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Posts Tagged ‘Garth Wunsch’

Just had the great pleasure of photographing the official opening of the show Ivan Wheale – An Artist’s Journey at the Art Gallery of Sudbury.

I have been volunteering with the gallery for just over a year now, so I have seen several openings, but this was by far the best attended I have yet to witness. The place was packed, and I do mean packed! Although Ivan and Jean have lived on Manitoulin Island for many years now, they still have so many close friends in Sudbury where Ivan started his painting career fifty years ago, so he and I share an anniversary together this 2010, as this year also marks fifty years since I picked up my first camera. Meeting and photographing Ivan and his wife Jean was a special pleasure for me as I have long admired his art. Although we use different mediums to record the world around us, we seem to be looking through the same lens. It is as though we are drawn (pardon my pun) by the same spirit.  Along with all the friends and fans, there were several dignitaries in attendance to make their special presentations: John Rodriguez, Mayor of the City of Greater Sudbury presenting on behalf of MPP Rick Bartolucci; Carol Hughes, MP Manitoulin, Algoma and Kapuskasing; and Alan MacNevin, Deputy Mayor and /Councilor for North-Eastern Manitoulin and the Islands. This is the gallery link. Please read the note concerning registration prior to entering the gallery.

In a dog-eat-dog world, in a world where some only see winners and losers, into such a world comes winners and winners. I was moved to tears as I watched these young ladies ALL be winners, and the score didn’t matter. What a way to enter 2010. When the old rules don’t work, let’s all work to make new rules. Watching this video will likely be the best seven minutes you invest today, and maybe for a long time to come “>

Wow, the start of another decade! Or is it just another year, just another number? For me it is the beginning of the rest of my life, a life I hope to make count and to be fully accountable for. I’ve been drawing a pension cheque since 1998, but that doesn’t mean I  have retired, nor do I intend to retire. That is a concept foreign to history.

As near as I can figure, 2010 marks FIFTY years since I picked up my first camera as a fifteen year old Boy Scout on a quest for more proficiency badges. Who Knew? Photography has been my constant companion for this half century, and I see no reason why it cannot be my companion for many more decades to come. My dad turns 92 in May and mom just celebrated her 85th birthday and last fall was anniversary number 67 for them… so, as I like to tell folks, ” I have really good genes, so long as a bus doesn’t run over them.” There is always something new to learn, something beautiful to see, something new to create that will bring joy to my world.

As we move into 2010, I am also posting my second “Print of the Month” titled Water Garden. It is an image I made on a canoe outing in Killarney Provincial Park with my friend David Kechnie in 2008. David is an avid and accomplished gardener. His comment about the landscape we were in summed it all up… “you just couldn’t design a water garden that lovely.” Simplicity personified! I love this country I am privileged to call home. So much water, so much rock, so much character and beauty. You can link to my Print of the Month here, and to my Fine Art Gallery here. I have made the Friends of Killarney Park a recipient of a portion of each sale of this image.

For me, this image is so pure, so clean. I wanted to title it Coquilles, the French word for “shells”, but I thought it a bit too obscure. It so reminded me of coquilles St. Jacques, not the food dish, but the shell markers placed on the ground and elsewhere for the the pilgrims making their way along the Camino de Santiago. It is a holy pilgrimage, a time of purification, and that is how this image strikes me, the blue so pure, so clean, the rocks so sculpted and so refined, seemingly floating on the water… Whole… and Holy.

Happy New Year everyone!

Figuring it out… with a little help from my friends and the online help desk.

The Anderson Farm Tree Lighting for 2009 is finally up and working. Sorry for my non-geek status… but then again, I hope I make up for the shortfall in one area with my ability to “get the picture”. Enjoy.  As they say… click here

Dan Xilon, although not a Rotarian, was awarded a Paul Harris Fellow by the Rotary Club of Sudbury. Making the presentation to Dan is Sudbury district president Michal Vezina. The presentation was made at the Art of Dessert, a fundraiser organized by Dan and the Sudbury Food Bank staff to raise funds for that organization. Dan has a strong commitment to his calling and for this he was nominated as a Fellow. Well done… well deserved… congratulations Dan!

The Art of Dessert, hosted by Sudbury Fine Cars, is the kick-off for the annual sale of Christmas cards which feature the work of local artists and are sponsored by various businesses in the Sudbury area. I was very pleased to be one of the chosen artists and to have my art, entitled Redpoll Trio,  sponsored by Xstrata Nickel. Besides being featured on a chosen card, the artist’s donated work is part of the silent auction of wine, spirits and art that also raises funds during the evening. Les and Lise Wither were the proud winners of a fierce auction battle for Redpoll Trio. Lise is Dan’s “right hand woman” at the Food Bank. (psst… I’ll let you in on a little secret… Redpoll Trio is going to be my very first “Print of the Month” special in December, so if you like a bargain, be sure to check back here December 1, 2009  for details.)

I’ll be posting more pics of the evening, but I wanted this post to centre mostly on Dan’s award.

Each year the Sudbury Food Bank sponsors an art competition to source images for their annual Christmas Card Collection. They choose ten images which are presented and sold at their Gala Dessert Fund Raiser. Each winning artist donates a framed copy of their submission which is auctioned off during the evening to assist with the work of the food bank. This event is a pretty big deal, so I am really honoured to have one of my images chosen. The artists each receive two very highly coveted and rather pricey tickets to the evening (sells out every year), being hosted this year by Sudbury Fine Cars, our local Mercedes-Benz dealer. My sincere thanks to the selection committee.

David Johannsson (owner of the FrameMaker) and I hung the show this AM. Looks Good. Anxious for tomorrow to get under way.

This is the map that indicates my location in the Cedar Pointe Plaza across from Southridge mall. If you intend to travel to the more distant parts of the city to see some of the other great work, make sure you get the corrected map from the SCARF website at http://www.scarf.ca/ and click on Tour. Although the printed directions are correct, the map was a little misleading and the corrections are posted on the site.

Come on out, rain or shine, and see some really great art… of all sorts.

The twentieth anniversary of the Creighton Mine Reunion is this Sunday, Sept. 20th, 2009… interesting… 20th anniversary on the 20th…
Location is Anderson Farm Museum in Lively. 1:00PM dinner at Caruso Club after 4:00 PM
See you there… I will post pics ASAP next week.

It’s pretty late in the season for blueberries, but life has been such that I have been unable to get out for the last few weeks, so today I took advantage of NO RAIN and drove up to Creighton. Vale INCO has No trespassing signs all over the place… I’m not trespassing, I’m visiting old memories. Parked at the start of Snider street and made my way up there to Connaught, then NW on Alexander St., past Grey St., then south on George St. to Edward St., the place I really call “home” because that is where I spent my formative years. It was also the birthplace and home of my wife, Arlene Cretzman. She lived probably two hundred yards away, if that, but it took me a really long time to find her

Took a few pics with my iPhone of the handiwork my dad did in or about 1956. The concrete retaining wall and porch foundation he built are still there, but nature is having its way. So hard to believe there was even a house there…the lots and houses were so small, but the community’s heart was so big… and still is.[caption id="attachment_251" align="alignleft" width="400" caption="Poured concrete block that dad made for our new front porch entry"][/caption] Made my way through the bush north of Alexander St. and back down Connaught and then decide to take a little side trip down memory lane to the ball field, home of the Creighton Indians and playground to generations of children who made their own entertainment doing things that would, if we were to listen to all the play psychologists and others, should have killed everyone of us off before we reached puberty.
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Long story short… the blueberries are pretty much finished. Got enough for me and my girl to have a little bedtime snack, but I picked a lot of fond memories from the recesses of my mind, not of mansions or manicured grounds, but of real people.
Don’t forget… so far as I know, the annual Creighton reunion is still a go on the third Sunday of September as it has been every year since our first biggy in 1989… interesting note… it has NEVER rained on us on that date since 89.