….thanks to Becky B for hosting October Squares
These two photos were taken at the McMichael Gallery, depicting an old fireplace and cooking utensils used over 100 years ago. https://beckybofwinchester.com/2021/10/10/past-squares-10/
….for Tuesday Textures
Another great display from the McMichael Gallery.
Jon Sasaki: Homage is a suite of photographs depicting petri dishes with bloomed bacterial cultures derived from swabs of the palettes and easels used by members of the Group of Seven and Tom Thomson, objects held in the archives of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection.
….thanks to Becky B for hosting https://beckybofwinchester.com/2021/10/06/past-squares-6/
This month Becky is opening up October Square to any of the themes from the last four years. Today I’m choosing lines. On my recent trip to the McMichael Art Gallery in Kleinburg I was introduced to an artist that is new to me. Her name is Denyse Thomasos (1964–2012). She was a Trinidadian-Canadian artist whose epic paintings incorporate imagery from a range of sources, including Caribbean textiles, historic slave ships, industrial shipyards, graveyards, villages and maximum security prisons.
…join the fun and post your own collection of Trios….any subject as long as there are three in one photo
To join Thursday Trios copy the link on my site and post it into your’s. I’ll get back to you as soon as I get the ping back (maybe a few days later).
….everything is late this week due to family visiting from out of town and getting ready for Dad‘s memorial
At the McMichael Gallery last week my daughter and I saw some great textures in art. The first was a huge boulder that was carved by:
Bill Vazan (born 1933), Shibagau Shard, 1989
Granite, On loan from the artist
Constructed from a single piece of Pre-Cambrian Shield granite, Shibagau credits the small creek in eastern Ontario where the stone was found, while Shard makes reference to the science of archaeology. Using modern sandblasting technology, Vazan, who studied the inscribed petroglyphs and pictographs of the First Nations of southern Ontario, has emulated the mark-making of stone-carving tools employed by Canada’s original inhabitants, making reference to ancient methods of documenting human interaction with the land. (copied from the McMichael Gallery website)
I’ll most more textures in art next week when things calm down a bit around here.
….finds outside the art gallery
The McMichael Canadian Art Collection Gallery is situated in the middle of a wooded paradise. It is surrounded by trees, plants and nature trails. The perfect place for nature close-ups.
….sculptures from the Sculpture Garden at the McMichael Gallery
Andrea petting the ears of this wolf sculpture.
Mary Anne Barkhouse (born 1961) and Michael Belmore (born 1971), lichen, 1998
In this work, the artists address issues of nature versus culture. The role of wolves in this setting is symbolic. They are positioned like silent sentinels.
The following sculptures are all part of the Sculpture Garden which was established in 2011. The nine sculptures, donated by well known Canadian artist Ivan Eyre, is part of the McMichael’s permanent collection. Eyre is perhaps best known for his large landscapes and mythological paintings.
Thanks to No Fixed Plans for hosting Sculpture Saturday https://nofixedplans55.blogspot.com/2021/09/sculpture-saturday_25.html
….thanks to Dan from No Facilities for hosting Thursday Doors https://nofacilities.com/2021/09/23/superior-street-doors/
Today my daughter, Andrea and I drove to Kleinburg to visit the McMichael Canadian Collection of Art and the spectacular grounds that the gallery is built on. We lucked out with the weather and were able to walk around the property before we entered the gallery. Located on 100 acres of forested land along the Humber River, the McMichael is a major public gallery uniquely devoted to collecting the art of Canada.
….not the best day to visit the McMichael Art Gallery
You might think that visiting an art gallery when it’s raining ‘cats and dogs’ is the best time to visit an art gallery. Not so, at least not when you go to the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg. The gallery is situated on 100 acres of beautiful conservation land which you can explore through a network of paths and trails. One of the first things we noticed, even in the pouring rain, was the intoxicating scent of the trees that surround the gallery and line the pathways throughout the grounds.
After we had made plans to go to the gallery with A and J, my husband realized that this was also the weekend of the Binder Twine Festival in Kleinburg. Normally you can’t get near the place during the festival but because of the rain we were able to drive straight onto the McMichael property.
The gallery was featuring two of my favourite photographers, Ansel Adams and Edward Burtynsky.
As in most galleries, I couldn’t photograph the actual works of these great photographers so I found a couple of pictures from the internet to share with you. Both these examples were at the show.
The gallery itself looks like a chalet set among the trees and as you walk in you are greeted by a large, high ceiling and very open lobby. On the far wall, large glass windows that go from the floor to the ceiling look over the thickly wooded conservation area. Tables and chairs welcome visitors to sit and relax while they contemplate whether to start their tour on the upper level where the featured artists are or stay on the main level to view the large permanent collection of the Group of Seven.
The gallery also houses beautiful Aboriginal and Inuit art on both levels.
On our way out and back to the parking lot we passed a couple of the sculptures that line the paths throughout the grounds
and we stopped briefly at Tom Thomson’s Cabin which had been relocated to Kleinburg. The building originally came from the grounds of the Studio Building in Rosedale, Toronto where the Group of Seven worked from. Tom Thomson couldn’t afford the rent in the main building so he rented the refurbished workmen’s shed for $1.00 a month.
For more information about the McMichael Canadian Art Collection you can click here.
Mama Cormier 
