East Coast Living Winter 2022

east coast

LIVING Inspiring home life in Atlantic Canada

WARM AND INVITING MEETS EDGY AND CONTEMPORARY IN THIS UNIQUE NOVA SCOTIAN HOME

Best of both worlds PUNCH FOR THE HOLIDAYS HERITAGE MEETS NORDIC CHIC THE STONE FIREPLACE: CLASSIC AND TIMELESS

A DV ERT IS EMENT

Logan’s Daily Catch has the ultimate Seafood chowder pack just in time for holiday entertaining.

The pack contains 4 oz each of Lobster, Shrimp, Haddock, Scallops and Rock Crab. Seafood chowder made with our chowder pack is an absolute delicacy.

Seafood Chowder Serves 6 to 8 2 lb yellow flesh potatoes skin on, diced, divided 2 shallots, diced, divided ½ cup diced double smoked bacon 6 ears of corn, kernels removed ½ cup celery diced 2 tbsp butter 1 tbsp Dijon mustard ½ cup dry white wine 3 tbsp fresh basil, chopped 2 bays leaves 4 cups seafood broth 1 North Nova Chowder Pack thawed 1 small wheel of double cream brie, rind removed, sliced Salt, to taste Freshly ground pepper, to taste 2 cups heavy cream (35%) In a large pot, cook half of the potatoes and half of the shallots in water until tender, puree and set aside.

In a large pot sauté the bacon, remaining shallots, corn and the celery in the butter until transparent, add the Dijon mustard and deglaze the pot with the white wine.

Allow wine to reduce add the remainder of the diced potatoes, the basil and the bay leaves and the seafood broth. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to a gentle simmer until the potatoes are just fork tender.

When potatoes are cooked, add the Logan’s Chowder Pack with brine, brie and the pureed potato then cook for a further five minutes. Season with salt and pepper, stir in the cream allow to heat through. Adjust the seasoning to taste.

This recipe is inspired from Chef Alain “aka Kilted Chef”.

At Logan’s we carry all types of local fish & seafood for your holiday & everyday needs. Don’t forget to check out our Facebook page for specials, fresh catch of the day, recipes and more. We are open daily so stop by and see us today!

2578 Westville Road, New Glasgow 902-759-1620

contents

WINTER 2022

42

35

14

Light in the Forest Heritage home meets New iteration of Holly Carr’s art installation “of hope” Nordic chic

THE LIST

FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

10 Décor: Retro, country charm

14 Heritage home meets

5

Historic Acadian home becomes picture-perfect for the holidays

34 People: Wild and wooly

The masterpieces of Alexandria Masse

36 People: Art reimagined

Nova Scotian artist creates computer-generated images with hand-painted elements

Nordic chic

Susan Drover’s carefully curated home bucks style trends

30 In depth: Building with stone The timeless appeal of the classic fireplace

Editor's message That's a wrap

38 Eating in: Get on board

A beautiful charcuterie display makes the ideal centrepiece for holiday sharing

20 Classic and modern

Contemporary new home offers the best of country and city living

JANE BROKENSHIRE

LIBATIONS

42 Libations: Punch

Add some to your holiday celebrations

44 Libations: Winter warmer

Get cozy this season with this unique hot toddy recipe

45 Buying Guide 46 Last Look: Art reflecting life

Newfoundland artist’s work causes people to do a double take — is it a photo or a painting?

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Fresh by design.

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Enjoy less food waste, and more thoughtful design.

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Creative Appliance Gallery 51 Raddall Ave. Unit 14 Dartmouth, NS (902) 481-3313 info@creativeappliance.ca

Feron Kitchen Inc. 110 Chain Lake Dr., Unit 31 Halifax, NS (902) 450-5144 • 1-800-565-4044 dferon@feronkitchens.com

Wildwood Cabinets 400 Collishaw St. Moncton, NB (506) 858-9219 info@wildwoodindustries.com

MacArthur Appliances Inc. 96 Mount Edward Rd. Charlottetown, PEI (902) 368-2200 macarthur@macarthurapp.pe.ca

© 2020 Bosch Home Appliances | www.bosch-home.ca

That’s a wrap Our final issue for 2022 offers holiday inspiration, fabulous East Coast art and delicious local flavours

I

PHOTO: STUDIO UMLAH

love decorating for Christmas. My holiday style isn’t extravagant. We put up a few outdoor lights and a wreath on the door. Inside, in addition to our tree, you’ll find splashes of red and greenery here and there, and pine scented candles. Everything is typically up by early December, as I want ample time to enjoy it.

When we asked homeowners Paula Mullen and Mike Ungar if they would consider decorating a bit early this year for our photographer, the Nova Scotian couple was happy to get a head start on their holiday preparations. Their unique new home is nestled in a forested landscape and offers a modern yet traditional feel, which you can see in the festive photos featured in our cover story (“Classic and modern,” page 20).

If you pick up East Coast Living for the homes, you’re in for a special treat. From city chic to rural retro, this edition has a bit of everything. I particularly enjoy stories about historic homes. In this issue, writer Elizabeth Whitten writes about Susan Drover’s 129-year-old Newfoundland home (“Heritage home meets Nordic chic,” page 14). Drover is the founder of a design studio in St. John’s and provides some wonderful tips for decorating. Also in this issue is a 122-year-old Acadian family home on Nova Scotia’s Surette’s Island. Guy and Patsy Surette’s house, known as “Le Logis des Abbes,” has been in the family for three generations. It’s especially notable at Christmastime, when Patsy turns the property into a picture-perfect holiday card (“Retro, country charm,” page 10).

One of the things I love about historic homes are their stone fireplaces. Although not always the most energy efficient, a fireplace is still a timeless focal point for a room. When you see a traditional Christmas living room, doesn't it always have stockings hung on a rustic old stone fireplace?

Check out Janet Whitman’s article on the age-old classic (“Building with stone,” page 30).

COVID restrictions limited our last few Christmas celebrations, so I suspect many people are looking forward to entertaining this year. In this issue, writer Colleen Thompson put together an amazing sample charcuterie board full of local ingredients and ideas (“Get on board,” page 38).

She also offers up some fun holiday punch recipes using local flavours and spirits (“Add some punch to your holiday celebration,” page 42). And as the chilly winter weather takes hold, we have a great hot toddy recipe using local tea and moonshine for you to try (“Winter warmer,” page 44).

The East Coast has no shortage of gifted young artists. In this issue we feature three. See our articles on Alexandria Mass (“Wild and wooly,” page 34), Alex Sutcliffe (“Art reimagined,” page 36) and Natalie Esther (“Art reflecting life,” page 46).

This holiday will be a different one for some Atlantic Canadian homeowners as post-hurricane Fiona cleanup continues in many areas. Although my property in Halifax experienced nothing more than a few downed branches, many homes were severely damaged, and some destroyed.

Landscapes are forever changed. This was a fall we will not soon forget.

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year!

“The thing about Christmas is that it almost doesn’t matter what mood you’re in or what kind of a year you’ve had — it’s a fresh start.” — Kelly Clarkson Lori McKay, Editor ecl@metroguide.ca EastCoastLiving East Coast Living Magazine

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MODERN FURNITURE AND ACCESSORIES AND CUSTOM ONE-OF-A-KIND WORKS BY LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS AND DESIGNERS F U R N I S H I N G S

HALIFAX’S PREMIER DESIGN SHOP ATTICA.CA 3065 ROBIE ST HALIFAX 902 423 2557 INFO@ATTICA.CA

Give your indoor and outdoor living space a natural, versatile, and sophisticated look with Scotia Stone This application of Scotia Slate creates a seamless transition from indoors to outdoors for this modern clifftop office.

Landscape Architect: Outside! Landscape Architects Inc., Halifax, NS. Architect: Nicholas Fudge Architects, Halifax, NS.

hnorman@scotiastone.com Main Office • 902-883-7370 Holly Norman General Manager • 902-440-2358

WWW.SCOTIASTONE.CA

Online

On our cover:

eastcoastliving.ca

PUBLISHER

Fred Fiander · fredfiander@metroguide.ca EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Crystal Murray · crystalmurray@metroguide.ca SENIOR EDITORS

Trevor J. Adams · trevoradams@metroguide.ca Lori McKay · lorimckay@metroguide.ca

PHOTO: PATSY SURETTE

Mike Ungar and Paula Mullen’s home in Hammonds Plains, N.S. Photo: Bruce Murray, VisionFire

Find additional images from our stories and more on eastcoastliving.ca

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Jodi DeLong · jodidelong@metroguide.ca Janet Whitman · janetwhitman@metroguide.ca VICE-PRESIDENT OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Missed an issue? Discover back issues of East Coast Living on our website, plus recipes, stories and sneak peeks into upcoming issues of our magazine.

Linda Gourlay · lindagourlay@metroguide.ca ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

Stephanie Balcom · stephaniebalcom@metroguide.ca Connie Cogan · conniecogan@metroguide.ca Susan Giffin · susangiffin@metroguide.ca Pam Hancock · pamhancock@metroguide.ca SENIOR DIRECTOR CREATIVE DESIGN AND PRODUCTION

Shawn Dalton · shawndalton@metroguide.ca GRAPHIC DESIGNERS

Roxanna Boers · roxannaboers@metroguide.ca Andrezza Nascimento · andrezzanascimento@metroguide.ca Zoey Zsingor · zoey@acgstudio.com PRODUCTION COORDINATOR

Nicole McNeil · nicolemcneil@metroguide.ca PRODUCTION & DESIGN ASSISTANT

For editorial and advertising inquiries: 2882 Gottingen St., Halifax, N.S. B3K 3E2 Tel. 902-420-9943 Fax 902-422-4728 Email: publishers@metroguide.ca metroguide.ca · eastcoastliving.ca

To subscribe, call: 1-877-885-6344 email: circulation@metroguide.ca or subscribe online: eastcoastliving.ca Canada: one year (four issues), $17.99+HST; U.S.A.: one year, $25.00 (Canadian funds).

Subscriptions are non-refundable. If a subscription needs to be cancelled, where applicable, credits can be applied to other Metro Guide Publishing titles (Saltscapes, Unravel Halifax, or At Home). Please note that each circumstance is unique and election to make an offer in one instance does not create obligation to do so in another.

No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent of the publisher.

While every effort has been made to ensure ­accuracy, the publisher cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions that may occur.

All uncredited photography is either supplied or sourced from a stock image bank.

The beautiful landscape painting in the photo on the left is by artist Samantha Battaglia. The artist’s work was incorrectly identified in our summer 2022 issue (Makers of Muir, page 15).

We apologize for the mistake.

Artist Sharon Wadsworth-Smith’s lovely art features work inspired

by Nova Scotia landscapes.

PHOTO: SUBMITTED

PRODUCED BY METRO GUIDE PUBLISHING

CORRECTION

PHOTO: STEVE SMITH, VISIONFIRE

PRINTING

Advocate Printing & Publishing

PHOTO: SUBMITTED

Kathleen Hoang · kathleenhoang@metroguide.ca

25 Riverside Drive Charlottetown, P.E.I. C1A 9R9 (902) 894-5536 www.MetroPEI.com

METRO

Return undeliverable addresses to Metro Guide Publishing at the address above.

Volume 25, Number 4, Winter 2022 ISSN 1714-1834 Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40064799

Viewed to be the best

East Coast Living is a Metro Guide publication.

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Meet our contributors

ELIZABETH WHITTEN “Heritage home meets Nordic chic” and “Art reflecting life” Elizabeth Whitten is a freelance journalist based in St. John’s, where she writes about health care, municipal politics and the tech sector.

She’s currently writing a book about how a local doctor named Cluny Macpherson invented the first gas mask in the First World War.

COLLEEN THOMPSON “Get on board” and “Add some punch to your holiday celebrations” Colleen Thompson is an award-winning writer and photographer. She favours writing about food and drink, which often involves wild edibles and foraging. She loves the art of a crafted cocktail and the storytelling that accompanies it.

A qualified wine sommelier, she loves wine without pomp and ceremony. If there’s a wild beach she’s in her happy place and she’s always in search of new ones.

JANET WHITMAN “Building with stone” Janet Whitman is a city-andnature-loving journalist who divides her time between Halifax and her cottage on the Northumberland Shore.

She's happiest digging in the dirt, picking up a hammer or messing around in the kitchen.

ALEC BRUCE “Wild and wooly” Alec Bruce is an award-winning journalist whose bylines regularly appear in major Canadian and American publications.

He recently completed a master of fine arts in creative nonfiction at the University of King’s College in Halifax.

SUE NADOR “Art reimagined” Sue Nador is an Ottawabased writer who fell in love with the East Coast while completing her master of fine arts in creative nonfiction at the University of King’s College in Halifax. She has been published in The Globe and Mail, LiisBeth, Tablet and other places.

JANE BROKENSHIRE “Heritage home meets Nordic chic” Jane Brokenshire is a professional photographer based in St. John’s. She is known for capturing candid moments and individuals in their element, while celebrating light, quality and simplicity. She ties together her 15 years of experience in British Columbia’s ski industry and as a heavy equipment operator with her stunning portrait and architecture photography.

MELANIE MOSHER “Best of both worlds” A winning essay in a Grade 2 writing contest began a love of words for Melanie Mosher.

She has since written three books for young readers.

The festive season has her contemplating holiday decorations in her home on the eastern shore of Nova Scotia, just as Mike Ungar and Paula Mullen enjoy holiday trimmings at their beautiful new home in Hammonds Plains. Mosher’s work has also appeared in At Home on the North Shore and Saltscapes.

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STEVE SMITH “Building with stone” Steve Smith is a commercial photographer at VisionFire Studios located in Pictou, N.S., shooting for a wide range of clientele throughout Atlantic Canada. visionfire.ca @VisionFire

BRUCE MURRAY “Best of both worlds” and “Building with stone” Bruce has been creating food and lifestyle photography for more than 20 years in the Maritimes and in his original studio in Vancouver. visionfire.ca @VisionFire

TASHA TAYLOR “Winter warmer” Tasha Taylor is a Wine Spirits Education Trust-trained cocktail enthusiast who loves creating new cocktail recipes.

When you can’t find her mixing it up in the kitchen you can find her doing the social media for the Advocate Media publications, including East Coast Living magazine.

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Retro, country charm Historic Acadian home becomes picture-perfect for the holidays

BY LORI McKAY PHOTOS BY PATSY SURETTE

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W

hen Guy Surette’s grandfather built the family homestead in 1900, it had the warm atmosphere of a comfortable, Acadian home. Today, it has that same feel, but with fun, retro décor (and modern amenities). The house is uniquely special at Christmastime, when Guy and his wife Patsy turn the home into a picture-perfect holiday card.

Located on Surette’s Island, near Yarmouth, N.S., the home — now known as Le Logis des Abbes — has been in the family for generations. The story begins in 1802 when colonial officials granted brothers Frederic and Joseph Surette a plot on the island.

“The island itself is named after Guy’s distant ancestors,” says Patsy, noting the home was passed down from Guy’s grandparents to his parents to him.

“I have fond memories of my grandparents living with all of us as a family,” says Guy, who grew up in the house. “There was a boat shop on the property that my grandfather built in 1920 where we spent countless hours playing with the many neighbourhood kids and my siblings.”

WINTER 2022

DÉCOR

This Surrete's Island home was built in 1900 and has stayed in its family for three generations.

Guy grew up in a family of 11 children but is the only family member still living on the island.

He and Patsy married in 1976 and built their own home next to the old homestead. When they became owners, they decided to use the house as a vacation rental.

Although much of the old country charm still exists, the five-bedroom house needed several upgrades. In 2009, they started renovations, which involved adding a full bathroom upstairs, a small roof-covered deck and porch to the side entrance and upgrading the floors with rugs and vinyl flooring.

This year, they removed the old chimney in the kitchen and reshingled the roof.

But for Patsy, it’s all about the décor. She says the response from guests when they walk in is always one of awe, followed by a smile.

“They say, ‘Where did you find the décor?’ or ‘This reminds me of my grandmother’s house,’ or ‘We had a kitchen table like this one when we were growing up.’ Many point out how unique the style of the house is,” says Patsy.

Patsy has always had a passion for vintage and retro fashion and furnishings.

“One summer back in 2015, I was browsing in an antique store on the Yarmouth waterfront when I came across this 1950s red kitchen table,” says Patsy.

“It reminded me of the kitchen table we had in my home in Wedgeport growing up, and also the one I remembered seeing in old photos of the homestead. I bought it for $120.”

She says she wasn’t concerned there were no matching chairs, as she already had four of a similar style in their shed, passed down to her from her grandmother.

“The chairs were in really good condition, except they needed to be upholstered. I purchased some red vinyl fabric and had them refinished. They looked great and matched the table perfectly. From then on, I started to add whatever retro or vintage items I could find to make the kitchen have a 1950s style to it.”

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WHAT’S IN A NAME? When it came time to find a name for their vacation rental, Guy wanted something that offered commercial appeal, but was also personal. Because the house has a lot of history, and it being a third-generation home, they came up with the name Le Logis des Abbes.

“In our village of Surette’s Island, whenever you mentioned a person’s name, you relate it to their father,” says Patsy. “For example, ‘Guy a Abbe’ is ‘Guy, son of Abbe.’ The homestead was owned by Abbe and his wife Jacqueline, therefore the 11 children are all children of Abbe.”

“Le Logis” is Acadian for home and “des Abbe” means children of Abbe. In English, it means “the homestead of Abbe’s children.”

AN ACADIAN CHRISTMAS Christmas is a special time on the island.

“I have always loved decorating for Christmas,” says Patsy.

“I know it makes our guests’ Christmas extra special when the house is decorated with holiday cheer. It also makes Guy and I reminisce of the simpler days of Christmas past, when the house would be filled with the Surette family.”

The couple also has their own usual holiday rituals, like going to mass on Christmas Eve at the little Church of St. Joseph, followed by eating rappie pie (a local Acadian dish made with grated potatoes).

“It’s such a delight and another one of our Acadian Christmas traditions,” says Patsy.

ISLAND LIFE Surette’s Island is about 350 hectares.

It was originally connected to mainland Nova Scotia by an iron bridge built in 1909 (which was replaced in 2014 with a new two-lane steel gird bridge).

The island is a 25-minute drive to Yarmouth.

Patsy Surette loves to decorate for the holidays. She says it makes she and her husband "reminisce of the simpler days of Christmas past, when the house would be filled with the Surette family.”

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WINTER 2022

Guy and Patsy Surette Today, approximately 165 people live there, most of whom speak French.

A water view is never far away. From the home’s veranda, you can see the Tusket River across the road. There is also water not far from the back of the house, but it isn’t visible through the many trees that have grown up over the years.

A seven-minute drive away is the island’s wharf, where you can see the lobster fishing boats coming and going.

The Surette family, like many others on the island, still celebrate their Acadian heritage whenever they can. National Acadian Day on Aug. 15 is a community celebration.

“In our area, we have a mass at one of the seven catholic churches in our municipality, followed by an evening of music and food,” says Patsy. “We also award an Acadian couple volunteer of the year. There are many Acadian flags, decorations and residents wear Acadian costumes. It’s a lot of fun.”

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FEATURE

Heritage home meets Nordic chic Susan Drover’s carefully curated home bucks style trends

BY ELIZABETH WHITTEN PHOTOS BY JANE BROKENSHIRE

I

“

’m not personally a trend follower, I’m more of an observer of things I love,” says Susan Drover from her heritage home in downtown St. John’s, N.L. Drover has turned her historic 129-year-old house into what she calls a “Nordic chic” refuge, with design values she hopes will stand the test of time.

“I really feel if you’re following a trend, you’re not in love with your things,” says Drover.

“You might be in love with what it looks like temporarily. For me, none of the things I put together here are super high budget items…

They’re personal collections I’ve curated.”

She gestured to a tray with miniature glass vases, which she first encountered during a trip to Sweden. They’re called Anya vases and each glass bulb has a little bit of water in it, and she changes the sprig of greenery regularly.

“They’re one of my personal obsessions… one of my most cherished design items,” she says, adding that they’re versatile and can go anywhere, from bathrooms to bedside tables.

Drover bought her home, which was built in 1893, three years ago. It’s been a makeover in progress ever since.

“The first thing I did was paint it all white, because that’s what I always do. Just go through it with white. It’s actually Snowfall White, which is kind of my signature white.”

Drover has put a lot of consideration into what she brings into her home, and it’s no wonder she spends the effort on it, as she’s the founder and lead designer at SAM Design, a local full-service design studio and retail showroom.

“My house is very curated with things I love, so it’s very eclectic. It’s a mix of all sorts of things.”

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FEATURE

One of the first changes she brought to the home was swapping the dark hardwood floors for a light wood herringbone pattern. She adds that getting the pieces to line up was no small feat. It’s also one of her favourite features and drawn from her love of Nordic style.

Pieces of unique artwork, predominantly in black and white, are displayed throughout the home. Drover has a massive painting by Robert Moore hanging above the fireplace, titled “Properly Accessorized.” Another corner has smaller framed pictures that were done by her children’s grandfather.

She says the family hub is the dining room, which currently has a collage of soonto-be-framed vintage posters and paintings that Drover brought back from a recent trip to France. A snowy painting by Mike Gough dominates the wall.

Contrasting with the white walls, the entry hallway features a forest of green wallpaper with pops of pink.

902-499-1323 Jarrett@reddoorrealty.ca reddoorrealty.ca

Many of the items in Susan Drover’s house are things she brought back from her travels, including candle holders, vases and blankets.

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“I do love touches of green. It just grounds things a little bit. I find it soothing.”

— Susan Drover

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e a s t c o a s t l i v i n g . c a ···

“The wallpaper was an opportunity to add drama, I think, because with the palette being very white and black, sometimes that can feel a little bit cold, depending on what the environment of the house is,” says Drover.

Since the home is sandwiched between two other houses, there are not many windows, so Drover says she needed to figure out what to do with a massive wall. She could have filled it with art, but thought wallpaper could be art too. She had been carrying around a few samples of the print for years but hadn’t had the chance to use it.

She pointed out that the light coming in from the windows at the back of the house plays off the wallpaper, lighting up certain greens. “Look at the light, how it just dances…

It’s like it’s alive.”

The staircase leading up to the upper floors is original to the home. Drover painted it black, though she noted there was an undertone of green in the paint, which she called a happy accident.

“I do love touches of green. It just grounds things a little bit. I find it soothing,” she says.

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On the second floor is a powder room she converted from a closet. Across the hallway is an adjoining living room and a master suite that she says she’s kept minimal, as it’s a place for rest.

She also has a number of George Nelson’s iconic bubble lights hanging throughout the home. She calls it a timeless piece. “I love the light because it really mixes with any environment…What I love about it is it’s not fussy, but it diffuses light beautifully.”

While she knows not everyone is in the position to spend a lot on décor, she encourages people to think about how they fill their homes.

She suggests mixing different styles of items, rather than searching places like Pinterest and copying the rooms they see.

“That’s what I love the most. In a downtown home or super modern home or a condo, it just should be a collection of all the things you love… The design and how you live in that space should positively contribute to your life. It should make you happier. It should be bringing out the best. And that is what this house is for me.”

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Classic and modern Contemporary new home offers the best of country and city living

BY MELANIE MOSHER PHOTOS BY BRUCE MURRAY, VISIONFIRE

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FEATURE

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n March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a halt. But Mike Ungar and Paula Mullen looked at their unexpected time at home as an opportunity.

The couple had talked about building a new house, but with Ungar’s busy schedule as the founder and director of the Resilience Research Centre at Dalhousie University, they shelved the idea. He travelled extensively and taking the time to design and build a house was impossible. But with the change in his schedule, they began planning.

A new residential development in Hammonds Plains, N.S. caught their attention. One lot, with a natural feature they couldn’t resist, stood out.

“There’s a waterfall and winding river among the trees,” says Ungar. “Being from Nova Scotia, my wife really wanted to connect to her rural roots, while I was pushing toward a more modern design.”

Their home is five farmhouse-styled structures joined with a flat roof in “Lego-block” sections. The multiple gabled buildings, broken up with connectors, allow this large home to nestle in the forested landscape. The finished view is stunning and distinctive, a blend of modern and traditional.

“This adaptation of the farmhouse with the sloped roof and wood/metal siding seemed a lovely compromise and avoided the sometimes overly sterile feeling that modern homes can give,” says Ungar, noting it also has a dramatic standing seam black steel roofline. “Our goal was a home that felt warm and inviting but still looked very edgy and contemporary.

It definitely has a unique look.”

Being energy conscious and mindful of environmental impact were also important.

“It’s not quite a passive house, but it’s very close,” says Ungar. Solar panels cover the back of the home, and the in-floor heating system is fueled by propane. “It’s currently the most efficient source.” He adds the system is designed for modifications if a better option becomes available.

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A ROOM WITH A VIEW Two years after the process began, they stand in their home admiring the view that first caught their interest.

“We positioned the house strategically in the trees and just beyond the watershed to take advantage of the view,” says Ungar. “Much of the year we can hear the water running over the small waterfall next to the house.

“And the black window frames and white walls quite literally create the effect of picture framing the view.”

The couple was strategic with planting an atrium of plants to create an intriguing look, especially in the vestibule, where it feels like you’re both inside and outside at the same time.

Ungar says it’s an observatory to watch wildlife such as deer and rabbits while bringing the serenity of nature inside.

The main common area includes a double-sided fireplace, sitting area and kitchen. It’s open and full of light, holding ample space for welcoming others to their home. Ungar and Mullen wanted their space to reflect their love of entertaining.

The lustrous marble island provides additional kitchen workspace and contrasts with the textured stone wall and maple cabinets. The generous kitchen is designed to be used, with ample space and thoughtful planning.

“I can cook an entire turkey dinner without having to juggle things around,” says Mullen.

There’s even extra kitchen space for additional prep and cleanup that cleverly hides behind a door. They also have a tiny sliding door across the back of the counter that opens to the main common area, just behind the coffee bar. It allows dirty dishes to be easily moved out of view.

Ungar and Mullen have five grown children and recently became empty nesters. But they considered homecomings and possible future grandchildren in the design, wanting there to be room for everyone to be comfortable.

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FEATURE

The owners describe the house as having a modern “soft industrial” feel, which is warmed up through the use of stone and live edge surfaces. The couple also included wood beams found in the Mullen family’s 200-year-old barn.

The property has a guesthouse that repeats the concept of the main home, using two farmhouse styled structures. It’s accessible from the road or via a woodland path between the homes, and over the stream.

IT’S IN THE DETAILS “The house is quite unique with a modern ‘soft industrial’ feel, but warmed up through the use of lots of stone and live edge surfaces,” says Ungar. They’ve also included wood beams found in the Mullen family’s 200-year-old barn. “It was great integrating pieces of history, our own and others… The beams create a sense of continuity, and again make modern feel timeless.”

While the home has a minimalist feel, there are elements that add charm and reflect the couple. Ungar loves books, so a full-wall bookshelf complete with a sliding ladder was a must. On the opposite side of the room is a grand piano, which Mullen plays. Functional art selections act as focal pieces and reflect their love of nature. A handcrafted wooden table in the foyer mimics the root system of a large tree and adds visual interest to the space. In a small bathroom, artisan tiles and a gorgeous countertop of wood and resin resembles a stream of water running toward the sink, mirroring the stream crossing the property.

Ungar, a talented woodworker, has included a workshop in one of the farmhouse units, with tactically placed electrical

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“Our goal was a home that felt warm and inviting but still looked very edgy and contemporary. It definitely has a unique look.”

— Mike Ungar

outlets for his power tools and counter space for working.

The design goes further.

“The door can be converted to an entrance,” explains Mullen. “And the counter can easily be modified to a kitchen area, and the plumbing and electrical work are already in place.” The bathroom, which may seem elaborate for a workshop, is designed with intent. “This entire area can easily be converted to an apartment.”

Mullen considers this her forever home. The workshop/ potential apartment design is in case she and Ungar one day need a live-in caregiver.

Ungar has already crafted pieces for the home, including a wine rack and a coffee table. Next on his list is an outdoor fire pit and gazebo. He has his own wood mill in a shipping container at the back of the property. This allows him to use

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lumber from the trees felled on the lot when it was cleared.

They also have a small tractor, so they do much of the landscaping themselves.

The attention to detail continues outside. A French drain system that helps displace the abundant water on the property has become a meandering walkway among the carefully selected plants. A footpath leads over the river to the guesthouse and to an outdoor multiuse sports pad designed for games like basketball and tennis.

“Neighbourhood kids are welcome to use this space,” says Mullen.

“There isn’t a park in the area,” adds Ungar. “So, they can come here.”

Mullen nods. “Adults are welcome, too. We host a weekly pickleball game.”

This home, which embodies Ungar and Mullen’s individuality — plus showcases their love of nature — also displays their desire for community.

“It’s an East Coast home that is nestled in the forest, but still close to Halifax,” says Ungar. “The best of both worlds!”

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Holiday gift guide

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MEMORIES OF CHRISTMAS

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A DV ERT IS ING

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305 LOST BUILDINGS OF CANADA

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Quilted coats are the trend now.

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Ilse Jacobsen quilt coat is a perfect gift for Fall-Winter. takeitoutside.ca

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WHITE POINT RESORT

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HENNESSY VS $62.55 Matured in new oak barrels, Hennessy V.S is bold and fragrant.

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HOLIDAY SPARKLER Specially priced at $3999 (until December 24, 2022) 2 carats of diamonds set in white gold. charmdiamonds.com

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PHOTO: STEVE SMITH, VISIONFIRE

Building with

stone

The timeless appeal of the classic fireplace

BY JANET WHITMAN

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IN DEPTH

S

which he’d take out to jot down calculations for the angles for his version of a Rumford fireplace, a 1795-design by American-born Loyalist Benjamin Thomson. With its taller and shallower opening, the style generates a stronger draw for smoke and radiates more heat than other fireplaces.

Bowles picked river rock from a quarry and the side of the highway.

“He liked to think he was a bit of an artist with his stonework,” says MacDonald. “He chose a header piece for along the top of the opening specifically because it had the pound marks from the machinery that they use at the quarry to hit the rock until it breaks.

He thought that was kind of cool.”

The wooden mantel matches the Douglas fir timbers milled for the cottage floors that came from a warehouse demolition in New York. “They were brought up and originally were going to be used as a boat,” says MacDonald. “Something happened, they changed their mind, and we ended up getting them.”

The fireplace burns most days in spring and fall to take the chill off, she says. “We’re here for Christmas and it needs to be on at Christmas to warm us up.”

The outdoor fireplace is a summer-evening gathering spot. “I can’t imagine a cottage or beach house without a fireplace,” she says.

Cow Bay, N.S. mason Patrick Mullen built a custom four-foot-by-four-foot Rumford fireplace and chimney with granite river-rock veneer a few years ago for a customer from the United Kingdom, where the design took over from the large-walk in fireplaces that were common before 1795.

“He knew what he wanted and specifically requested a Rumford design and he’s quite happy with it,” says Mullen, who owns Briar

“Without a fireplace, your room is kind of plain.”

— Brett O’Halloran, P.E.I. contractor Masonry. “But I’m still certain from a tech perspective, he would have gotten a better heat value from a factory-built, zero-clearance fireplace. You really can’t beat the comparison to an insulated chimney. The warmer that pipe stays, the better it’s going to draw. Masonry takes quite a while to heat up.”

Mullen says the aesthetics of inserts and factory-built steel fireplaces are comparable to classic open-flame masonry ones.

PHOTO: BRUCE MURRAY, VISIONFIRE

usan MacDonald knew she achieved the look she wanted when her custom riverstone fireplace led a visitor to believe her newly built cottage was from a much earlier era.

“He apologized. He didn’t understand my elation with his comment,” she says. “This was a bare piece of land we were building on and even though it was a new structure, because there wasn’t an old one here, I didn’t want it to look like a new build. A fireplace helps with making it look older.”

Open-flame fireplaces are a rarity these days, as homeowners opt for the heatgenerating efficiency of wood stoves and wood-burning fireplace inserts, or the ease of gas and electric options.

While MacDonald knew of the drawbacks of going old school, she was willing to compromise to get the look she wanted at her now-18year-old cottage near Rissers Beach in Petite Rivière on Nova Scotia’s South Shore.

“They’re terrible for efficiency. It’s like having an open window. This is a big, massive chimney with a piece of metal that shuts down for the winter,” she says. “They don’t suit a tight, energy-efficient home, but they suit a summer house, that’s for sure.”

She enlisted now-late mason Lender Bowles to build the living room fireplace and stone chimney, along with an outdoor fireplace in a corner on the wrap-around veranda. He arrived with a notebook tucked in his shirt pocket,

Left: According to mason Francis Arsenault, stone is typically more popular than brick. Shown here is the outdoor fireplace at Arsenault's home in Antigonish, N.S. Above: Susan MacDonald's custom riverstone fireplace at her cottage in Petite Rivière on Nova Scotia’s South Shore.

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NOTHING SAYS COZY LIKE A FIREPLACE OPTIONS INCLUDE: The classic: wood-burning, open-flame fireplace

PHOTO: STEVE SMITH, VISIONFIRE

Efficient heat generators: factory-built zero-clearance fireplaces or inserts that burn wood, natural gas or propane

“With the new factory-built fireplaces, you can take the doors off and light a fire so it would look like you’re looking at stone. When we put those in, there’s very little steel showing. It’s mostly cladded in masonry.”

THE MODERN CHOICE Mullen seldom gets requests for open-flame masonry fireplaces. When money is not an object, many homeowners opt for large, factorybuilt steel fireplaces with stone cladding, or wood-burning inserts with Selkirk flues to go in existing fireplaces, which can throw off heat like a wood stove.

As storms like September’s hurricane-force Fiona become the norm rather than once-ina-generation events, demand is heating up for fireplaces and woodstoves.

“We’ve had a ton of calls from people. For the first time, it’s crossed their minds, ‘Hey, I wish I had an insert in my fireplace,’” Mullen says.

“A lot of people inherited old fireplaces when they purchased a home, so there’s already the infrastructure there. Rather than set up a wood stove, a lot of people will choose to retrofit their fireplace. It’s usually a little cheaper if you already have a masonry chimney.”

WOOD STILL STRONG Wood is this country’s original heating fuel and continues to be an efficient and economical way to heat a home as a primary source, or to supplement another heating system such as an oil-fired furnace or heat pump.

“It’s in our blood in Atlantic Canada. Anybody you meet here generally enjoys sitting around

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a campfire, and enjoys burning wood,” says Mullen. “I worked in Alberta, and it doesn’t cross their minds to burn wood as a source of heat. It’s part of how things have always been done here.”

But natural gas, propane and electric are also gaining in popularity. Many homeowners appreciate the ease of flicking a switch and are glad not to have to lug firewood or deal with the mess of soot, ash and dust.

“It’s definitely a different type of heat,” says Mullen. “I’ve explained that to people. Wood is going to give you a nice, longer-lasting dry heat, but it’s going to take about an hour to warm that room up. If it’s a Saturday, and you like to light it first thing in the morning, you’re going to have a nice warm room all day. But if you’re coming in to watch TV and it’s freezing, you may just want to flick a switch and turn it on.”

EVERYONE WANTS A FIREPLACE Contractor Brett O’Halloran, who owns Shoreline Construction in Cornwall, P.E.I., says customer requests for fireplaces are the norm, whether it’s new construction or renovations to an existing home.

“Without a fireplace, your room is kind of plain,” he says. “When you put in a fireplace and a mantle, all of a sudden the room comes alive. Whether it’s 16 inches or two feet out from the wall, it adds a new dimension to the room and becomes the focal point. Everybody wants to stare at that fireplace.”

Custom mantels are part of the appeal.

“They vary from solid wood to faux wood to slabs of wood. They seem to all be wood,” says O’Halloran. “For my own personal fireplace, we

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On a budget: electric fireplace Get the look: a flickering flame on your flatscreen from a streamed YouTube video

EFFICIENCY AND EXTRA COSTS Wood-burning and gas fireplaces can add around 10 per cent to your insurance bill. Your insurer also might require an annual flue cleaning by a qualified chimney sweep if you’re burning wood. But, with an efficient unit, you can more than make up for the added expense by saving on your heat bill.

Traditional open-flame fireplaces almost lose more heat than they gain, with an efficiency rating of about 10 per cent. Factory-built options are effective heat generators. Newer models operate at as much as 80 per cent efficiency. Some pelletburning models are as high as 98 per cent. Newer gas fireplaces have efficiencies that can go well into the 80 per cent range and produce fewer polluting emissions than wood-burning fireplaces. Newer wood-burning fireplaces are designed to increase combustion efficiency and reduce wood smoke emissions.

Fireplace manufacturers provide efficiency estimates on their Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-certified products.

IN DEPTH

LOOKING BACK AT THE FIREPLACE OVER THE YEARS

PHOTO: BRUCE MURRAY, VISIONFIRE

The first fireplaces, developed in medieval homes and castles and essential for heat, light, cooking and baking, were more functional than decorative.

Susan MacDonald (right) and her daughter Abby enjoy a fire in the outdoor stone fireplace at their cottage in Petite Rivière, N.S.

have a solid piece of hemlock. Other fireplaces might look like a solid piece of wood, but they’re just hollowed out.”

On the island, a lot of people are going for electric heat, a cheaper alternative with an expensive look, he says. “It gives you that rich feel, but you’re not paying $8,000 to $10,000 for the unit. You’re paying $500 to $1,000 and getting the same effect. When you walk up to it, you wouldn’t even know the difference.”

Instead of faux wood in electric or propane fireplaces, customers are opting for river rock or crystals, he says.

And in many cases, old-school brick and stone is getting ditched for a sleeker look, with options such as see-through fireplaces that can be viewed from, say, both a kitchen and living room, he says. “It’s all so modern. Even in a rustic home, nobody wants the fake wood look.”

For the surrounds, when clearances from burning wood aren’t a concern, shiplap is all the rage, he says. “It’s very popular. You get that rustic, sort of cottage, boho kind of feel.”

He notes that hearths have fallen out of favour with his customers.

“I think it’s a thing of the past. If you go out into the country in New Brunswick, you’re probably going to get a stone fireplace with a hearth that looks amazing,” he says. “Everybody here says, ‘Clean lines, clean lines.’ You want to keep everything just flowing through the room.”

Antigonish mason Francis Arsenault says people are showing a definite preference for stone over brick.

Back when his grandfather Wilford “Papa” Arsenault moved to the town from Tracadie, N.B. in 1934 to construct the stone buildings at St. Francis Xavier University, fireplaces were made of chunks of granite and other stone hand cut to four-to-six-inches thick.

“We’re cutting our stone into thin veneer now,” says Arsenault, who started working in the family business as a young teenager more than four decades ago. “It’s roughly an inch in thickness. It’s a lot easier to lay the stone today because if you have to make a cut, you’re only cutting an inch. It’s a lot lighter so you don’t get as tired, and you can do more work.”

Arsenault, who now works with his son Matthew, a fourth-generation Red Seal bricklayer, says they’re busy, in part because there are fewer masons around.

He and his son construct outdoor fireplaces onsite at their business, South River Stone, that can be delivered, and also do indoor fireplaces and chimneys.

“Stone has always been in,” he says.

“If someone moves back from Alberta, and they’re building the house of their dreams, they want to use local stone. We’re lucky that we have a couple of quarries that my grandfather had. It’s funny, the stones they didn’t use back then that were set aside, we’re using them now because all we need is an inch of them.

“Even the farmers’ fields and the fences that they pile the rocks on, the fieldstone, we can cut that into a veneer and use that too,” he adds.

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Smoke from the fires flowed out through holes in the roof until chimneys were invented, an important stride that enabled the heating of multiple-storey homes, with fireplaces on each level.

In the 1600s and the early 1700s, fireplaces were deep, wide, open recesses, big enough to walk in.

In 1795, their efficiency took a leap forward when Count Rumford invented a firebox that was taller than it was wide and smaller and shallower than older styles with steeply angled sides. It was a design that threw more radiant heat.

With the introduction of central heat in the 1900s, fireplaces shifted from a source of heat to a design focal point.

U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who summered at his cottage estate on New Brunswick’s Campobello Island, popularized the notion of the fireplace as a relaxing gathering place for families with his Depression-era weekly evening radio addresses called “Fireside Chats.”

With his back-to-nature movement that established national parks and forests after he became president in 1901, he’s also credited with helping spawn a shift toward fireplaces built with river rock or stone, a marked contrast to more ornate designs popular during colonial times.

The fireplace’s long reign as a gathering place for families was usurped with the invention of the television in 1927.

Now, with family members more likely to be watching their favourite shows on their gadgets or computers, fireplaces are making a comeback as focal points in homes.

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PHOTOS: SUBMITTED

Wild and wooly The masterpieces of Alexandria Masse

BY ALEC BRUCE

T

he giant spider that Alexandria Masse crocheted, which now adorns a wall in a downtown Toronto outlet of John Fluevog Shoes, is about three metres wide in all its fully splayed, multi-coloured splendour. But when the burgeoning textile artist was creating it last summer, she sometimes stuffed its unfinished parts into a handbag.

“I’d be sitting there with friends at dinner, making all these yarn circles,” she says about filling the complicated order from the retailer, which had given her a $10,000 commission to create the much-larger-than-life wooly arachnid earlier in the year. “I just adapted, you know?”

Her steadily growing legions of fans certainly do. With two crochet hooks and countless balls of yarn, over the past couple of years the Windsor, Ont., native (a recent graduate of NSCAD University) has modified her artistic sensibilities into a vast collection of remarkably eclectic pieces for public displays and private buyers. She makes everything from balaclavas in the shape of a teapot to a dress featuring the Halifax Old Town Clock … and from a 12-metre centipede named “Ha-Ha” to “Abigail” the shoe store spider.

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Grammy-nominated performer Poppy recently donned a Masse teapot for a concert in the U.S. The artist has made bunny hats for the rapper Rico Nasty, and a headpiece that looks like a soccer ball for singer-songwriter Rich Brian. Earlier this year, Ha-Ha wowed art lovers at a solo exhibition at Anna Leonowens Gallery in Halifax.

“This is something I’ve turned into a career,” says Masse, “and I don’t intend on stopping.”

That sounds familiar to mom Terry Chow, who remembers her daughter's creative ambition well.

“At home, sometimes, we would recycle things, and Alex would make a Styrofoam mobile or something, or a carton cut and coloured or painted to look like chickadees or turtles,” she says. “She also played a lot of sports: basketball, track and field, soccer, swimming. She was a hockey goalie in high school.”

Chow taught her daughter how to knit and ultimately, how to crochet.

“What I do, basically, is crochet,” says Masse, “but I don’t mind if people call it knitting or ‘knitwear’ … The process involves a lot of different things.”

If, for example, you want to make a monster-movie-sized spider with yarn, where do you start?

“I made a tiny prototype, and then I blew that up on a projector and traced the pattern onto larger pieces,” she says, explaining Abigail.

“Then, I sewed everything — about 200 crocheted circles — together by hand because the piece was so large, and I had to use heavy-duty thread. After that, I needed galvanized steel to reinforce the legs … It was a long, long process.”

Less time-consuming, perhaps, but no less bespoke, are some of her most recent creations.

Following her graduation from NSCAD (and Abigail), Masse spent August on retreat at the Icelandic Textile Centre in Blönduós.

“It was so beautiful,” she says. “You just get to live with a bunch of other artists in a building that has a studio, and you can just make as much art as you want. So, I created

PHOTOS: SUBMITTED

PEOPLE

a bunch of pieces that were inspired by the landscape … especially the horses … I really like the horses there.”

These days, Masse relies almost exclusively on social media to market herself. Her Instagram account is chock full of pictures of Iceland-inspired knitwear, to her devotees’ delight. “This is my favourite piece you’ve made,” posts one about a skirt festooned with brown and white ponies.

And while she’s determined to be a going concern, she’s also circumspect. “I’d love to participate in one of those things (like New York Fashion Week) one day, but I’ve never intended to mass produce.

“Right now, I’m in a smaller piece period. I’ll probably shift over to working on a sculpture soon … If you have a medium and a tool that can be manipulated any way you want, why not manipulate it into a giant bug?”

At least you can if you are, like Masse, simply, creatively adaptable.

Artist Alexandria Masse with "Abigail," the giant crocheted spider she made for a downtown Toronto shoe store.

Above: One of her fun hat/mask creations.

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PHOTO: SUBMITTED

ART

Nova Scotian artist creates computer-generated images with hand-painted elements

BY SUE NADOR

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PEOPLE

PHOTOS: SUBMITTED

Opposite page: Artist Alex Sutcliffe in his Halifax studio.

The 24-year-old's work challenges the viewer to wonder which parts are physically painted and which are digital.

C

omputers fascinated Nova Scotian visual artist Alex Sutcliffe, 24, when he was a child. “It’s like a magic box when you’re a little kid,” he says. Typical of Gen Z, he spent hours playing computer games like Pinball Wizard.

His artist mother and arts-loving father encouraged drawing, another passion that developed early. He envisioned becoming an artist when he grew up (although chef and sports professional were on his list too).

What he did not envision was one day merging his love of technology with his passion for visual arts.

Sutcliffe moved to Halifax from Ottawa in 2016 to study at NSCAD University. He began with a “pinhole-size view” of art influenced by mass media. He thought the mark of a good artist was technical skill — being able to render a three-dimensional scene with good composition, depth of field, and a nice focal point. By the time he graduated with his BFA, he was “more open in general to things most people wouldn’t even consider art.”

His signature work combines computergenerated images with hand painted elements.

He’s largely self-taught as a painter. “Painting was always mystifying because how does someone just move coloured mud in a way that creates this illusion of reality?” he says.

"Nodes II" is an example of a large collage that layers digital print on canvas and hand-painted oils. While the work is best described as abstract, you can see images of historical masterpieces

and grand masters if you look closely. We are left to wonder: Are these real or digital?

It’s a commentary on our lives today: how it has become more difficult to discern between what is authentic and what creators have technologically manipulated. He pointed out that AI algorithms even doctor photos on our iPhones. “Our lives are mixed now in a very blurry way,” he says. “It can be disorienting.”

Shortly after graduation, Studio 21 Fine Art in Halifax and Studio Sixty Six in Ottawa both offered to represent Sutcliffe, which was something he hadn’t expected. He modestly called this early achievement “a lot of good timing” and “a little bit of luck.”

Carrie Colton, gallery owner of Studio Sixty Six, disagreed. She recognized “a quiet confidence beyond his years,” calling his work technically impressive and exciting. “Alex is fast becoming one of our most popular artists,” she says.

While these galleries sell his work — and provide other invaluable support — Sutcliffe does outreach through social media too. Many artists fear sharing images of their work will devalue it, but Sutcliffe sees it differently.

“The ‘Mona Lisa’ is probably the most massproduced painting and also one of the most valuable,” he says, noting that he recently posted a TikTok of himself creating his art.

“It did get quite a bit of traction online. And then I had people asking to buy the work.”

The young artist has gained significant recognition. Among his honours are winning the Bank of Montréal’s 1st Art!

Competition for Nova Scotia. In September, he had his first solo exhibit at Studio Sixty Six. Recently, he was part of a group show of works purchased by the Nova Scotia Art Bank at Halifax’s Anna Leonowens Gallery.

His work has sold internationally.

Sutcliffe says being an artist demands self-criticism, which can hamper creativity.

He puts himself in “a childlike, playful creative state” when he works to combat that, listening to “all sorts of wacky music” surrounded by an array of tools from a handpainted paintbox to digital scanners. Exercise like running and playing ping pong, along with proper sleep and nutrition, help too.

“I’m still figuring out how my body and brain work together,” he says.

It’s too early for Sutcliffe to predict what his art will look like in the future, but he hopes it will still have the “same sort of curious thread” that runs through his current work.

“I do hope that it looks different in many ways though, because I see it as a sign of growth, like being able to speak a new language.”

One thing he is sure about is Halifax is home.

“It has the right type of environment to feel like I can do all the things I want to do.”

He loves the local art scene and many of his friends from his NASCAD days are around too.

And he is engaged to be married to a Haligonian.

“We have a great life plan ahead of us,” he says.

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Get on board A beautiful charcuterie display makes the ideal centrepiece for holiday sharing STORY AND PHOTOS BY COLLEEN THOMPSON

E

ast Coast Living has planned an all-local charcuterie and cheese board that’s perfect for your holiday gathering. By showcasing the best Maritime ingredients — including something a little salty, a little sweet, a little crunchy and a little creamy — everything can be displayed like little works of art. This board includes a selection of artisanal cured meats, handmade cheese, freshly toasted baguette, and an array of pickles, preserves, mustard and honey. It’s an interactive, elegant way of entertaining.

Choosing the right board is your first step. Consider the size of the servings. It’s always a good idea to lay out a practice board with items still in the wrappers. This will give you an idea of proportions and where to fill in any gaps.

Plan on the following proportions per person: two to three ounces meat, two to three ounces cheese, four to six ounces bread or crackers, two to three ounces accompaniments like olives, fruit, etc. and three tablespoons of condiments. From there, scale up as necessary.

THE RIGHT BOARD We chose a beautiful olive wood board from East Coast Specialty Hardwoods in Dartmouth that comfortably holds enough for eight people and makes a showstopping centrepiece.

EAST COAST SPECIALTY HARDWOODS, HALIFAX Sarah Matheson is continuing her father’s legacy and passion for beautiful hardwoods. Bob Matheson launched the business by purchasing one load of lumber 36 years ago. Today, East Coast Specialty Hardwoods carries about 60 species of wood, including walnut, olive, rosewood and maple. The walk-in warehouse

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is a veritable feast for the eyes if you’re looking for a custom charcuterie board.

With custom on-site milling, workers can cut, sand and oil your wood to any specifications. Our charcuterie board is custom-cut olive wood with a live edge.

Olive trees can produce olives for up to 90 years, and the trees are only cut once they stop producing fruit. The wood is visually striking, with its twisted patterns, deep contrasting colours, and brown and yellow streaks.

WHAT EVERY BOARD NEEDS A focal point: Start in the middle of the board and build out from there. It could be a striking cheese, like the dramatic black wax Dragon’s Breath, or maybe it’s a beautifully textured pâté.

EATING IN

Something homemade: It doesn’t have to be complicated.

A simple fruit compote or preserve is easy to prepare and will add something special to your board. In this case, it’s the fig and balsamic preserve: a quick and simple recipe of fresh figs combined with sugar, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and rosemary, simmered for 20 minutes.

Make it pretty: Tuck in fresh herbs, scatter dried fruits and berries, and strategically place olives and pickles. Dollop and smear mustard and condiments directly on the board, adding a whimsical touch.

THE CHEESE Pick four to five cheeses with different textures and flavours, like blue, goat, cheddar and gouda. Make it easy for guests to grab a slice or chunk by prepping the cheese in advance. You can slice or crumble hard cheese and cut softer cheeses in half to make them more inviting.

THAT DUTCHMAN’S CHEESE FARM, UPPER ECONOMY, N.S. Dragon’s Breath Blue is a worthy centrepiece on any board.

Simply slice off the top and scoop out blobs of pungent deliciousness. This surface-ripened blue cheese has become cheesemaker Willem van den Hoek’s signature piece. Creamy, sweet and tangy; there’s nothing not to love.

KNOYDART FARM, MERIGOMISH, N.S. Knoydart is a family-owned dairy where Frazer Hunter makes cheese with organic milk from his grass-fed Holstein and Jersey cows. The cheese house overlooks the ruggedly beautiful coastline of the Northumberland Strait, and the cows transfer the unique terroir and salty quality from ocean breezes. It all translates into an outstanding range of organic curds and cheddar cheeses in various flavours.

White truffle cheddar: Sharp with hints of earthiness from truffle mushrooms

Wild herb cheddar: A savoury mix of wild herbs with a piquant cheddar Cranberry cheddar: A sharp cheddar packed with tart-sweet cranberries

ARMADALE FARM CHEESE SHOPPE, ROACHVILLE, N.B. Owners Hetty and Ian Smyth are carrying on a multigenerational, artisan cheesemaking tradition using milk from their own dairy farm. Gouda is Armadale's signature cheese.

It has a rich, creamy texture to which they add various spices, from cumin and chili to peppercorns and stinging nettles.

Red hot chili pepper: Adding red hot chili peppers creates a vibrant and spicy gouda Peppercorn Joop: The cheese combines green and red peppercorns, paprika and garlic, which imparts a spicy, sharp flavour

THE MEAT Charcuterie is an ancient craft based on curing, salting, smoking and preserving. The word comes from the French words “chair,” meaning “flesh,” and “cuit,” meaning “cooked.” It was traditionally only made from pork and offal and could only be sold in stores owned by charcutiers, who would showcase their products by hanging them in storefront windows.

As with the cheeses, choose a selection of meats with different textures and flavours, like soft and spreadable pate, salty prosciutto, fatty ventreche and hard textured salami. Present each meat neatly by folding pieces in half, creating small nests, and make a trail of cut sausages or grouping in rows of paper-thin cuts.

RATINAUD, HALIFAX, N.S. Artisanal charcuterie master Frederic Tandy creates a delectable array of French-style charcuterie meats, sausages, pates and rillettes from his shop in North End Halifax.

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Duck prosciutto: Duck breast cured with salt and dry-aged for two weeks Coppa: Pork shoulder cured with salt, juniper berries and nutmeg, and dried for two months Ventreche: Pork belly cured with salt and fresh herbs, cold smoked, then dried for one month Ratinaud pate: Terrine made with pork, liver, pistachio, port wine brandy, seasoning and then finished with a port wine jelly Duck rillettes: Slow-cooked duck (until the meat falls apart), seasoned and finished with duck fat

CAVICCHI’S MEATS, UPPER TANTALLON, N.S. Owners Grant and Bev Cavicchi produce a wide variety of smoked products made from lean cuts of pork or beef — or a combination of both — that are mixed with a blend of spices from family recipes. All sausages are stuffed in natural casings and hot-smoked with hand-split hardwoods.

The smoked ham and Montreal smoked meat are carefully trimmed, infused with a house brine and cured for seven days before hanging to hot smoke in an outdoor house smoker.

THE ACCOMPANIMENTS These are the elements that pull the board together. They add contrast and complement the rich, fatty cheese and meats.

They can also add sweetness like honey, preserves or dried fruit. For something briny, add pickles and olives. Finally, a little heat in the form of mustard is a must.

ATLANTIC MUSTARD MILL, MURRAY HARBOUR NORTH, P.E.I. Owner and mustard-maker Sabine Schoenknecht mills fresh mustard seeds using a German stone mill. The mill enables seeds to be ground very slowly to maintain healthy mustard oil.

Pear and fig: A fruity, mild mustard with the distinctive taste of pears and figs. The fruits are purée cooked and added to the milled seeds with cane sugar and sea salt. An excellent accompaniment to cheese and pork The maple chili: Yellow and brown mustard seeds are combined with vinegar and maple syrup from New Brunswick’s MapleCure. The mustard gets heat from the seeds, homegrown cayenne and habanero peppers — delicious with sausages, cheese and smoked meat

FORTUNE BRIDGE BRINERY, SOURIS, P.E.I Owners Jerry and Marguerite Sentes produce small-batch gourmet pickles. Their signature brine features white and apple cider vinegar, to which they add dill, garlic and spices. Add tangy heat to your board with the spicy spears and chips flavoured with habanero peppers, or add the red pickled onions flavoured with black peppercorns and just a hint of sweetness.

STINGIN‘ HOT HONEY, HALIFAX, N.S. Halifax Honey Company co-owners Jake Mahoney and Jesse Abbass created Stingin‘ Hot Honey, infusing raw, unpasteurized, local wildflower honey with pickled chilies.

It’s sweet at first, then five seconds later your palate catches up and the heat kicks in. Perfect for drizzling all over cheese and charcuterie.

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get inspired

Steve Smith, VisionFire

with a uniquely Atlantic Canadian twist

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eastcoastliving.ca | 877.885.6344 OFFER CODE: ECLAD2022-ECL

Add some

PUNCH

to your holiday celebration

STORY AND PHOTOS BY COLLEEN THOMPSON

P

unch is making a comeback this holiday season. And we don’t mean the bright red syrup with floating foreign objects that triggers college flashbacks. We’re talking real punch, made with artisanal Atlantic-crafted spirits and local seasonal ingredients. East Coast Living partnered with four Atlantic distilleries to bring you the best holiday gin punch.

Punch dates back to at least the 17th century.

Some historians claim the name came from paanch, the Hindi word for five. It was traditionally made with five ingredients: a base spirit, sweetener for balance, spice for boldness, citrus for sourness and a mix for volume.

Whether made in large batches and ladled from grandma’s 1970s cut glass punch bowl or poured from a pitcher, a well-crafted punch is just plain festive and makes for perfect holidayseason sharing.

NEWFOUNDLAND DISTILLERY SEAWEED GIN PUNCH Seaweed Gin is made using two processes, both with the same ingredients. First, it’s made traditionally using the still and gin basket, which holds the juniper, seaweed and savoury.

Secondly, the same ingredients are macerated in 79 per cent alcohol and then filtered out.

The maceration preserves the natural oils in the juniper and seaweed and gives the liquid a slight yellow colour. The hand-picked juniper is from Newfoundland’s Avalon Peninsula and the dulse seaweed from the Grand Banks. A small amount of locally grown savoury completes this unique and exceptional gin.

Ingredients 1 (750 ml) bottle of Seaweed Gin 1 cup Yellow Chartreuse 1 1/2 cups freshly squeezed lime juice 2 1/2 cups freshly squeezed grapefruit juice 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice 10 dashes of orange bitters (optional) Ice 1 (750ml) bottle of Benjamin Bridge sparkling wine 3 oranges, sliced into thin round slices 4 grapefruits, segmented Instructions Mix gin, Chartreuse, lime juice, grapefruit juice and orange juice in a large punch bowl or pitcher. Add bitters and stir. Then add several cups of ice and let chill for 15 minutes. Ice should dilute the punch slightly.

Top with sparkling wine, stir gently and garnish with orange and grapefruit wheels. Serve over ice.

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LIBATIONS

IRONWORKS ROSE PUNCH

FUNDY HOT PUNCH Still Fired Distilleries in Annapolis Royal, N.S. produces Fundy Gin, a unique spirit, created in two stills: Kirby and Morgan, the first “legal” stills built in Atlantic Canada. Distiller Andrew Cameron adds Bay of Fundy beach stones in the column of the stills along with the dulse. They add salinity, making it taste like a perfect martini (with a fresh ocean breeze aroma) right out of the bottle.

The smooth new western-style gin uses botanicals from all over the world. Juniper berries are sourced from a Croatian familyowned business. The berries offer a beautiful, floral fragrance balanced with cardamom, rosemary, coriander, angelica root, orris root and dulse.

Lunenburg, N.S.-based Ironworks Gin makes a traditional London dry, which means it gets its flavour from the steeping of the botanicals with no added sugar. It starts with highquality, charcoal-filtered, neutral spirits made from Canadian grain and macerate, distilled with seven botanicals.

Five of these are classic gin ingredients: juniper berry, coriander, orris root, angelica and lemon peel. The other two give it a distinct Lunenburg County feel: rosehips from the Rosa Rugosa bushes that grow next to the harbour and balsam fir buds harvested in the spring.

The result is a delicate spirit with soft, evergreen top notes.

3 DOGS GIN ELDERFLOWER PUNCH New Brunswick’s 3 Dogs makes its gin in small batches using a multi-shot process.

In effect, it makes a “concentrate,” which is proofed down to 43 per cent ABV. Unlike other distilleries, it doesn’t use commercially produced neutral grain spirit as the base.

Instead, 3 Dogs produces its own onsite using sugar, which presents a smooth, slightly sweet starting point. Botanicals of juniper, coriander seeds, cardamon, lemon peel, angelica root, ginger root, elderberry, rose hips and butterfly pea flower are added.

Ingredients 1 (750 ml) bottle of 3 Dogs Gin 12 oz St-Germain Elderflower liqueur 2 cups cranberry juice 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice 1 litre sparkling water 1/2 cup hibiscus syrup 1 cup fresh cranberries Fresh cranberries, dried hibiscus flowers and lemon slices for garnish Instructions Combine all your ingredients in a large punch bowl or pitcher and stir. Add crushed ice to glasses before adding punch.

Ingredients 1 (750 ml) bottle of Still Fired Fundy Gin 1 (750 ml) bottle of sherry 1 (750 ml) apple cider or juice 6 lemons, quartered 6 oranges, quartered 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger 3 tbsp honey 8 cloves 1 pinch of ground nutmeg 3 cinnamon sticks 1 tbsp brown sugar 3 sprigs rosemary 2 orange peels, studded with cloves

Ingredients 6 oranges, cut into wheels 6 lemons, cut into wheels 3 limes, cut into wheels 1 pint fresh raspberries 1 (750 ml) bottle of Ironworks Gin 1 tbsp rose flower water 1 1/2 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 cup simple syrup 1 (750 ml) bottle of Lightfoot & Wolfville sparkling rose Edible rose petals (dried or fresh)

Instructions In a large saucepan on medium heat, add the gin, sherry, lemons, oranges, ginger, honey, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and brown sugar. Stir until the sugar and spices are dissolved. Simmer on low heat for 20 minutes. Strain to remove the fruits and spices. Pour the punch into a heat-proof bowl or pitcher. Garnish with orange peels studded with cloves and sprigs of rosemary.

Instructions Half-fill 24 holes in an ice cube tray with water. Place rose petals in each. Freeze for three hours, then fill with more water and freeze for two to three hours until solid.

Combine the fruits in a punch bowl or large pitcher. Add the gin, rose flower water, juices and syrup. Refrigerate for three to four hours. Just before serving, add the rose sparkling wine and scatter with rose petals.

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*To make hibiscus syrup, combine 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup dried hibiscus in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and then remove from the heat. Leave to steep for 30 minutes. Strain into a bottle.

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LIBATIONS

Winter warmer Get cozy this season with this unique hot toddy recipe

BY TASHA TAYLOR

H

istorians think the hot toddy originated in India as a quasi-cure to the common cold. Whisky doesn’t heal you, but combined with honey, lemon and hot water, it soothes your throat, allowing you to momentarily forget your cold symptoms.

But you don’t have to be sick to enjoy toddys!

They're tasty all year long, especially as winter looms.

With a simple spin on the recipe, using moonshine instead of whisky, and by introducing tea as a base, we’ve made this toddy recipe our own way. We’ve included local Atlantic Canadian ingredients, including tea from the Tea Brewery, moonshine from Still Fired Distilleries, and honey from Cosman & Whidden.

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THE TEA The Tea Brewery, located in Mahone Bay, N.S., offers truly exquisite loose-leaf artisan teas. The Nova Scotia Blue wild blueberry is a unique black tea blend that tastes of fresh hand-picked wild blueberries. Starting with this tea as the base of the drink gives this toddy its unique flavour, a perfect complement to the cinnamon moonshine made in Annapolis Royal.

THE MOONSHINE Still Fired Distilleries distills on-site in Annapolis Royal, N.S. And the results are unique: premium spirits that are perfect to mix into cocktails or serve on the rocks.

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THE WINTER WARMER Ingredients 7 oz water 2 tbsp Nova Scotia Blue tea (The Tea Brewery) 1 oz Big Buck Cinnamon Moonshine (Still Fired Distilleries) 1 tsp honey (Cosman and Whidden Honey) Instructions Boil the water and steep tea with honey for four minutes.

Add moonshine and enjoy!

THE HONEY Located in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley, Cosman & Whidden Honey has been producing honey for more than 40 years. Smooth in texture and taste, its honey is pure and simply perfect for this hot toddy cocktail.

So, make this recipe and curl up on the couch for a unique winter warmer.

BUYING GUIDE

Buying guide Now that you’ve seen all the quality products and services available in Atlantic Canada, here’s a guide to help you find them for your own home.

Acorn Press (p. 27, 29) acornpresscanada.com

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Lakecity Woodworkers (p. 27) shop.lakecityworks.ca

Pleasures N’ Treasures (p. 26, 28) pntcanada.com

Anne Of Green Gables Chocolates (p. 25) annechocolates.com

East Coast Living (p. 41) eastcoastliving.ca/subscribe

Light N’ Luscious Body Treats (p. 26) craftyowlartisansmarket.ca

Red Door Realty (Jm) (p. 17) Reddoorrealty.ca

Glubes Sound Studio (p. 47) Glubes.ca

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Goose Lane (p. 26, 27, 28, 29) gooselane.com

Neptune Theatre (p. 19) neptunetheatre.com

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The Quarterdeck Resort (p. 25) quarterdeck.ca

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Ivan’s Cameras & AV (p. 27, 28) Bosch/Bsh Home Appliances Inc. (p. 4) ivanscamera.com bosch-home.ca James Lorimer & Co. Ltd/Formac Charm Diamond Centres (p. 26, 27, 28) Publishing Company Ltd. (p. 8) charmdiamonds.com formac.ca formaclorimerbooks.ca Charton Hobbs (p. 28, 29) Available at NSLC

right to your mailbox.

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LAST LOOK

Art reflecting life Newfoundland artist’s work causes people to do a double take — is it a photo or a painting?

BY ELIZABETH WHITTEN PHOTOS: SUBMITTED

I

t was the spring of 2018 and Natalie Esther Higdon was a month away from finishing her bachelor of science in psychology when she had an epiphany. Rather than become a therapist, the Memorial University graduate decided to embrace her passion for paint and become an artist.

Four years later, she’s hosting her first art gallery exhibition in downtown St. John’s, N.L. This milestone comes a lot sooner than she expected.

“I didn’t think I would have this opportunity so fast. I was kind of thinking of a champagne birthday — my 28th — that I wanted to have the ball rolling by then,” says Higdon, 25, from her St. John's home.

Titled Looking Down, the exhibition is taking place at the artist-run centre Eastern Edge in its rOGUE Gallery and features six portraits of her friends, plus a short film she made to give context to the paintings. It began Oct. 28 and concludes on Dec. 10.

Natalie Esther Higdon often takes jobs on commission and has been asked to paint everything from portraits and pets to landscapes and cabins.

DOUBLE TAKE PAINTINGS When looking at the artwork Higdon has on display in her living room, it’s obvious there’s a lightness to the way she paints. She describes her work as visual realism rather than photorealism.

“I don’t want people to think it’s a photo, but I want them to double-take where they first think it’s a photo,” explains Higdon, who often sells her work at the St. John’s Farmers’ Market.

“That’s kind of my favourite thing, when I see someone at the market and they kind of do a look and say, ‘Nice photo’ and then they see ‘Oh, it’s not a photo.’ I don’t want people thinking it’s photorealism.” For her, it’s just realistic enough but people do notice the brush work in her oil paintings.

She pointed to one of the paintings she had on display of a woman crying, titled “Léa,” saying the tears and facial redness were more accentuated than they were in reality, so the painting is more surreal.

“I like those little elements, but I don’t need it to look like a photo.”

For Higdon, surrealism isn’t about adding wildly magical elements to her paintings but

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capturing someone’s character, which could mean changing the colour of something in the painting. “If I noticed someone’s eyes or tears, I want those to pop out more. So, it’s not whimsical but a little bit surreal.”

Like many artists, Higdon takes commissions and estimates a piece can take about two months to finish, in part because a canvas can have six to seven thin layers of paint and each layer takes weeks to dry.

Higdon almost didn’t make it to her artistic career. As a child she was often painting and recalled going to her kindergarten career day as an artist. But as she got older, she says she wasn’t sure how to go about making a career of it and settled on a “stable” career path with a psychology degree.

“I knew I wanted to do something with humans and behaviour, but I thought I wanted to be a therapist and analyze them,” she said.

“But what I really realized in my last month of school was that I wanted to capture them.

So instead of observing and analyzing people,

WINTER 2022

I realized that the whole time I wanted to be an artist.”

This realization had her going to a local arts store and spending almost $1,000 on supplies.

Around the time she decided to pursue her artistic career, a friend who was studying photography in Toronto encouraged her to finish her degree and come live in her spare bedroom. So Hidgon graduated in May of 2018 and in August moved to Toronto. She spent time visiting the local galleries and got a job at an art supply store where she was able to learn more about art and make connections.

As a result, Higdon says she is completely self-taught, using online resources like YouTube tutorials and Reddit to figure out techniques.

She was in Toronto for two years but when the pandemic struck, she decided to move back home to St. John’s, which she says turned out to be great for her career.

“You can’t just study art, you have to practise it and make your own routines and you just have to really want it.”

TV when it’s on, art when it’s off Modern design with a customizable bezel.

The all-new Samsung Frame TV is here, and it’s a work of art! This beautiful television has a matte anti-reflective coating that eliminates glare, so you can enjoy your favorite shows and movies in stunning 4K resolution.

The sleek design looks like a frame mounted on the wall, and with the customizable bezel options, you can personalize your television to match your home décor. With built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, you can easily connect your Frame TV to your other smart devices. And with the included Samsung Smart Remote, you can control everything with the touch of a button. Order your Samsung Frame TV today and start enjoying the beauty of television!

Available in sizes from 32”-85”.

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This February,

COME OUT OF YOUR SHELL!

Romp!

Crawllow us! @LucyLobsterNS

Nova Scotia Lobster Crawl

@ Nova Scotia Lobster Crawl

Grab your sense of adventure, along with your love for lobster and head south this winter! we’ll be celebrating all-things lobster, all over nova Scotia’s south shore. stay, play, engage and be a part of it - from lucy’s shadow dance to the deliciously competitive lobster roll-off. get your buns down here!

Roll!

Rest!

LOBSTERCRAWL.CA