Why this Digby man built a shrine to Maud Lewis

Murray Ross met Maud Lewis when he was 10.

He stepped into her house in Marshalltown, N.S., which was just across the street from where his aunt and uncle lived, andwas amazed.

"It was her paintings, and her little house, too. The first time I was in her little house, well our house never had anypaintings like this, so [her house]amazed me."

Ross built a replica house about six to eight kilometres away from where the actual house used to sit. It is located near his home not far from Digby.

Ross built the house on his ownand went through great efforts to ensure it was authentic. "I had to learn to paint, too, because Maud's house is like a large canvas," said Ross.

He said he likes everything about his duplicate and never gets tired of walking in the door and taking a look around.

The house is built to scale, though Ross admits it may be off "an inch or two."

It took Ross about a year to research the original house and build his replica.

After it was built, Ross started to get visitors. Some knew Lewis and would tell him stories about her.

Copies of Lewis paintings and framed photographs adorn thewalls. The replica house even includes a bed similar to the one Lewis had. Ross built it himself because he couldn't buy one that looked exactly like it.

Ross has also constructed a copy of the shop used by Everett Lewis, Maud's husband. It sits not far from the house.

Ross said Everett Lewis used the shop to store firewood and also to gather scallop shells and stones, among other things, for his wife to paint.

"He was quite famous for gathering stuff out of the dump," said Ross. "He was a scrounger."

He said the shop is like a little museum.He even has one of Everett Lewis's old spare tires.

The shop includes bird feeders shaped as Maud's house that Ross makes in the wintertime.

Ross said the major satisfaction of his work is seeing the joy on the faces of people who come to visit.