CANADA DAY - JULY 1, 2012

This was the first time in five years that I was able to take part in the Canada Day celebrations in Burlington. All of the five previous years I was outside of Canada on business. That's just the way it was.

Since Canada Day was on Sunday this year we drove down to Spencer Smith park in the morning and found a parking spot relatively close to the park. All the parking spots are free on Saturday, Sunday and holidays. I had wanted to see the Joseph Brant museum because I have never been there, besides it was free on Canada Day. There were a lot of things set up in the morning on the Joseph Brant Museum grounds in the morning, mostly for children.

We saw the Queen's impersonator. she was a reasonably good facsimile.

The inside of the museum we saw a recreation of an encampment of the war of 1812, a display of Edwardian clothing and accessories and a display on Joseph Brant. I took a couple of pictures of a bust that was done of Joseph Brant. Unfortunately, it is inside a protective glass case so some of the glass is reflected back in the picture.

In the evening, we returned to Spencer smith park to listen to Ashley McIsaacs, a fiddler from the East Coast of Canada who is a prodigious musician. It was a wonderful evening. The sky was clear. The almost full moon hung like a giant silver disc in the sky. The temperature was warm without being hot or humid. We listened for about three quarters of an hour then decided to go home.  All in all, it was a wonderful Canada Day.

BURLINGTON FINE ART & CRAFT FESTIVAL

last Saturday, on June 11th, my wife and I went to Burlington Fine Art and Craft Festival. The festival is held at the Burlington Art Center (BAC). There were 78 exhibitors at the festival covering all arts and crafts. Because of my particular interest I paid close attention to the artisans who worked in wood but I also checked out the glass and stained glass artisans which is another interest of mine.

 This gentlemen is a wood turner and he had some of the loveliest bowls that I have ever seen. His shop is called Applelane Wood Craft.

This was the only stain glass shop that I photographed. I really liked the  combination of shells with stained glass, the opaque with the transparent. It was a nice contrast of materials. This shop was called Catch the Light.

 This particular shop was called Wood Works. We had a curious conversation. I always ask the artisans if I can take a picture. They always say yes but I feel that it is just being courteous. This gentleman asked what I was going to do with the pictures and I told him that I write a blog and I was going to write about the festival. I do not think that he quite grasped the concept of a blog because he asked me some questions that I could not answer because they had no relevance to blogging. It made me aware that many people had no idea about what goes on in the blogging world.

 This gentleman was the only one who has a website which is a little curious in this day and age. His shop is called Wooden Treasures by George. George's website goes by the same name. See the link to the left.

This a picture of the outdoor exhibit of the Burlington Wood Carver's Guild. There was more inside the Art Center and I took some pictures there as well.

 The fellow who makes these bird houses devotes a lot of time to them. Each one is an intricate work of art. His shop is Paul Vuurman Birdhouses.

 While everyone was strolling around looking at the shops there was a Jazz band playing . It created a nice ambiance to the festival.

 Here are the pictures inside the Art Center in the room where the Burlington Wood Carver's meet. It was nice to visit the place where i spent a lot of time working at carving. The carvers who were demonstrating were not familiar to me but I spent some time chatting with them. There was a woman who seemed to be quite interested in the concept, perhaps she will join the guild. The guild has many women members.

 I took a picture of this dragon because I thought it was particularly well executed.

 I took a picture of the relief carving in the gift shop inside the Art Center. I believe that it was done in soap stone or perhaps sandstone. I did not ask. The reason I took the picture is that it reminded me of my daughter and my new born granddaughter. I think that I will use this idea to create a relief in wood based on this same idea.

Well, That was the highlights of the Fine Art & Craft Festival at the Burlington Art Center in June 2011. At least those were the highlights from my point of view. There were a lot of other artisans there as well. There were people who made jewelery, clothing, soap, photographs, just about every craft that you could think of. It was an extremely interesting and pleasant way to spend an afternoon. I would strongly recommend that you attend the festival next year.