Art abounds on Labour Day weekend

Sep 09, 2010

Mark Burnham's wooden house wares

There is no shortage of art shows and tours in Frontenac County and Labour Day weekend offers a multitude of venues to those looking to browse and buy.

Now in its fourth year, the Sundance Studio Tour near Maberly has become an increasingly popular art event. Carmen and Cam Allen once again opened their home and property to over 20 artists from all over Ontario.

At one time Sundance was part of the Inroads Studio Tour, and Cam explained how their own tour evolved as they increasingly became interested in providing one location where more artists could gather. “It was something that we wanted to pursue and it seemed to fit with the green life style that we are living here.”

The couple promotes the event as a one-stop-art-shop. Visitors could opt to be shuttled from the car park area in electric golf carts to the show site, where artists’ booths were set up on various wilderness paths and live jazz was performed again this year by Clay Young on piano and Dave Renaud of Gatineau on clarinet and saxophone.

Visitors dined at an outdoor patio on delicious locally-sourced food prepared by Michele and Paul of the Fall River Pub and Grill.

The tour promotes environmentally friendly art and art lovers had a chance to peruse a wide variety of work in various mediums. Cam explained, “We go looking specifically for environmental artists and though not all mediums can allow for that, one of the standards that we set is that there is some kind of environmental element to the work if that is at all possible.”

John Pierre Schoss of “Dog Bite Steel” in Uxbridge cuts up old propane and oil tanks to create Canadiana, vibrant colourful metal sculptures and forms that can live outdoors and which he says Canadians can “appreciate and understand”. His work includes poppies, robins, maple leaves, beavers, moose, gods, cats and bats, and of course-the Canadian flag. He also creates functional metal drums in the shape of mushrooms as well as metal bird baths. Schoss studied art at the Ontario College of Art and Design and got into metal by accident. “I was fixing the car and had too much metal left over, so I cut it up into hearts and sold them. Then I made birds and they sold too.”

Dennis Webster of Smiths Falls was the tour’s mystery guest this year. He makes rustic furniture, primarily chairs and tables, from hard maple and pine. The backrests of the chairs are unique, hand carved fish, which he often paints with a subtle matte finish.

Alice Hinther of Ottawa uses old bits of photos, letters, books, newspaper clippings and china, which she solders together with lead-free silver solder to create two-sided pendants. Her work mixes the best qualities of the old and the new and recycling is the main theme that motivates her creations.

Also included on the tour this year was

MJH Glass Designs of Kingston with their hand-blown wine stoppers, glasses, vases and bowls and decorative ornaments.

Multi-media artist Marilynne Gowan of Ottawa displayed her clay wall sconces stuffed with juniper and feather bouquets along with her wire worked wall poppies, hanging candelabras and mobiles. This is her third year at the show and she said, “Its a fantastic venue and extremely well organized. We get so many people returning year after year that it’s like visiting old friends every year.”

Also on display were stone bowls by John Schweighardt of Lanark, wooden house wares and furniture by Mark Burnham of Maberly, outdoor stone sculpture and furniture by Scott Switzer of You Rock from Bloomfield.

Meanwhile, out on the back-roads, the 18th annual Inroads Studio Tour was in full swing and visitors to the Kennebec Hall in Arden had a chance to view work by six new joiners to the tour this year, including four Arden quilters, Helen Hoogsteen, Lorraine Pickett, Thelma Hughes and Sheila Neudorf. The four ladies combine traditional and machine quilting techniques and machine embroidery and their rich display included old style Jacob's ladder designs, bargello-style quilts, embroidered wall hangings and a myriad of others styles too numerous to mention.

Joining the Arden quilters at the hall were Margaret Taylor and Kathryn Currie of “By Hook or By Crook” who displayed a variety of exploded lace clothing and house wares including shawls, skirts, cowls, scarves, wraps, and mittens. Both ladies learned the craft from their grandmothers and have been working together for five years. They just recently began doing shows.

Also new to the show and displaying at the hall was painter Jean Finlayson, who reproduces scenes of the Canadian Shield in works that are both colourful and subtle.

Returning to the Inroads tour again this year were well-known and established local artisans who opened their homes and studios to the art loving public. One of a kind prints by Martina Field, functional and sculptural pottery by Joanne Pickett of Arden Pottery, batik work by Sarah Hale of Arden Batik, jewelry by Laurel Minutillo of Laurel Leaf Studio in Parham and fine wood working by Nick Hally of Maple Hollow Studio were just some of the works by the returning artists this year. Anyone who missed the tours is invited to visit www.inroadstour.ca and www.sundancestudio.ca and to contact the artists to make arrangements for a visit.