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The Colours of Saskatchewan VI

  

Saskatchewan

The Colours of Saskatchewan V

We are enjoying visiting and photographing Saskatchewan. This blog entry is the first of this year's Saskatchewan colour series.

Saskatchewan

Chiefswood, Home of E. Pauline Johnson

We visited Chiefswood, home of E. Pauline Johnson (1861-1913), one of Canada's best known poets. Chiefswood is located 13 km west of Caledonia along the Grand River between Onondaga and Middleport.

No book of poetry by a Canadian has outsold her collected verse Flint and Feather.

Chiefswood and other similar national treasures deserve our support, continuing funding, and, most of all, our respect.

History, Literature

The Grand River and Ruthven

We left Brantford, Ontario, this morning and travelled along the Grand River, stopping at several sites which are part of the story of Squire Davis and the Crazy River, including Ruthven. Ruthven Park was owned by the Thompson Family from the 1840s until 1993.

This is one of the most peaceful and beautiful areas in Canada: but its history will surprise you.

  

History, Squire Davis and the Crazy River

Learning Canadian History in Brantford, Ontario

We arrived in Brantford this afternoon and spent several hours photographing and learning about the early history of Brantford (Brant's Ford) from S. Minsos, the author of Squire Davis and the Crazy River (to be published this fall by Spotted Cow Press).

The Mohawk Chapel, was built in 1785 and given to the Mohawk people led by Chief Joseph Brant. Brant's tomb and a boulder with a plaque honouring the poet E. Pauline Johnson are located adjacent to the chapel.

   

The photography and (my) learning continues tomorrow. Please drop by: same time, same place.

History, Literature, Squire Davis and the Crazy River

Squire Davis and the Crazy River

I'm preparing for my first road trip of the year, a three day trip in and around Brantford, photographing for Squire Davis and the Crazy River, an historical novel by S. Minsos which we (Spotted Cow Press) will be publishing this fall.

I'm Canadian: I studied Canadian history in school: and yet I know very little about the history of Ontario in the mid-1800s. I've learned a lot from this novel about that history, and will learn more this coming week.

One of the our reviewers wrote: "Canadians have willful blind spots. I wonder whether we are ready to read about Ruthven and the Grand River Navigation Company boondoggle. That being said, what a story!"

I'll be writing blog entries on this trip, including photographs and more details about the book.

Spotted Cow Press

Edmonton and The Art Gallery of Alberta

I spend a lot of my business and personal travel time visiting art galleries and public art in various cities in North America and abroad. I have posted photographs and comments from these trips but have seldom focused on my home city, Edmonton, Alberta.

I was downtown for a meeting this morning and had enough time to get reasonably close to the Art Gallery of Alberta (formerly the Edmonton Art Gallery) which is being renovated and renewed. The gallery (designed by Randall Stout Architects) will be new and bold, contemporary, perhaps even startling to some. It's located in the Arts District near City Hall, The Citadel Theatre, The Francis Winspear Centre for Music ,and the Edmonton Public Library.

The photos were made with my trusty iPhone: low on pixels but very, very handy.

Walk through a model of this unique building and watch its progress on a live webcam.

Edmonton continues to grow and mature as a cultural centre. It's Festival City, a centre for theatre, music and art. Edmontonians tell their stories about their art, their work and their lives on the new website Edmonton Stories.

While I won't be able to attend all the festivals this summer I will be at The Works Art & Design Festival, the Edmonton International Jazz Festival and the Edmonton Folk Music Festival: and I plan to save some time for my own work.

Join us if you can. Edmonton is just a three hour flight from Chicago or a five hour drive from Saskatoon.

Architecture, art and art galleries, Edmonton