Back to HomeFeature Article - August 20, 2009 Resident potter breathes new life into MERA programBy Julie Druker

MERA’s new resident potter Melissa Jantunen

When Melissa Jantunen was close to graduating form the ceramics program at the Sheridan College School of Craft and Design in Oakville, Ontario back in February, she came across an ad for a resident potter at the MERA Schoolhouse located in McDonalds Corners.

She visited MERA (McDonalds Corners-Elphin Recreation & Arts) soon after and days later signed on as MERA’s new resident potter.

Melissa explained, “It’s a pretty nice set up for someone just starting out because I have everything that I need: wheels, kilns, glaze ingredients. The only thing I have to buy is my clay.”

Prior to studying at Sheridan, Melissa studied fine art in Red Deer College in Alberta.

Currently at MERA she is producing a line of wheel-thrown, functional red earthenware: mugs, bowls, cups, plates, platters, jars, baskets and flower bricks.

She covers the surfaces of her pieces with a creamy white slip and commercial underglazes, and using scraffitto tools, carves drawings into them. Melissa explained her approach to surface decoration: “I like colorful things and I’m using plant imagery and I think a lot about patterns and breaking up the surface.” Carrots, insects along with other flora and fauna appear to be a favorite subject.

Since arriving at MERA Melissa has taken up residence with the Furlong-Brownlees at their organic farm called Elphin Gold. She is working two days a week there in exchange for room and board and is finding the experience both interesting and inspiring. “I’m doing all sorts of wonderful farming things like gardening and driving the tractor.” Her farm experience is also directly affecting her ceramic work. Pat Furlong-Brownlee suggested that Melissa make a maple syrup pitcher, which she has since done with great success. “I decorate them with a maple leaf, using a sprig that I made from a tiny maple leaf that I picked when I first moved here in the spring.”

Melissa also has been pursuing other ideas that have been inspired by her new surroundings. “I want to do decorative tiles with images of the farm life on them, which will be a first for me.” She showed me a new tile that she is working on, with a low relief image of a rooster. “I really enjoy painting so I thought tiles would be good place to start. I plan to go out on the farm with my sketchbook and sit amongst the roosters and goats.”

As part of her residency, Melissa is offering introductory pottery classes at MERA, which is something she is enjoying. She also works as MERA’s ceramics technician and is available to MERA pottery members on Wednesdays during her open studio day.

Melissa's long-term goals are to keep on producing her work and to find local venues through which to sell it.

Ankaret Dean, artistic director at MERA, was the impetus behind both the weaving and pottery studios that were set up at the schoolhouse in 2001. She is overjoyed to have a young and spirited potter in residence.

According to Dean the MERA pottery studio has experienced a number of ups and downs over its history and fell into a rut for a while. One potter was let go after one year and there has not been someone to take over the position for a number of years.

In the winter of 2008 Ankaret suggested looking for a new graduate and it seems as though her long-time hopes of creating a lively and vibrant pottery studio at MERA are finally being realized.

Melissa's classes begin at the end of September and run in separate series of eight classes. The cost is $175 for MERA members and $190 for non members. For more information call Melissa after September 1 at MERA at 613-278-0388. ■

Photos:

5139 & 5142:

Back to HomeFeature Article - July 23, 2009 MERA Outdoor Oven forcommunity useby Julie Druker

Official ribbon cutting ceremony unveils MERA’s new outdoor Community Oven. (l to r) Tom Shoebridge, Darrin MacDonald, Marnie McCook and Mallory Beauchamp.

The smell of fresh-baked pizza filled the air around the MERA schoolhouse on Saturday July 18, when their recently completed project, an outdoor wood-fired community oven, was fired up and unveiled to the public in an official ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Tom Shoebridge, chair of the MERA board, and Marnie McCook, representing the Trillium Foundation, along with local stone mason Darrin MacDonald and carpenter Mallory Beauchamp did the ribbon-cutting honours.

According to McCook, “Only MERA would come up with a project as innovative and creative as an outdoor community oven.” The $15,000 Trillium grant, awarded to the project back in the spring under the two combined categories of arts and culture and economic potential/enhancement, was instrumental in allowing the project to come to fruition.

The idea for the project came about back in 2000 when Ankaret Dean, one of MERA’s founding members and according to chair Shoebridge “the Queen of arts ideas at MERA”, saw an outdoor oven at the Dufferin Grove Park in Toronto that was a tremendous draw to the park and an integral part of a number of community events held there.

Ankaret explained, “At that time we (at MERA) were busy with many other important projects but when the farmers’ market started up last year I brought up the idea about the community oven and then it all just fell into place.”

Ankaret approached her then neighbour Darrin, a local stone mason who teaches the Heritage Masonry course at Algonquin College in Perth, and the two began researching and designing the project and eventually made the application for the Trillium grant. According to Darrin, “We based the design on the Dufferin Grove stove which was built in the shape of a little brick house, but we incorporated other elements like local Beckwith sandstone.” Mallory, who assisted Darrin with the stove’s construction and who also lives in the area, carved the central circular Indian sandstone with the MERA moniker.

The oven will be available free to everyone in the community and can be booked by community groups or individuals through MERA. A training course is mandatory, however, since improper use can damage the internal elements of the stove. MERA will also be offering free training sessions in how to operate the oven. Those wishing to use the oven for commercial ends will be charged a rental fee.

To date, a number of people have already been trained and local bakers plan to use it to make some of their products which they plan to sell at the farmers’ market held at MERA every Saturday from 9AM – 1PM.

On Saturday, Steve Kotze and his family were busy assembling and baking pizzas that were being offered to those present for the ceremony. Steve had been trained by Graham Beck of the Little Stream Bakery in Glen Tay.

MERA members are also hoping to hold community pizza nights on Thursdays where the community can come and make their own pizzas.

All involved in the project anticipate the new oven drawing a number of community groups and individuals to MERA to take advantage of this unique community facility. Anyone interested in reserving a spot for MERA's free outdoor oven baking course on August 6 can call 613-278-0388

Back to HomeFeature Article - May 14, 2009 August festival in honour of a historic logging feudby Jeff Green

Actually it is the end of the feud that is being celebrated.

MERA (McDonalds Corners Elphin Recreation Association) will be presenting the Mississippi River Heritage Festival on August 22 and 23 to mark the end of the Lumberman's Feud between two lumber baron families of the Mississippi River, the McLarens and the Caldwells.

The story of the Lumberman's Feud is of political significance, because its resolution established the public's right to use waterways in this country. It is also of commercial significance for the lumber trade that ruled Frontenac and Lanark counties in the 19th Century. Its ultimate resolution came about because of, you guessed it, love and marriage in McDonalds Corners.

It all started in the 1870s when Peter Mclaren and Boyd Caldwell both owned lumber mills in Carleton Place, and ran logs from logging camps in north western Lanark and Frontenac County down the Mississippi River system.

McLaren invested in a log slide at High Falls, which is located on Dalhousie Lake between Snow Road and Watson's Corners, for his own use. He decided that because of his investment, only his logs could pass over the falls and down Dalhousie Lake to Mississippi River and Carleton Place.

Boyd Caldwell did not agree, and the dispute that started on the remote shores of Dalhousie between logging crews ended up being argued at Parliament Hill and in courtrooms in Ottawa, and ultimately, London, England.

After winning legal and political battles in Ontario (1881, 1882, and 1883) and promptly losing them due to federal rulings, Boyd Caldwell appealed to the Committee of the Privy Council in England, and won. A subsequent version of the Ontario Streams and Rivers Act was not challenged, and the federal Navigable Waters Protection Act followed, guaranteeing public use of Canadian waterways to this day.

The Caldwell-McLaren dispute did not end when the political issue was solved, however. It took a Christmas dance at McDonalds Corners to do that.

An account of those events was written by Harry Walker, a writer for the Ottawa Journal, and was reprinted in Hilda Geddes book, “The Canadian Mississippi River.”

Walker said the story came to him “as told by an unknown writer in an old clipping in a district paper”.

As the story goes, a dance was being held on Christmas Eve in “McDonald's 'stopping place' at McDonalds Corners.

Since McDonalds Corners was considered a Caldwell stronghold at the time, the foreman of the McLaren Shanty had forbidden his men to go near the dance.

We'll let Harry Walker tell the rest of the story.

“But Ronald Grant, a McLaren man, was in love with Jessie Mcllquham (or “Mucklewham” as the district Scots pronounced it), the best dancer in Drummond township. She was the daughter of stern Calvinistic David “Mucklewham”, an uncompromising Caldwell supporter. Jessie's father had refused his consent “to a McLaren man takin' bairn o' mine in wedlock”. In the black bitterness of his heart, young Grant brooded over that refusal, and became more of a '“McLaren” man than ever.

Jessie “Mucklewham” was to be at the dance, and Grant, tortured by visions of that lovely Highland girl with her dark, flashing eyes, determined to go. He taunted his foreman with the charge that if McLaren men did not put in an appearance they would be branded as cowards. Stung by such a suggestion, the grizzled old foreman declared: “McLaren men are afraid of nothing that walks, dances or fights on the Highland Line. Put a bundle of axe-handles in the sleigh and go”.

Down the moonlit road raced the sleigh with its McLaren cohorts, and Ronald arrived to claim his quota of dances. How Ronald won his bride right there at the dance while McLaren and Caldwell men applauded is a story that brightens the annals of Lanark County. There was no more warfare on the Mississippi.”

With a history like that, it's a wonder that a festival honouring the end of the “Lumberman's Feud” has never been held in McDonalds Corners before; but the wait is now over.

On the weekend of August 22 and 23, MERA, in conjunction with the McDonalds Corners Agricultural Society and the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority will be holding a two-day festival, with events being scheduled for Centennial Beach on Dalhousie Lake, as well as at MERA and the Agricultural Hall and grounds.

The festival committee has applied for a grant from Festivals Canada, but approvals have been delayed this year. A couple of weeks ago, the committee decided the festival would happen whether the funding comes through or not. Among events that are in the planning stages are dressing up the MERA schoolhouse as a 19th century Shanty town. There will be historical displays about the area, traditional logging demonstrations, music, discussions about the historical and current state of the forests, as well as a youth-based drama about the McLarens and the Caldwells.

The culmination of the Saturday portion of the festival will be a log drivers’ dance at the Ag. Hall to celebrate the dance that ended the feud.

The final itinerary is still being worked on, and some of the scale of the festival will depend on funding, but with such a rich history to work from, the Mississippi River Heritage Festival promises to be a highlight of the '09 summer season.

For further information, contact Marilyn Barnett at 613-259-2269 or Mary Vandenhoff at 613-259-5654. 

Photo: Jon Brooks at MERA

On Sept. 12, Jon Brooks gave an intimate acoustic afternoon concert at the MERA schoolhouse in McDonalds Corners.

Accompanying himself alternately on guitar, banjitar and harmonica, he opened his first set with Buffy Ste. Marie's “Universal Soldier”. He said she is “a singer with a conscience” and one whom he tries to model himself after.

His perky, guitar-slapping accompaniment and his expressive, well-worn voice were the perfect tonic for a chilly day. For the youngsters in the crowd Jon played his original tune “Small” from his new CD titled “Moth Nor Rust” and sang, “If I was an astronaut, me and the problems I got- I could see how really small we are”.

Songs like these and others, which demonstrate his range both as a lyricist and a musician, have earned Jon his second Canadian Folk Music Award nomination for songwriter of the year. He sang “There Is Only Love”, which includes a mournful harmonica accompaniment and whose first verse reads: “We are the earth and we are its oil. We are seeds; we are gifts to the soil. We are hope’s blood and bone that we’re never alone – that is to say, that there is only love”

Equally moving are his more political tunes, originals like “Kigali” from his 2007 CD titled “Ours and the Shepherds”, whose chorus laments, “Does your heart know the way home from Kigali?”. The song was dedicated to Senator Romeo Dallaire. He performed “War Resister” also from his latest CD, a tune he dedicated to his friend, US soldier Jeremy Hinzman, who fled the Iraq war hoping for safe haven in Canada.

His tunes are classic folk, big on words, heart and hope, each strummed or picked in a straight ahead, no nonsense fashion and each achieving that fine balance between head and heart. Their goal, in Jon's words, is “to create empathy and unite people”.

Jon spoke about his musical background, first playing the Hammond organ, then studying jazz piano and after that venturing into the rock scene before finally deciding to return to school to become a writer, a foray that has stood his songwriting in very good stead.

After he had published a number of short stories and poems it was a trip to the racetrack with two of his favorite Canadian authors and mentors Barry Callaghan and Austin Clarke that put him on the songwriting track again. Clarke had posed the question to Jon, “Do you think you could unite people in story with melody in three and half minutes?”

Jon did just that at MERA and will continue to do so with a number of upcoming concerts. To sample some of his recordings and to find out where he will be playing next, visit his website: www.jonbrooks.ca

Photo: Felt elves created by Rosie Kotze

Holiday gift buyers crammed the MERA school house in McDonald’s Corners for their annual Christmas sale. Shoppers had a choice of an eclectic array of hand-made gifts created by local area artists and makers, which included holiday treats to tantalize the taste buds and arts and crafts galore, including wearable and decorative weaves, fine fabric bags for your favorites vintages, toys for the kids, paintings, handmade chocolates and much more.

Delectable treats and beverages were available from the MERA Café and MERA members were represented at one craft table where Linda Zeisner was selling various items with all of the proceeds being donated back to the MERA coffers. Downstairs in the pottery studio, children had a chance to try their luck at a number of different crafts courtesy of three long time MERA members. Potter Molly Forsythe demonstrated how to make pots; Maria Hofbauer, straw star ornaments while Rosie Kotze helped kids and adults alike to make their very own cute and cuddly felted elves.

Shoppers also had a chance to enter a draw to win various gift baskets donated by the participating artisans.

Mingling amongst the shoppers was the newest member of the MERA group, David Poole (photo right), the recently hired new arts administrator, who was thrilled to be a part of MERA’s holiday buzz. Poole, who was born and raised and lives in Perth, brings decades of expertise to his new post. He was a former arts administrator for the Canada Council for the Arts, where he specialized in Media Arts, and has a film degree from the New York University.

Poole said he first became aware of MERA early on in his stint at the Canada Council (which he just retired from in 2007) and recalled that way back then it was and remains “a very high profile community arts organization.” When the opportunity arose to become a part of MERA he said he saw “an ideal opportunity to use some of my skills as an administrator close to home in a community that has a very engaged and active membership.”

Poole will be working closely with MERA members and volunteers who put together the programs, workshops and events and is excited about MERA’s current mandate to try to get younger people involved in the programming. “You always want to ensure the participation of young, new blood that can bring new vitality into programming, with the aim that the organization continues to grow and thrive.” he said. Poole is confident in the experience he brings to his new post. “I believe I have what it takes on the administration sides of things but also the ability to bridge the gap between that side and the creative side of things. It’s the marriage of the two that can allow for great things to happen.”

To see what is happening at MERA visit meraschoolhouse.org or call 613-278-0388.

Photo: painter Greta McDonald of Perth

Holiday shoppers got an early start at the MERA school house in McDonalds Corners for MERA's annual Christmas Fair on November 24. Local artisans filled the main hall and had on display and for sale a number of locally made items that make for perfect holiday gift giving.

The MERA weavers had a large booth displaying a number of knitted and woven items including place mats, scarves tote bags, wall hangings, table runners, floor rugs, all made by MERA weavers Ellen Good, Lise Loader, Florence McGuire, Mary Donnelly, Annette Hewitt and Ankaret Dean.

Margaret Sullivan was selling her unique “Second Wind” Christmas ornaments and jewelry made from recycled preserve jar lids and bottle caps, which she paints in a wide variety of bright colors and patterns.

Perth painter Greta McDonald had a wide variety of her richly colored animal-themed paintings, which she paints with acrylics on locally found wood.

Local chocolatier Ludwig Ratzinger of Crow Lake was busy parting with his delicious home made chocolates and Rosemary Kotze's plush felt booties and bags were also on display.

Other regular vendors included Jane Conley of Conley Pots in Fallbrook, and jewelry by Yvonne Lalonde of My Gem Creations as well as beeswax candles and body products from Strawberry Cottage in Perth.

Cafe MERA was also open for business offering shoppers a delicious array of hot drinks and home baked goods. For those who missed the event, many of the vendors will be present in Perth at McMartin House on Saturday December 1 from 10am –4pm for the annual Nick of Time Artisan Show.

 

Photo: Seed swappers at MERA Sulyn Cedar, Lori Beckstead and Karen Rodgers

A steady stream of local gardeners and growers, their green thumbs twitching with the approaching spring, shared some of their wealth and know-how at the MERA schoolhouse in McDonalds Corners.

This, the first ever free Seed Swap event at the school house was the brainchild of two growers, both regular vendors at the seasonal McDonalds Corners Farmers Market, Kristine Swaren of Blue Chicory Gardens and Karen Rodgers of Windblest Farm in Ferguson. The two collect their own seeds and have been swapping seeds between friends. They decided to hold the free swap to give other local gardeners and growers an opportunity to do the same.

“Sharing Shelves” were designated for growers to offer up their various herb, vegetable and flower seeds and visitors were supplied with small paper bags to collect the seeds of their choice. Kristine was pleased with the turn out and the opportunity for other local growers to share their wealth of seeds and know-how. “Gardeners are always really enthusiastic about trying anything new. That and the fact that most of us here are becoming quite political about seeds in that we are interested in preserving and growing the older open pollinated varieties. Most of us here harvest our own seeds to allow that to happen and it’s nice to be able to share them with others”, Kristine said.

Karen Rodgers brought veggie and herb seeds to swap as well as those of wild medicinal plants like burdock, stinging nettle, and St. John's Wort. She was thrilled to pick up some madder plant seeds, a perennial plant whose roots are used to make a natural red dye. “ I live on a sheep farm and my mother harvests and dyes her own wool so it will be interesting to see how this madder seed works for her, ” Karen said. While seeds were furiously changing hands there was also much animated discussion on various topics like plant sex which Karen said is an endlessly fascinating topic. “When harvesting your own seeds, it's amazing how much you come to understand about all of the different plants and varieties. There are so many different ways that different plants save their seeds so you learn a lot about the individual plants and it is not really until you have grown the plants from their own seed that you understand their whole entire reproductive cycle.” She added, “It's pretty gratifying when people are going through your own seed collection and you can see them getting as excited about it as you are.”

The organizers are thinking this will become a regular annual event at MERA. An added bonus for swappers was the opening of the Cafe MERA where visitors could also purchase organic coffee, wholesome baked breads and desserts, sandwiches and wild goose soup. The café, located in the school house, is now open on Saturdays and Sundays from 9am-2pm. For more information about regular and special events happening at MERA or to become a member visit www.meraschoolhouse.org. Seed swappers might also be interested to know about “Seedy Sunday”, an event for seed enthusiasts that will take place at the Perth Legion on March 4 with special guests Robert and Carol Mouk of the Heritage Seed Sanctuary in Kingston.

 

Photo: Niki Mulder (right) assists Margaret Bruce of Richmond at MERA

Despite the murderous name of the workshop, no violence was done on November 19, except to sheets of paper, when artist, teacher and soon to be second-time mom, Niki Mulder of Pine Hill, Quėbec, presented a workshop on stab book binding at the MERA schoolhouse in McDonalds Corners.

In the workshop Mulder demonstrated how to create three different functional stab-bound sketch books. The first used a two-holed stab pattern; the second, a five-holed pattern and the last, a more complex hemp leaf stab binding.

To start, each student was given 10 sheets of 18 x 24 sketch paper, which were each then cut into four equal sheets to create the pages for each of the three books. Next, the pages for each book were gathered together and bound using elastic bands. Then using a different template for each book, which Niki provided, the participants stabbed the corresponding holes into the bound sheets using a hammer and an awl. The students then stitched the pages together using embroidery floss, which they first treated with beeswax to prevent it from fraying. The covers for the books consisted of colorful pieces of patterned Japanese rice paper, which students chose from a wide selection that Niki provided. The end results were charming one of a kind sketch books.

It was Niki Mulder’s second visit to MERA; last winter she gave a similar workshop, which was also well received. Niki is a master book binder who received her Masters in fine art at Concordia University. Aside from book binding she also works in multi-media and is also a print maker. She has just completed an art zine for an upcoming show titled “Ancestral Teaching”, which will take place at the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto. Students who participated in her workshop said that now armed with the know-how, they look forward to making more of their own books. For more information about upcoming workshops and concerts at MERA visit their website at www.meraschoolhouse.org

Photo: Bob Hall, Diana Braithwaite and Chris Whiteley at MERA

For one night the MERA schoolhouse was transformed into an intimate 1930s jazz club thanks to the talents of three very fine musicians. The touring duo of Chris Whiteley and Diana Braithwaite, who have collaborated on three CDs to date and won numerous awards including the 2010 Songwriters of the Year, were joined by legendary British boogie woogie wonder Bob Hall on keyboards. Hall was a founding member of the band Savoy Brown and he joined the duo for an evening dedicated to the 1930s and '40s jazz from the Bluebird record label.

Chris and Bob got the blues ball rolling with Big Maceo Merriweather's “Texas Stomp” with Hall showing that he’s still got what it takes to heat up the keyboards. Chris was the everyman in the ensemble playing acoustic and slide guitar, harmonica, singing solo and later with Braithwaite and doing what he does so masterfully on the trumpet, something that won him horn player of the year. The evening showcased primarily old standards interspersed with a few original tunes like Chris's tongue and cheek tune “Some Musician was to Blame”. The highlight of the evening was the magnificent vocal stylings of Diane Braithwite, whose soulful innocence and straight ahead delivery made her every utterance ring true.

Braithwaite has won the African American Woman in the Arts Award and she warmed up the room with her version of “CC Rider”, a slow melodic rendition with each word sung clear as a bell. Braithwaite has a one of those natural blues voices that cozies right up to you, opens you up and one that you never tire of.

Her versions of “Why Don't You Do Right” and “It was a Sad Night in Harlem” demonstrated how she can take hold of an old standard and truly make it her own. Another highlight of the evening was the gospel tune “Glory Glory Hallelujah” which poised Whiteley's smooth vocal lines against Braithwaite's gravelly alto with Joey Wright shining through on the mandolin.

Whitley and Braithwaite have toured extensively in the UK, Russia and all over Europe, reaping accolades wherever they appear. Their three recordings: “Morning Sun”, “Night Bird Blues” and “Deltaphonic” have garnered them well deserved attention and awards. If you missed them at MERA you can see and hear what all the fuss is about by visiting braithwaiteandwhiteley.com

 

Photo: Rug hookers at MERA

On a chilly, soggy winter day there is no cozier , craftier and more colourful place to be than the MERA school house and this last Saturday was no exception.

Close to 15 veteran and beginner rug hookers, each armed with a 10” hoop, gathered in the weaving room at MERA where, surrounded by heaps of colourful recycled fabrics, they began to create their own interpretation of a night sky. Veteran rug Hooker and Perth resident Donna Sproule supplied both the hoops and fabric and shared her enthusiasm for the craft she has been practicing for the last nine years.

Donna started rug hooking in Amherst, Nova Scotia and is best known for her east coast primitive rugs, rugs that portray simple pictoral themes and that use traditional burlap backing and mostly recycled fibres from old wool clothing. Donna's teacher is the internationally acclaimed and renowned Canadian rug hooker Deanne Fitzpatrick, and for this MERA workshop Donna included some of Deanne's instructional videos, along with her own demonstration plus a lot of talk about inspiration with the aim of dispelling the most common myths about creativity. “Creativity can often be stunted by people’s fear of being lacking in it so I make a point proving them wrong. We are all creative; it’s just a matter of not being afraid to go forward and try to express it,” she said.

To encourage creativity she pointed out that often colour far outweighs pictoral design when it comes to rug hooking. “Colour can be the well spring of what one creates and pictoral content often takes a back seat to it.”

To get the group started she shared four different basic designs of the night sky and let individuals take it from there. She made available plenty of purples and blues as well as metallic silver and gold to use for stars and the moon.

Donna also stressed what she calls “the other important underpinnings of rug hooking”; like the fact that you can create beautiful objects by recycling clothing that might otherwise end up at the dump, thereby helping the community and the environment while at the same time adding practical beauty to the world. “These creations are not just things that hang on the wall- as rugs they were always made to be used on the floor and any animal will show you how comfortable and desirable they are and how they really should be used.”

For Donna, having rug hookers at different skill levels is an important part of what makes her workshops successful. “Rug hooking is extremely tactile and it can be difficult to explain without doing it yourself so I tend to let the experienced rug hookers help the beginners along so the latter can see exactly how the technique is done.”

The workshop attracted many who were new to the craft and two beginners who traveled all the way from Kingston to attend were both very excited with their creations - rightly so.

For more information about upcoming workshops at MERA visit www.meraschoolhouse.org or call 613-278-0388.