Gig Harbor artist Mardie Rees’ statue, “Saint Anne,” was recently unveiled at the Saint Anne Hospital in Burien. Virginia Mason Franciscan Health (VMFH) commissioned Rees to create the likeness of patroness Saint Anne for the hospital. Saint Anne was the mother of the Virgin Mary and considered to have the eternal presence of a grandmother full of love and wisdom. She is patroness of unmarried women, housewives, grandmothers, mothers and educators.
Rees’ introduction to the project began in 2021 with a visit to the grounds of Saint Anne Hospital.
“I began with many small studies and sketches trying to discover what most embodied this grandmother figure. I am very close to my own grandmother (now 94 years old), and I came to the realization that my favorite moments with her are sitting and listening to her colorful stories,” Rees said. “Saint Anne must be a storyteller!”
She describes this as the breakthrough moment, and she began to sculpt the saint poised comfortably on a stone outcropping, her expression an invitation to all to gather and hear her story. Her right hand, wrought with wrinkles and the indelible mark of age, clasps an unfurling scroll with an inscription from The Saint John’s Bible (Numbers 6:24-26): “The Lord Bless You and Keep You; The Lord Make His Face to Shine Upon You.”
The VMFH committee knew Rees sculpted from live models and proposed that their own Sister Anne (her name a fortuitous coincidence) model for the piece. She is one of the sisters of Saint Francis, to whom VMFH attributes the founding of many hospitals in the Puget Sound region. Now 80 years old, Sister Anne has served the Franciscan Health community for over 40 years and still serves on committees and in soup kitchens even though she claims to have “retired.”
Rees said they were a perfect match for the project and Sister Anne modeled at least 30 hours in the creation of the small maquette and the large, 6.5-foot-tall statue cast in bronze.
“She sat patiently in my studio while I carefully sculpted her portrait, hands and feet,” Rees said. “Sister Anne is the best model I have ever had, but my favorite part was drinking tea together while she recounted tales of her childhood in Ireland as I worked.”
Storytelling turned out to be a fitting theme for the work of art.
Rees is an internationally recognized artist, having received many accolades for her emotive sculptures, and is locally known for her “Saint Anthony and Child” statue installed in the lobby of Saint Anthony Hospital in Gig Harbor. An elected member of the National Sculpture Society (NSS) and multiple award winner from Portrait Society of American, NSS, Allied Artists of America, Marine Heritage Foundation and Art Renewal Center, Rees was recently named a master of contemporary art in American Art Collector.
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