An Interview with Beau Mitzel, assistant craftsperson to the project

When Karen Brodie was organizing the planning for the creation of the 14 Stations of the Cross banners, she knew the workload would need more than just one pair of hands.

An opportunity for collaboration came up with the knowledge that there were multiple grants for supporting young artists within the Golden community, most notably from the Golden Community Resources Foundation. Enter Beau Mitzel, an aspiring creative person who was ready to jump on the project and help bring it to life. The following is a brief interview with Beau to further explore their experience of this project as it has unfolded in the past year.

Can you introduce yourself and provide a brief explanation of what your role in this project has been?

My name is Beau, and I’ve essentially been Karen’s assistant throughout this project. My main job is cutting the paper and fabric pieces out, and helping Karen organize and adhere each piece. I have also traced each pattern to size, assisted with picking out fabrics and colours, and just do whatever I can to help out around the studio.

What are some of the skills you have learned over the past year?

As my job is primarily cutting out the fabric pieces, I’ve gotten pretty good and being precise with details when it comes to cutting fabric. I have also learned various things about fabrics, like how the straight grain of a fabric provides the most strength, whereas the bias gives the most stretch, and how you can figure out what type of fabric something is by how it burns (something Karen has told me about but I’ve never seen in practice.) I’m also currently learning the basics of sewing, and though I’m not super familiar with it yet, I’m excited to learn more once we finish the stations and I can focus more on it.

How does it feel to have (almost) completed a project of this size? What would you say to yourself a year ago when you started this work?

Honestly it’s pretty surreal. When Karen first approached me with the project, I didn’t realized just how big of a deal this project is. It’s amazing to me that I’ve gotten the chance to work with Karen on her passion project, it’s been a huge honour. If I could tell myself anything it’s to not give up when the work seem tedious, and that even the smallest of details can affect the whole piece.

What has been the most challenging aspect of this project? What has been the most rewarding?

Honestly my biggest struggle has been organizing and cutting pieces for the larger fabric hangings. Going over 200 pieces at points. The most rewarding aspect was seeing it all come together. Being able to view all the pieces fit correct and to see the whole project and not just the pieces was very rewarding.

The Stations project will be premiering in a month in Vancouver. What do you hope others will experience when they see this artwork for the first time?

To be able to see the effort put into the stations as well as be able to depict the emotion in artwork. To be able to see the story of the hardships and grief and how one has to overcome them, as well as being able to relate to the work in their own personal way.

Apparently you have developed an appreciation for using high-quality scissors when it comes to this work — what does that mean?

Being able to use a high quality tool makes the job much easier, quicker, and more satisfying.

Have you been inspired to pursue similar work to this project in the future? Absolutely. I am excited to continue working with Karen and learn more from her in the future. Whether it is in fabrics or sewing techniques, then being able to apply this knowledge into projects, both of my own and with Karen.

Any other comments?

I am thankful for this opportunity and am excited to work on more. Not many young artists get this opportunity and I am thankful for the ability to be a part of a project this meaningful.

Video: capturing Beau's predictions when the production process began in January 2025.