Going around the Gaspé - Going out to play with the Sussex Avenue Fiddlers

My watercolor of Blue Poppies at Reford Gardens, Métis, Québec. 

How sweet it is when you get an invitation to go out and play - something that we did as kids and tend to forget about once we get older. For me, life's motto is carpe diem - and if I don't have a really good reason not to go with you when you ask, you can count me in! 

 A few weeks ago I had the chance to say 'yes' when asked if I would like to tag along on a road trip with Ivan and Vivian Hicks and the Sussex Avenue Fiddlers and Friends. The Sussex Avenue Fiddlers is a group of very talented musicians who all play the fiddle of course, as well as many, many other instruments (from the bagpipes to the spoons). Some sing, step-dance and yodel. Besides the old favourites, they also write their own fiddle music and sing their own songs. Over the years many have belonged and if you are big enough to hold a fiddle and can play a tune, you are welcome. When on tour, the musicians perform all of this under the direction of Ivan Hicks who first organized the group over thirty-five years ago in his Sussex Avenue home in Riverview, NB.

When the Sussex Avenue Fiddlers go on tour, fiddler and musician 'friends' are invited to join in. If there is a spare seat on the bus, others like me are also invited and we make up the on-board cheering section. This year the Sussex Avenue Fiddlers are celebrating their 35th anniversary and the Gaspé tour marked the occasion.

Our first stop was in Janeville, NB. Here the Sussex Avenue Fiddlers and Friends put on a concert at the local elementary school as a fund-raiser for a local project. Local musicians and artists joined them on stage and they played to a 'standing-room only' audience.

On Stage at the Janeville Elementary School

  As we began to wend our way up and around the Gaspé coast, sightseeing and evening 'jam' sessions (as well as impromptu entertainment on the bus) kept the music flowing. 
Coming around the last curve in the highway before the town of Percé, I had my first sight of the magnificent Percé rock that looms out of the water just off-shore.

Percé, Québec

 Next stop was another evening concert in Douglastown where local musicians again joined in to entertain the crowd. The concert was held in the Holy Name Hall which was completed in 1938. Originally built as a concert hall and cinema, Holy Name Hall is still complete with the original furnishings and technical equipment. No longer used as a cinema since the 1960's, the hall continues to be used for various community gatherings and concerts. Renovations and up-dates have been on-going since the 1950's and one of the current projects is to raise the funds to replace the original seats that have welcomed guests over the years.

 

Inside the historic Holy Name Hall in Douglastown

 During the afternoon before a concert there is always a sound check to make sure that everything is ready for the show. Before getting together as a group in Douglastown, the fiddlers scattered around the hall outdoors to practice their parts.
 

Working out the tricky parts!

Sounds OK!

 

I've got it!

 

A quiet place to practice

 Further along the road the next day we made an unscheduled stop near the village of Petite-Vallée at the Théâtre de la Vielle Forge. Since 1983 a local committee has held a summer song festival with various music camps in the village and at the theatre. The festivities were soon to start and we were curious to see what might be going on. As it turned out, we were a week early so the Sussex Avenue Fiddlers got out their instruments and put on an impromptu concert in the theatre café. Like magic, other musicians from the community began to arrive with their instruments and joined in the fun. 

The origin of Le Festival en chanson de Petite-Vallée begins with the tragic story of the deaths of two sons of a local blacksmith who was also a well-known fiddler and singer. The boys were musicians like their father and after their sudden deaths, music was no longer a part of the family or the community. Even the sound of the rhythm of the waves was unwanted but it couldn't be shut out. In time music came back to the village when the blacksmith's home became a hotel and people began to gather there and to make music. Le Festival is a major cultural event on the Gaspé coast.

Jamming in the café at Le Théâtre de La Vielle Forge de Petit-Vallée

A fiddler's welcome to Petite-Vallée

 

Sunday morning service at the hotel in Rimouski

Blue Poppies at Reford Gardens

The next day our adventure was a trip to the Reford Gardens in Métis. This is where I was able to photograph and then paint my picture of their beautiful blue poppies. Also on site are the installations of the 14th International Garden Festival - which is an opportunity for international garden designers to present their innovative creations within a garden setting. Some, like Smart Small, are interactive and you're invited enter the garden and move the pieces around (which I gleefully did!).

Smart Small by Ecoid (Yongkyu Kim and Jonghyun Baek), United States

Another interesting piece was Buoyant. Balloons that are trapped between layers of net change in size and shape as the temperature changes and are moved about, depending on the wind.

Buoyant by Laura B. Garófalo, United States

For three days we enjoyed a wonderful time in Québec City, visited the Sainte-Anne-de Beaupré Shrine and found some lovely braided rugs at Marie's Oven - as well as delicious homemade bread topped with maple butter!

Mosaics at Sainte-Anne de Beapré Shrine

Braided rugs for sale at Marie's Oven

Now I'm home again - and wondering -  where are we off to next time?

Inspiration and Visual Listening in Baltimore

Over the past winter I was looking for a pattern for a knitted shawl and came across an article where the writer suggested that I didn't need a pattern, that a shawl could be "knitted intuitively". Not trusting myself as to how to 'knit intuitively', I kept searching for a pattern.

It wasn't until I made my way to the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, MD that the light bulb went on. There it was, in the info on their web site (www.avam.org), a comment about their holdings and their shows being "self-taught intuitive artistry". Of course, as with all artists, isn't that what we are all about -  and constantly being challenged to "find the confidence in your creativity"?

The American Visionary Art Museum or AVAM opened in 1995 and fills three, renovated, historic buildings close to Baltimore's downtown. Founder and Director Rebecca Hoffberger had a vision - to honor visionary art and define it as "art produced by self-taught individuals, usually without formal training, whose works arise from an innate personal vision that revels foremost in the creative act itself" (Mission Statement - AVAM) .

Since last September, the theme of the on-going exhibits is "The Art of Storytelling: Lies, Enchantment, Humor, Truth". The concept of 'visual listening' is what it is all about and it all flows like a ribbon from P. Nosa's work to Esther Krintz's embroideries which tell her tale or experiences as a Holocaust survivor. Mrs. Krintz's daughter was on site to lead us in a conversation about her mother's hangings - bringing the stories to life.

Another wonderful exhibit was the works of Gretchen Feldman - "Love Letters to Earth" - which showed some of her watercolours - as well as telling her story as a woman and an artist. 

There are no staff curators at AVAM. For each exhibition, guest curators who have an interest in a specific theme are invited to participate and to draw on all of their resources to pull the show together. 

From the outside, you can't miss the building! It is covered with mirror and glass mosaics that were created and installed in 2000 by members of AVAM's "Youth at Risk" mosaic apprenticeship program. A small bus, also covered with mosaics, sits in the courtyard to greet visitors.  

 

Detail on the hood of the bus

Outside wall of AVAM

Sculptures in the Garden at AVAM

Sculpture in the Inner Courtyard at AVAM

 After spending most of the day at AVAM trying to absorb all that my eyes could see, time was moving on so I took the next day to visit the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA).

Located in the sunlit atrium of the BMA are the Antioch mosaics. Included are twenty-eight mosaic pavements that were excavated from the ruins of ancient Antioch, now known as the city of Antakya in south-eastern Turkey. Between 1932 and 1939, staff from the BMA participated in the excavations. The mosaics date from between the 2nd and 6th centuries A.D. and are part of the permanent collection at the museum.

For a fibre artist (like me), the geometric designs and the possibilities for inspiration were everywhere.

Antioch Mosaics Border Patterns

I loved this one! 

 As a city, Baltimore is a wonderful, colourful place to be. Near the Baltimore Museum of Art, the whole neighbourhood gets in the spirit of painting up the town.

 Colour, colour everywhere!

More colour! My half is brown, yours is yellow!

One of my latest pieces of inspired visionary art!

"Lu Lu"        © Patricia Winans

A Walk in Spain - following El Camino de Santiago

A labyrinth we enjoyed along the Camino de Santiago trail

It has been awhile since I posted to my blog and a lot has happened in the meantime. For two weeks in October, I went for a long walk in Spain - the longest continuous walk I have ever taken - and followed The Way of St. James or El Camino de Santiago. I was away for three weeks in all, giving myself a few days at the beginning and end of the adventure to get used to the time change and to sit for bit to enjoy Santiago.

The El Camino de Santiago route is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and once I Iearned about it, I was intrigued to experience it for myself. A few friends had completed the journey and I wanted to learn the history of the route and to experience and enjoy the freedom of having nothing else to do all day except to walk and to take a personal retreat.

The path was very busy. With the exception of a few who were returning by the same path, we were all heading west. Some made their way on foot, others on horseback and others on bicycles. I also saw someone pushing another in a wheelchair. How far they were going I don't know, but taking into consideration the difficulty of the trail at times, one can hardly imagine the task. Persons of all nationalities walked together and we managed to communicate as best we could, despite our lack of a common language most of the time. Some traveled with friends, many were solo - everyone was willing to share what they had if someone needed their help.

The history of El Camino de Santiago begins over a thousand years ago. During medieval times it was one of the most important Christian pilgrimage routes leading to the Cathedral in Santiago where the remains of the apostle Saint James are buried. Some continue to walk the route as a pilgrimage, seeking atonement for sins or healing. Others tell of wanting the physical exercise, the sport of the hike or as I did, as a form of personal retreat.

Many of the walkers make their plans on a day to day basis, staying at night in one of the many communal hostels en route. My group chose a guided tour. We enjoyed the creature comforts of knowing that we had a comfortable bed at night and a bath (we often stayed in converted monasteries) and our meals were prepared along the way. We were roughly divided into three groups and three exceptional guides accompanied us to make sure we followed the right trail, saw the important sites and kept safe. I booked the trip through a hiking group in Toronto (Walker's World) but the fellow who led us will also put together a private package for individuals or smaller groups (gary@spanishadventures.com). He gives you a GPS and a telephone and although he is not with you physically, he checks on you carefully every day. We were never rushed. We started walking about 9 a.m. and after a tea break in a village along the way, walked on and met at a pre-arranged lunch stop at a little bar or had a picnic prepared for us by our guides. Dinner wasn't until 8 or 8:30 p.m. so we had lots of time to make our way to our final stop for the night.

Any route to the shrine of Santiago de Compostela in Spain is considered a pilgrim's path and the one that we followed began on the French border at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. We didn't complete the entire route - sections that were the most historic and scenic were chosen by our guides for us and this included routes through the mountains, across the plains, through vineyards, wooded sections and farmer's fields. We didn't need to carry a large pack - the bulk of our belongings were transported for us to our evening destination.

I enjoyed walking on the plains - reminded me of the Canadian west with big blue skies and miles of corn and sunflower fields. Then there were the sheep - sometimes out alone in the fields but most often with their shepherd and their ever vigilant dogs. As we passed through the villages, the village dogs greeted us first - all sizes and breeds - and were so happy to see company coming. Local entrepreneurs met us with treats - like the lady with the crepes sprinkled with sugar for only 50 Spanish cents each!

I managed to gather a little bit of sheep wool that clung to a fence where the sheep found a hole big enough to scrunch through. This bit of fleece will become part of a hooked piece as soon as I can collect my thoughts and put it together.

To prepare for the trek I began walking 8 to 10 km. a day in very good and well-fitted hiking boots. My biggest challenge was the altitude of most of the trail. When we began, we were were in the Pyrenees and continued on through part of the Goose Mountains and then into another mountain range coming in to Santiago. I live at sea level so my trouble came from needing to adapt to the thin air at the highest altitudes. Despite reading about and being warned about the possibility of developing blisters on my feet from the many kilometers of walking, that was never an issue. If you do as suggested and wear two pairs of socks, use vaseline on your feet regularaly and use moleskin before you really need it, you can prevent problems.

Spent  a few days in Bilbao, Spain before the trek and enjoyed the Guggenheim Art Museum. The design of the building is amazing.

Spider webs on the bridge in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France. Great designs!

On the trail near the Spanish/French border. Lots of sheep!

Wool left behind on the barbed fence as the sheep move around the mountain

Walking along in the Pyrenees

Belling the horse!

Always lots of sheep!

Along the trail

Took a side trip into Pamploma to see the route of the Running of the Bulls

Wide open spaces and deserted 10th or 11th century buildings. The little black spec in the field is another pilgrim taking a photo.

Modern day sculptures along the route

13th century church still in use at Eunate

Taking a well deserved break!

The Queen's Bridge - part of the pilgrim's path leading into the village

Crossing one of the original Roman bridges that still make up part of the Camino

All along the route, the scallop shell in the sidewalk, on markers, buildings and signs, shows you the way

One of our group

A popular children's toy that we saw children playing with in all the villages

Our fearless leader, Gary, keeping us on the right path!

My balcony view of the Cathedral in Burgos

On the trail again

Nary a soul in the village streets at siesta time except us!

High on the plain, everything was very dry - very little rain since May and the wind whipped the dust around us

A modern day shepherd and his dogs

Our worst day for weather was the section near the Iron Cross

Checking the trail

Some rode on horseback....

and others hitched a ride on a bicycle!

High on the trail in beautiful Galicia

Following the livestock through a farmer's yard

Inside our destination, the Cathedral in Santiago. We attended the noon mass and were blessed by being present for the 'swinging of the botafumerio'; something that only happens on special occasions.

The official end of the pilgrimage - in the square in front of the Cathedral de Santiago de Compostela!

Here is some  wool and ribbons that I brought back from Spain for my next fibre project!

(All blog content  copyrighted to Patricia Winans )