>From today's Vancouver Sun: "Joni Mitchell bewildered by plan for a statue of her"
Saskatoon: Joni Mitchell had yet to eat breakfast and shake the sleep from her head, but her humour and humility were thoroughly intact about the idea of a statue in Saskatoon's downtown to honour her. "I guess it would be a good place for birds to perch," she said. Mitchell was in the city for the weekend to spend time with her mother, Myrtle Anderson. Mitchell was raised in the city and got her musical start playing in coffee shops along funky Broadway Avenue. When asked about the statue idea, which went to city council in a letter last week, Mitchell teetered between being grateful and bewildered. "It's just such a strange question to be woken up to," she said. "It would be a true honour. It really would. But is this not something usually done post- mortem?" She succumbed to a moment of quiet vanity at the thought of what the statue could look like. "I would hope it could be a decent likeness," she said. "My face caricaturizes easily. I can tell from my fan drawings." The idea of a statue of the multi-talented artist was actually raised by a British Columbia man. Mark Salzl wrote to Saskatoon's city council about the possibility of commissioning the statue. He has been a Mitchell fan for many years and thought it only fitting the city recognize and celebrate her achievements. "She is surely one of the most famous daughters of the city. The city is even the subject of some of her songs," Salzl wrote. It is also the subject of her artwork. The Delta Bessborough Hotel appears in the background of her 1969 album cover for CLOUDS. Mitchell is in the foreground holding a prairie lily, Saskatchewan's official flower. "She's got stacks of trophies and awards," said Anderson. "But it's always nice to be recognized by your hometown." Best regards, Stephen in Vancouver
