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Meet the locals.

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Upper NW Calgary
Rocky View County
Cochrane
Karen Begg smiling in a concert crowd in front of an Anthrax stage backdrop, with fans raising their arms.
cochraneCochrane
Read Time: 15+ minutes

Sculptor, Community Organizer and Rock‑And‑Roll Road‑Tripper

Raised within the legacy of Studio West and energized by music, travel and community life, Karen Begg has never treated art as decoration. For her, creativity is active: it gathers people and leaves a place more interesting than she found it.
Karen Begg smiling in a concert crowd under the cover story title Sculptor. Community organizer. Rock-and-roll road-tripper. Presented by IRIS Cochrane.
Shirley, Don and Karen Begg among bronzes in the Studio West gallery, under the title Everything about us is about our art.Shirley sits on a bench among life-size bronze figures in a bright gallery, a hand on a bronze dog, while Karen and Don stand behind her, smiling.
cochraneCochrane
~10 min read

Everything About Us Is About Our Art

In 1962 a cowboy met an artist's daughter at a summer cottage near Cochrane. Shirley and Don Begg went on to build Studio West, the first fine art bronze foundry in Western Canada.
Shirley, Don and Karen Begg among life-size bronzes in the Studio West gallery, under the cover story title Everything about us is about our art. Sponsored by Bearspaw Real Estate.