The Creemore
Echo
Friday, May 6, 2016 Vol. 16 No. 19
www.creemore.com
News and views in and around Creemore
Inside the Echo
Hanging By a Thread
Textile artist creates by association PAGE 6
Growing up Green
Local youth wins entrepreneur award PAGE 12
Publications Mail Agreement # 40024973
Different ways of seeing through art Library
debate reopened
Purple Hills Arts and Heritage Society opens a world of art to students by Trina Berlo The large canvases laid out on the desks in Mr. Weir’s classroom leave very little room to manoeuvre but students manage to zip back and forth to the paint table. They return to their workstations with fresh globs of bright acrylics to mix and layer. The Grade 7-8 Nottawasaga and Creemore Public School students are finishing up their paintings inspired by the work of the late Norval Morrisseau, an aboriginal Canadian artist who rose to fame in the 1960s. The work is part of the Artists in the School program, funded by Purple Hills Arts and Heritage Society. For the past eight years, NCPS students in Grades 4-8 take part in a free art program, led by local artists and exploring different mediums. This year, Gail Caswell and Jordan Eveland were in the school encouraging students to explore “different ways of seeing”. Students began their Morrisseauinspired works by prepping their canvas with paint and sand, to add texture. Although many of them were not familiar with the artist they liked the work and embraced it by creating symbolic pictures of animals. Malcolm Lucas Doige said he and his father once went to a powwow where he learned his spirit animal is the fox so he chose to make that the subject matter of his painting. Gracie Kennedy chose to paint a mother and father bird, representing family, Jamie Wright paints an owl representing wisdom and Nick Hill paints a fish, hovering over a village, representing greed. They use bright colours and black outlines, emulating Morrisseau’s
Staff photo: Trina Berlo
NCPS student Jamie Wright puts the finishing touches on her painting of an owl, inspired by the works of Norval Morrisseau, during an Art in the School program funded by the Purple Hills Arts and Heritage Society. iconic style. “The goal is to expose students to media and provide artistic opportunities they wouldn’t get otherwise because of limited school budgets,” said Caswell, who worked
as a high school art teacher for 30 years. Since the creation of the Artists in the School program in 2009, students have been given the opportunity to (See “Students” on page 7)
by Trina Berlo The mayor called a special meeting May 2 to discuss the fate of the Stayner library, which has been in a state of limbo waiting to know its fate. M a y o r C h r i s Va n d e r k r u y s said a report resulting from a 2007 study and a 2008 committee review recommended more library space was needed at the Stayner branch of the Clearview Public Library. “It’s time we meet and try to move this forward,” he told fellow council members. He said this council is already 18 months into its term and he would like to see action before the next election in 2018. Vanderkruys presented three options to council members and asked them to provide direction to staff and the library board regarding steps forward. As options for consideration were to maintain status quo with the Stayner branch remaining in its current location on the main street, build a new building at the site or at a new location, or build an addition to the Stayner arena. Almost all council members said, given unlimited funds they would prefer to see a new library constructed in the downtown core, but seeing as that is not the reality, more information is needed before any decision can be made. They want to know how much space is needed based on updated population projections and what kind of costs they are looking at. Based on current budgeting, the library reserve will be at $370,000 in 2017. Assuming an allocation of (See “Library” on page 7)
Taking care of buyers and sellers in Mulmur and the Creemore hills for 39 years
RCR Realty. Brokerage
Ginny MacEachern
B.A., Broker
The Town & Country Agent with the City Connections maxkueper@hotmail.com
1-800-360-5821• 705-466-2607 • maceachern.ginny@gmail.com www.ginnymaceachern.com