When the body of five-year-old Taliyah Marsman was found by Calgary police last Thursday, artist Wayne Ashley wasn’t thinking only of the innocent little girl, but the officers who first discovered her.
“That would be a horrible thing to live with,” said Ashley, who has dedicated his life to honour first responders and the victims they put themselves on the line for.
“Someone will carry that around for the rest of their life.”
‘There’s a lot of people who do a lot of good’
The self-taught Edmonton artist works with tile and stone to create mosaics that bring dignity to victims and salute the work of police officers, firefighters and paramedics who have to deal with the most disturbing scenes imaginable.
“I have to do this because I feel in my heart there’s a lot of people who do a lot of good, and they carry a lot of dark things with them,” he said.
Ashley, 49, was born and raised in Edmonton and is a member of Driftpile First Nation.
He has made monuments in honour of missing and murdered Indigenous women, and for the families of slain police officers David Wynn and Daniel Woodall.
“I feel like I have to do it, because it’s the right thing to do.” – Wayne Ashley
He describes what he does as a calling, though he hardly ever gets paid for his work.
But it’s a calling that comes with enormous personal sacrifices.
“Humanity is more important than money,” he said.
Fiercely independent, Ashley often creates his striking mosaics without telling anyone he’s even doing them.
His satisfaction comes from the belief that his monuments will make a difference.
Though he works concrete jobs in the summer to pay his bills, financial problems have pushed him to the brink of homelessness a couple of times
Ashley drove his 9/11 memorials across the U.S. in his pick up truck
“It’s not much of a cost to bear,” Ashley said, pointing out that first responders risk their lives at work every day.
He felt such grief for the victims and emergency responders involved in the 9/11 attacks, he went to work on a collection of memorials in their memory.
Then, without letting anybody know, he packed them in the back of his old truck and drove more than 3,000 kilometres to New York City.
His monuments are now the centrepiece in a park on Staten Island, where many of the victims were from.
He has since been back to the U.S., donating other monuments to honour victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting and those killed by Hurricane Sandy.
He ran out of money on his way back to Canada on that trip, and had to sleep in his truck.
He was awakened by a U.S. police officer who tapped on his window, wondering what he was doing.
When he showed her photos of his work and told her his story, she got him a hotel room for the night, paid for his breakfast the next morning and filled his truck with gas.
‘He helps people see life in a different way’
“This is giving expecting nothing in return, and I think that’s unique today,” said Father Jim Holland of Sacred Heart of the First People’s Church.
Father Jim Holland of Sacred Heart of the First People’s Church describes his friend as a ‘true artistic talent’ who is driven by his passion. (Trevor Wilson/CBC)
Holland describes his friend as a “true artistic talent” who is driven by passion.
“He helps people to see life in a different way,” Holland said.
Knowing his personality and what his work stands for, Holland is not surprised Ashley chooses not to sell his work through art galleries.
“That would be like selling his soul,” said Holland, who likens his friend to a struggling 16th-century artist who crafts creations without thinking about how he might pay his bills.
There are people who support Ashley so he carry on with his labour of love.
‘He has a true affinity for mankind’
His girlfriend understands his way of life, living through the trials and tribulations with him.
Some believe so strongly in what he does they give him money to help him get by.
“If you know him, you can’t not, and it makes you a part of what he’s doing,” said Mike Fluker, a security consultant and former police officer who met Ashley by chance. “You feel good about it. He teaches you so many things.”
Mike Fluker met Wayne Ashley almost by accident and they have since become close friends. (Trevor Wilson/CBC)
Fluker first ran across Ashley when the artist was trying to recover leftover tile from a construction site where a luxury Edmonton home was being built. Fluker was in charge of security at the building site.
When Ashley explained what he planned to do with the tile, and the kind of people he would honour with his art, Fluker knew this was an artist with a big heart.
“He has a true affinity for mankind, and he wants to do good in this world,” Fluker said. “And with Wayne, it’s not just an idea that he verbalizes, he actually practises it.”
Fluker recalled a cold and snowy day when the two had lunch at a fast-food restaurant, and a desperate looking man walked in without any shoes.
Ashley took off his own shoes and gave them to the man.
“I said ‘Wayne, why did you do that? He said, I can get another pair of shoes but he needed shoes.’ He never gave it a second thought.”
Ashley’s latest project is another mosaic that will stand on the second floor at Edmonton City Hall, next to some of his other pieces.
Again, the work will commemorate the fallen emergency responders he holds in such high regard.
Now embarking on ‘Save the world tour’
Creating pieces of artwork often puts Ashley in a dark place.
But the work helps him deal with the heartbreak, though he rarely gets paid for his craftsmanship and artistry.
“It feels like it all affects me inside,” he said.
Some of his mosaics have become weather-beaten, so Ashley plans to travel to each one, to fix them up and breathe new life into his work.
He calls it his “saving the world” tour, and believes each piece carries goodwill he hopes can help others deal with sadness.
“I feel good about myself, because I’m doing something for myself by doing something for other people.”