes about the unending optimism and the importance of leaning on one’s friends, she writes: “Even with all this experience, I think it has been an adventure and certainly makes me really appreciate life. Out of it comes some of the most wonderful things. Maybe it was only some small deed, a few words or an act of kindness and through it all was the wonderful comradeship that only comes in times of danger.” Catherine never married or had children, but carried on her legacy through her wonderful spirit, relentless kindness and fierce independence until she passed away at the age of 90. I was truly blessed to know her, to hear about her time in the military, and to see the example of a strong woman and how she served her the country that she was fiercely proud of. For my helmet this year I have included images of Athena both representing her wisdom and might as a warrior alongside the Canadian Women’s Army Corps crest. My helmet is dedicated to Catherine, her friends, and every woman who has served, or is serving our country. Artist Bio Sarah Winstead is a practicing artist and high school art teacher in Dawson Creek, British Columbia. She spends much of her time creating, gaming, reading and spending time with her husband Daniel and dogs Tonks and Sevro. Sarah has been a proud contributor to the True Patriot Love Foundation since 2012 and continues to be honoured by the annual invitation to create a helmet that helps to support the work of True Patriot Love and our deserving veterans and service members. If you choose to bid on my work, please see it as a physical symbol of the difference your donation makes in the lives of veterans, the positive impact that those veterans continue to make in our communities, and the gratitude of those who love them.