Purple Hills Arts & Heritage Society
the
winter 2014
Grapevine 1200 people attended, 175 artists participated & 75 volunteers contributed
2013 Arts Festival PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE As I write this message I am looking out the window at the two to three feet of billowy snow around our SueAnn Wickwire farm. A beautiful Creemore winter is upon us but still this is not my favourite time and it is always a great diversion to sit by a roaring fire, planning summer gardening activities amidst countless seed catalogues. We have already placed the orders for our heirloom tomato seeds and are quite excited about the addition of 11 new varieties.Speaking of gardens, the next PHAHS garden tour is being scheduled for 2015 and the planning for this popular event starts this spring as we view and select the gardens to be featured a full year in advance of the tour date. Pre planning of our very successful Creemore Festival of the Arts is in full swing as well and the pictures above are a small sampling of the seventeen different events that were featured during our second Creemore Festival of the Arts last October. I think it is safe to say that it was a terrific success.
We are currently having interesting discussions with Clearview Township about the possibility of merging our Festival efforts into a bigger initiative centered on the nine community halls in the township. We will report on that opportunity as it progresses. Purple Hills is looking for several new board members for the coming year. Speaking from my own experience (over 5 years with PHAHS) I can assure anyone who might be thinking about participating, that volunteering is a rewarding and enjoyable pursuit. It is a great way to utilize skills developed in the marketplace, to give back to your community and to develop new friendships. If you are interested in participating, please contact Cheryl MacLaurin at 705-466-3030. In closing, I would like to say that Purple Hills is in great shape in terms of membership, sponsorships and financials. We have exciting momentum. Thank you so much for your continued support and have a happy and healthy 2014.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR CREEMORECENTRIC COCKTAIL PARTY FEB. 1, 5PM – 7PM, Mad & Noisy Gallery
MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL It is time to renew your membership.
LOBSTER DINNER MAY. 10, 6PM, Station on the Green
You can renew through the mail by filling in the enclosed renewal form or you can renew online at phahs.ca. Your membership fees and donations are very important to the annual donation/sponsorship programs we have underway. We appreciate your support.
PHAHS ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING SUNDAY, MARCH 30TH
CREEMORECENTRIC COCKTAIL PARTY FOR PH MEMBERS & GUESTS
You are all invited to the 2014 Annual General Meeting of the Purple Hills Arts and Heritage Society to be held at the Station on the Green on Sunday March 30th at 12:30. The formal part of the meeting, where we review the year and welcome in a new board of directors, will take place at 12:40. Following this Andy Barrie will enlighten us over a (free) lunch of homemade soup, bread and cruditees, and coffee and cookies for dessert.
Members and guests are invited to drop in to the Mad and Noisy Gallery between 5 – 7pm on Saturday, Feb. 1 to view the CreemoreCentric Art Show and Silent Auction.
AGM MAR. 1, 12:30PM, Station on the Green
12:30pm – Arrive & mingle 12:40pm – AGM Meeting 1:00pm – Andy Barrie 1:15pm – Free lunch of Homemade Soup
PH & ST. LUKE’S GIFT OF MUSIC – A WONDERFUL PARTNERSHIP By: Bill Mann
The close relationship between Purple Hills and St. Luke’s Gift of Music is into its eighth year. You were there at our beginning—and happily still are!
In 2005, a small committee was formed under the auspices of St. Luke’s to look at providing quality musical or theatrical performances in the Church at modest ticket prices. Each concert was to be followed by refreshments to allow the audience to chat with the performers. Since then the committee has produced between 5 to 8 concerts per year on Sunday afternoons, mostly in November and early December. The audiences have numbered in the range of 40 to 100, including many attendees from outside the Creemore area. Our numbers have grown over time and attendees have made many compliments about the quality of the music and the Church’s wonderful acoustics. Most of the musicians have come from the Glenn Gould School at the Royal Conservatory of Music or the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto. We have also used local musicians on
Purple Hills Arts and Heritage Society will once again be hosting the Cocktail Party reception with proceeds going towards the Arts in the Schools program. A cash bar will be available. The final bidding on Sunday, Feb. 2 closes at 2pm with a live auction to follow if required.
occasion. The students get very few opportunities to “play for pay”($200 to $500 per person) and they always comment on the warmth of the reception they receive in Creemore. The music is largely classical, although other genres are included in the programs. The instruments themselves cover a wide range: strings, wind, guitar, brass and THE TENOR TRIO piano. Vocal concerts with both male and female voices have been among our most popular. It has been a delight to see singers who have performed for us go on to professional careers with both Canadian and International opera companies. This year we will be presenting an entirely new generation of vocalists. We have tried to keep our concerts affordable and approachable. Happily our ticket price of $15 per concert has remained constant over the years. Producing our season costs between $4-5,000/year of which ticket sales provide around $3,000. The rest comes from our faithful sponsors (Purple Hills, Creemore Springs Brewery, Creemore BIA and Clearview Township) who all have been with us over the 8 years.
ARTIST PROFILE: PAUL VORSTERMANS Behind this familiar business sign on Mill Street in Creemore, you will discover a man with many By: Gail Caswell interests and creative abilities- potter, woodworker, stained glass artist, landscape designer and more! Hard to imagine, now, that Paul Vorstermans began his career as a Political Science major. A night school pottery class in Etobicoke changed his way of life forever. Paul decided to explore a more personally fulfilling vocation by enrolling in Sheridan College’s Arts and Crafts program to become a professional potter. On a visit to the studio, you will recognize Paul’s unique pottery style. Durable high-fired grey stoneware clay is used to produce the many utilitarian pieces from bowls, plates, pitchers, and teapots to vases, beer mugs and wine coolers. Inspired by the arts and crafts movement, as well as by local nature, Vorstermans’ beautiful wares are simply decorated with clear shiny glaze over brown or cobalt blue trees, branches or leaves. Paul’s personal favourites are his ornamental fine porcelain clay pieces. This less elastic clay body is challenging to work with but produces extremely thin almost translucent decorative pieces. Each one is glazed with a soft satin green finish. The edges too draw attention as they are sculpted to appear landscape-like, highlighted with metallic gold edges. Behind the studio reveals even more of Paul’s creative skills-if you are lucky enough to be invited inside. Thirtythree years ago, Paul and his wife, Charlotte, purchased
DINING ROOM CHANDELIER a run down historic former hotel and creamery that had been vacant for 2 years. On the main floor, a studio and working space were created. Every tool imaginable exists in this large space from pottery wheels, low firing bisque kiln, woodworking equipment, molds for custom designs and more! Outside is a beautiful garden, which Paul and Charlotte have created. A staircase remarkably leads up to the second floor family home. What follows is a feast for the eyes! Paul over the years has transformed that old building with meticulous detail. Immediately visible are Frank Lloyd Wright style geometric stained glass light fixtures. Flawless custom wood floors lead into a kitchen, dining room and living room that are a must see. Everywhere are examples of Paul’s talent. More sculptural light fixtures crafted with maple including Birdseye maple shades pull the eye up. The rustic large hearth fireplace Paul has custom made. To eliminate bulky curtains, the windows are stained glass with the same feel for nature as in his other works. Now for the masterpiece: the custom kitchen Paul has crafted. Only a photo can fully portray this multi-layered arts and crafts design.
CUSTOM KITCHEN
To view more pictures, please go to Paul Vorstermans’ website: vorstermans.ca.
IN T VI EW PO E IT AG ER H
CENTURY BRIDGE
By: Chris Raible
Stand on the Collingwood Street bridge; look not south toward the cemetery nor north toward Ten Hill; look at the bridge itself. It is a marvel of engineering: an angular structure of welded steel safely crossing the Mad River.
hundred yards to the east, at the end of Mill Street, A village founders built the first bridge: logs and planks supported by wood and stone. After a few years, the fierce force of rushing water and crushing ice swept that bridge away. A second, seemingly superior bridge, erected on firmer foundations, in time also fell victim to frost and flood. Built at this better Collingwood Street location, a third bridge over the troubled waters was also swept away. I nstead of wood and stone supports underneath the bridge, an entirely different design was proposed: welded trusses above which would hold up the roadway. A fabricated steel box would span the river safely above the madding waters and crushing ice below. Such a bridge was not a new idea – for many years, similar structures crossed rivers around the province, around the world. Yet this tried-and-true way of bridge building was new to Creemore.
GALLERY SCHEDULES MAPLESTONE GALLERY
Association Picture Book Awards.
— JAN. – MAR. — New work and jewellery by Suzanne Steeves and other Canadian artists.
MAD & NOISY GALLERY
THE CURIOSITY BOOKSTORE & GALLERY — JAN. — Adriene Veninger. — FEB. — Bianca Perren from Creemore. — MAR. — Blue Spruce Nominee Illustrators from the Ontario Library
— JAN. – FEB. 2 — CreemoreCentric silent Auction. PHAHS cocktail party Feb. 1, 5 7pm. Final live auction Feb. 2, 2pm. — APR. — Musings - group show. Show opening Apr. 19. COLOVERATION — JAN. – MAR. — New works by fine artist Ruth Ann Pearce.
BOARD MEMBERS president.......................................SueAnn
Wickwire Hamlin secretary.............................................Miriam Vince treasurer............................................David Wilson past president...............................Cheryl MacLaurin
vice president....................................Yvonne
Finally, after long delays and raging debates, in 1913 area builder James Joseph Drummond erected this strong steel structure. A hundred years later, his truss bridge still stands. Residents living up the Fourth Line cross it daily – to reach work or to shop, to learn or pray or curl. And almost everyone will one day cross over this bridge, to reach a final rest in the cemetery. tribute to the wisdom of A our forebears, this century-old bridge continues to connect our community.
OTHER BOARD MEMBERS: Sara Hershoff, Paul Vorstermans, Nanci White, Fran Breithaupt, Simon Heath, Sue McKenzie, Gail Caswell and Ruth Ann Pearce NEW PHAHS MEMBERS: ❧ Ursula and Doug Abott, Creemore ❧ Mike Jackson, Toronto ❧ Joyce and Harvey Kolodny, Orangeville
managing editor.............................................................................................SueAnn
Wickwire & Yvonne Hamlin White design & production..............................................................................................................................coloveration contributing editors...................................................SueAnn Wickwire, Chris Raible, Bill Mann & Gail Caswell photographs..................................................................................Miriam Vince, Gail Caswell & Clive Vanderberg editor....................................................................................................................................................Nanci