What to do and see in Cochrane, Canada: The Best Shopping

Reviewed By A2279JLjudithm - Cochrane, Canada

This bronze foundry and gallery is one of Cochrane’s hidden gems. Don Begg has been an international award winning professional sculptor for half a century. Visitors always seem to be welcome and are treated to a very informative tour of the showroom and sometimes a view of bronzes in progress depending on whether the work in progress is public or confidential. Wife Shirley Begg was our guide and we spent a delightful hour learning the bronze processes and feasting our eyes on the variety of bronze works in the studio. They range from very small to probably fifteen to twenty feet. Shirley is a bronze sculptor as well and her excellent work is also on display. She was so welcoming you leave feeling you have a new friend. On historic Main Street (1st street) is a statue commonly known as The Chicken Lady She is a pioneer lady surrounded by her chickens and the eggs gathered are folded in her apron. A wonderful tribute to all farm women who contributed so much to our history of homesteading the land under primitive conditions. There are other Begg’s statues in the town and hundreds of statues across North America and five continents. Make sure to take a brochure at the studio to understand the vast collection that has come from this this modest studio in this historic town of Cochrane.