THE BECKETT FAMILY WAS A NICE WAY TO REVITALIZE AFTER A TOUGH FEW DAYS CLEANING UP AFTER THE BIG STORM
AS FRED SHULZ CAPABLY PUT IT, THIS EVENING, WHILE INTRODUCING "THE BECKETT FAMILY" TO THE WEEKLY MUSIC ON THE BARGE, AT ROTARY GULL LAKE PARK, THE GOOD FOLKS OF GRAVENHURST AND MUSKOKA GENERALLY, NEEDED A BREAK FROM THE TURMOIL OF THE PREVIOUS FEW DAYS OF CLEAN UP, AFTER THE STORM FRIDAY AFTERNOON. HE OFFERED UP THE OUTSTANDING FIDDLE TALENTS OF THE BECKETT FAMILY, TO BRING US OUT OF THAT STORM-AFTERMATH FUNK, AND IT WAS A GREAT EVENING OF MUSIC, IN A PINE STREWN PARK. YOU COULD ALMOST HEAR THE COLLECTIVE SIGH OF RELIEF, AS THE CONCERT BEGAN, AND THE NERVES STARTED TO SETTLE; ENCAMPMENTS OF FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS, TRYING TO RELAX, EVEN THOUGH MANY STILL WERE THINKING ABOUT FREEZERS FULL OF FOOD BEING SPOILED, AND THE REPAIRS TO THEIR HOMES AND COTTAGES NECESSITATED BY FALLING TREES. EVERYONE, IT SEEMED HAD A STORY TO TELL, OF NARROW ESCAPE, AND NAMING STORMS OF THE PAST FOR COMPARISON. SO IT WAS THERAPEUTIC INDEED, TO SIT DOWN ALONG THE SHORE OF GULL LAKE…..DESPITE THE FLOATING DEBRIS, TO ENJOY THE COOL FULL-MOON EVENING, WITH THIS TALENTED GROUP OF MUSICIANS, KNOWN ACROSS CANADA. OUR MINDS MAY HAVE BEEN ELSEWHERE FOR PART OF THE SHOW, BUT YOU KNOW, BY THE END, WE WERE AS COOL AS CUCUMBERS, HAPPY, CONTENTED, AND PLEASANTLY ENTERTAINED. IT WAS ONE OF THOSE ACCEPTABLE ESCAPES FROM THE DARKER REALITIES OF LIFE, WHEN TIMES SLIPS BY WAY TOO FAST……AND WE HAVE TO FACE A DIFFERENT MUSIC AT HOME. HOPEFULLY, WHEN YOU GOT HOME, LIKE US, THE POWER WAS BACK ON, AND THE FREEZER PICKING UP THE SLACK FROM HAVING HAD A COUPLE OF DAYS OFF. THANKS TO THE BECKETT FAMILY, WE ALL GOT A CHEERFUL, TOE TAPPING, COMFORTING RESPITE WHEN WE NEEDED IT THE MOST.
I WAS DISAPPOINTED WITH THE TOWN OF GRAVENHURST, FOR NOT MAKING SURE GULL LAKE PARK WAS CLEANED UP BEFORE THE CONCERT, AND THE LARGE CROWD ARRIVED. IT WOULD HAVE TAKEN ABOUT AN HOUR AND A HALF WITH A SMALL CREW TO PICK UP THE STREWN-ABOUT PINE BRANCHES THAT WERE OBSTACLES TO THOSE WALKING THROUGH THE PARK, NOT TO MENTION UNSIGHTLY. I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON A TOWN HALL, THAT THIS WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN A PRIORITY CONCERN, WHEN IT WAS KNOWN, A LARGE CROWD WOULD BE ATTENDING THE CONCERT ON SUNDAY NIGHT. EVERYBODY WAS TAXED THIS WEEKEND SO AS LONG AS THERE WERE SOME PARKS AND RECREATION STAFF THAT COULD LIFT A FEW SCATTERED BOUGHS…..IT WOULD HAVE AT LEAST MADE THE PARK PRESENTABLE. THIS IS WHEN LOCAL TAXPAYERS BEGIN WONDERING, IF THE WHARF HAD SUFFERED THE SAME DEBRIS FIELD AS GULL LAKE PARK, WOULD THE CLEAN-UP HAVE BEEN A HIGHER PRIORITY? IT'S HARD TO DEFEND TOWN HALL, WHEN PROTOCOLS LIKE THIS ARE SO WEAK AND POROUS. IT'S HARD NOT TO GET MAD AT COUNCILLORS, FOR NOT BEING AT THAT PARK, FOR THEIR OWN FACT FINDING, AND MAKING SOME PHONE CALLS TO GET THE PARK CLEANED UP. IT DIDN'T HAVE TO BE CLEANED ENTIRELY, BUT IT WOULD HAVE SHOWN OUR DETERMINATION TO RISE UP TO ADVERSITY, IF WE HAD AT LEAST A TOWN CREW WILLING TO MAKE SOME PILES OF TREE DEBRIS……TO SHOW WE HAD SOME INTEREST IN HOW WE LOOK TO OTHERS…..NOT TO MENTION THE PUBLIC LIABILITY ISSUE, IF SOMEONE HAD TRIPPED ON DEBRIS THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN CLEANED UP……..OR A SECTION OF THE PARK CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC.
WE'RE DROPPING THE BALL HERE IN GRAVENHURST, AND OUR STANDARDS SEEM TO BE DECLINING BY THE MONTH. THE PARK WAS IN AN UNACCEPTABLE CONDITION. THE QUESTION NOW IS WHAT WILL THE PARK LOOK LIKE NEXT SUNDAY EVENING.
A LITTLE ANTIQUE THERAPY AND WE FORGOT ALL ABOUT OUR THAWING FREEZER
OUT OF POWER AT HOME; ALL POWERFUL ON THE ROAD
I FOUND OUT SOMETHING ABOUT MYSELF, AND THE CURRIE FAMILY THIS PAST WEEKEND. WE LIKE TO WORK AND MAKING MONEY ISN'T BAD EITHER. BUT WE HAVE GREAT NEED OF ESCAPE, AT LEAST ONE DAY A WEEK. WE TRIED WORKING AT THE SHOP SEVEN DAYS EACH WEEK, AND THEN AGREED COLLECTIVELY, THAT IT WOULD EVENTUALLY MAKE US RATHER DULL PEOPLE…..IF IT WAS ALL WORK AND NO PLAY. PLAY FOR US, BY THE WAY, IS DIFFERENT THAN FOR A LOT OF FOLKS. WE USED TO GOLF, BUT NOW WE TAKE THE GREEN FEES AND INVEST THAT MONEY IN ANTIQUES AND COLLECTABLES. WE HATE TENNIS, AND WE SOLD ALL OUR LAWN BOWLING BALLS, AND THE FOOTBALL AND BASEBALL WERE LOST IN THE TALL GRASSES OF BIRCH HOLLOW (THE FRONT LAWN), SOME TIME AGO, AND YET WE FIND SOMETHING SPORTING ABOUT THE OLD HUNT AND GATHER, THAT MAKES UP FOR ALL OTHER RECREATIONAL SHORTFALLS. WE LIKE TO GET OUT THERE AND RUMMAGE AROUND FOR RESPECTIVE HOLY GRAILS.
FOR ANDREW, IT'S FINDING OBSCURE AND UNUSUAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND AMPLIFIERS. TODAY HE PICKED UP A PRIMITIVE ZYLOPHONE-TYPE AFFAIR, WITH WOODEN KEYS AND A SOUND ENHANCER BELOW, MADE OF "HUNG" HOLLOWED-OUT GOURDS. SOUNDS FUNKY. FOR ROBERT, IT'S ANYTHING BY OR ABOUT "FRANK ZAPPA," AND YES HE DOES LOOK LIKE HIS BROTHER. ROBERT BUYS AND SELLS VINTAGE VINYL, SO WE HIT ALL THE USED RECORD HOT SPOTS IN ORILLIA AND BARRIE. TODFAY HE PICKED UP TWO ZAPPA 45'S, WHICH ARE RARE. FRANK WASN'T KNOWN FOR BEING ON THE CHUM CHART HIT PARADE…..SO HIS 45'S ARE SCARCE. FOR SUZANNE, SHE'S ALL ABOUT THE "COOKERY NOOKERY," AND A SIDE INTEREST IN VINTAGE CLOTHING. TODAY SHE WAS LUCKY TO FIND A PLENTIFUL SUPPLY OF BOTH; BUT MOSTLY VINTAGE AND OUT OF PRINT COOKBOOKS. HER LITTLE COOKERY ENTERPRISE HAS KICKED-UP A NOTCH IN THE PAST WEEK, AND SHE WAS VERY FORTUNATE TO TAP INTO A COLLECTOR'S SALE OF ANTIQUE KITCHENWARE. A LOT OF VERY OLD AND INTERESTING HERITAGE PIECES AND TREEN. HER NOOKERY, AT THE FORMER MUSKOKA THEATRE, ON MUSKOKA ROAD, IS FILLING UP WITH ALL THINGS FOOD-RELATED. I'M IMPRESSED THAT WE DID ALL OF THIS SINCE DECEMBER, WHICH FOR US, WAS THE BIGGEST SINGLE CHALLENGE OF OUR COLLECTING LIVES.
FOR ME TODAY, IT WAS THE BOOK-HUNTER TO SAVE THE DAY. I TURNED INTO THE CRAZOID BIBLIOMANIAC I USED TO BE, AND FOUND FIVE AUTOGRAPHED BOOKS, THAT ARE ALSO GOOD INVESTMENT TITLES. I FOUND THE BOOK, "EGG ON MAO," BY DENISE CHONG, WHICH IS THE STORY OF CHAIRMAN MAO, AND THE "ORDINARY MAN WHO DEFACED AN ICON, AND UNMASKED A DICTATORSHIP." THE 2009 FIRST EDITION IS SIGNED BY CHONG. THE SECOND SURPRISE OF THE DAY, WAS A COPY OF THE BOOK, "SCHOOLCRAFTS EXPEDITION TO LAKE ITASCA - THE DISCOVERY OF THE SOURCE OF THE MISSISSIPPI," EDITED BY PHILIP P. MASON, BUT SIGNED, INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, BY WELL KNOWN EDITOR, GLADYS CHANTLER WALKER, TO JOHN WALKER, AS A CHRISTMAS GIFT IN1965; SHE UNDOUBTEDLY WAS CONNECTED TO THE CONTENT OF THE WELL KNOWN BOOK. I ALSO PICKED UP A 1988 FIRST EDITION OF THE BOOK, "LADYBUG, LADYBUG," BY CANADIAN WRITING ICON, W.O. MITCHELL. IT IS INSCRIBED TO THE BOOK BUYER AND THEN SIGNED SIMPLY "MITCHELL." THE FOURTH FIND OF THE DAY WAS A FIRST EDITION OF THE CANADIAN SPORTS BIOGRAPHY, BY JUNE CALLWOOD, ENTITLED "THE MAN WHO LOST HIMSELF - THE TERRY EVANSHEN STORY." THIS IS THE BIOGRAPHY OF ONE OF THE CANADIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE'S MOST EXCITING PLAYERS, WHO SUFFERED MAJOR BRAIN INJURY IN AN ACCIDENT, AND HAD MANY PAINFUL YEARS OF REHABILITATION, PARTICULARLY TO RECOVER HIS MEMORY WHICH HE HAD LOST DUE TO INJURY…..NOT REMEMBERING WHAT HE HAD ACCOMPLISHED IN HIS LIFE. HE HAD TO LEARN IT ALL OVER AGAIN. IT IS INSCRIBED, "SEIZE EACH DAY - TERRY EVANSHEN." HE WAS ONE OF MY FATHER, ED'S, FAVORITE FOOTBALL STARS, WHEN HE PLAYED FOR MONTREAL IN THE C.F.L.
THE FIFTH AND BEST FIND, WAS A SIGNED FIRST EDITION, IN HARDCOVER, OF THE BOOK, "IMPS - DEMONS - HOBGOBLINS - WITCHES - FAIRIES & ELVES," BY WELL KNOWN ARTIST, AND SCULPTOR, LEONARD BASKIN. I PAID FORTY BUCKS FOR THIS PRISTINE SIGNED COPY, BUT IT IS WORTH BETWEEN $140 TO $200, AS A BOOK INVESTMENT. I HAVE SOME RESEARCH TO DO ON THIS BOOK, BUT IT WAS AN EXCITING FIND……AND PRIMARILY BECAUSE I KNOW HIS WORK…..AND THIS IS THE KIND OF STUFF I WRITE ABOUT, HOBGOBLINS AND SUCH….SO IT'S GOOD FOR THE INSPIRATION SIDE OF THINGS AS WELL.
ONE FINAL NOTE. IN AN ORILLIA SECOND HAND BOOK SHOP, I FOUND A GHOST BOOK BY A COUPLE OF ONTARIO WRITERS, WHO HAPPENED TO INCLUDE ME IN THEIR 2010 BOOK THAT I WASN'T AWARE OF, REGARDING BRACEBRIDGE'S WOODCHESTER VILLA, AND THE PARANORMAL ACTIVITIES THAT HAVE ALLEGEDLY OCCURRED WITHIN ITS OCTAGONAL ARCHITECTURE. SUZANNE KNOWS WHEN I GO COMPLETELY SILENT AT THE BOOK SHELF, THAT I'VE EITHER FOUND A GREAT BOOK, AND I'M SPEECHLESS, OR I'M PISSED OFF, BECAUSE I'VE FOUND MYSELF REFERENCED OR QUOTED IN A BOOK…..OF WHICH I DIDN'T GIVE PERMISSION TO USE. IT'S ALWAYS NICE TO GET A CALL ABOUT THIS KIND OF EDITORIAL "BORROWING." IT'S NOT THAT I WOULD OBJECT, BUT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY IS WORTH AT LEAST A PHONE CALL OR EMAIL, TO SEEK PERMISSION TO RE-PUBLISH. OBVIOUSLY THEY WRITE THESE BOOKS FOR PROFIT, SO I DON'T THINK IT'S TOO MUCH TO ASK, FOR A LITTLE PROFESSIONAL COURTESY. THIS HAPPENS A LOT, AND WHILE I NEVER MAKE MORE FUSS ABOUT IT, THAN THE OCCASIONAL PARAGRAPH OF DISSENT, I'M FEELING A LITTLE TAKEN-ADAVANTAGE-OF TO BE HONEST….BUT APPARENTLY THE ONLY WAY TO STOP IT, IS TO CEASE WRITING, AND I WON'T DO THAT OUT OF SPITE FOR USERS AND ABUSERS.
IN THE FIELD - THE ARTIST
"Art is a way of life. It is not entertainment nor professionalism, but a necessity." Arthur Lismer.
When the beaver ambled onto the embankment, the artist could clearly hear the rustle of the taller shoreline grasses, as it proceeded along the jagged rocks of the small, sunlit lake. The highly animated chipmunk darts over, and through the tangle of broken-off branches, fallen on the exposed rock; beneath the cluster of venerable old birches, leaning out over the water, as if writer Robert Frost, had placed them there purposely, as a metaphor of life and wisdom. The tiny creature, being eyed by a predator, has come to settle on a bit of driftwood clumped along the sandy shore. A hawk, perched on a pine bough, in one of the towering evergreens wreathing the lake, awaits the opportunity to swoop with stealth, quickly down upon its prey. For a moment, the hawk seems preoccupied by something else moving in the long grass below. The painter is aware of pending change, if not the sudden demise of the chipmunk, it will soon be the rain, as the bank of dark clouds rise over the band of tall pines, just to the west.
The painter is aware of the fat blue jay, and its intrusive, echoing squawks, reverberating across the still, mirroring water. From the corner of his eye, he sees the bounding and leaping of two squirrels in the low pine boughs, and annoyed somewhat, by the insects that have caused him to stop sketching, to swat the flies off the backs of both his hands. There is just a slight breeze this moment, that had been enough to clear away the morning mist, to reveal this sparkling jewel of waterscape, in the heartland of Lake of Bays Township, where Richard Karon had constructed his studio / gallery. But it was in a place like this, immersed so picturesquely, in the alluring embrace of lake, trees, rock and sky, that made his work a comforting pleasure.
The painter was entertained by the sounds of the light wind, passing through the long-reaching cedar branches, and the rustle of new spring grasses, and shoreline vegetation, so vibrantly green and willowy, dancing in wavering reflection, against the shadowed water. The incessant calling of the blue jays, and abrasive cawing of three grumpy crows, perched at the top of a dead birch, were being sketched into this art panel as its patina; the sounds very much influencing the mood of the artist in the field.
All the intrusions on this sanctuary were welcome. They were very much establishing the mood of the environs here, at this moment of capture onto paper. The essence of a natural day, where the myriad life-forms are not considered intrusive at all, to the voyeur, and the artist is aware, how gentle he must be, not to influence the daily activities of all these creatures; going about the habitual chore of survival amongst predators. He is very careful moving around, the spot he has chosen to paint, that he not adversely change the landscape, and the habitat he is trying to represent in art. Such that if an art patron, was to look at the subject panel, these intricacies of nature would prevail; inner evidence of the bird calls, rustling of beaver and muskrat, squirrel and chipmunk, and the soft wash of wind through the pines. It could all be imagined upon viewing the same captured lake scene, framed and prominently hung in a gallery. When someone would comment to Richard Karon, that they knew where he had painted a landscape, and commented that he had captured the color, textures of the rock and trees, and the true qualities of lake and sky, he would feel the work then, had been successful. If an art admirer, would study a particular landscape with considerable intensity, turn to Mr. Karon, and say, "I can feel the wind blowing across that lake," or "I hear the waves breaking over those rocks you have painted," he would have been pleased his palette-knife, and choice of colors, had peaked such sensory perception.
To engage sensory perception, was what the artist desired. While he was encouraged by the sale of his art work, he found it difficult, at times, to be a painter for profit only. The commerce of being a good artist was, of course, critical to the artist's business success or failure. Knowing that a purchased art panel had evoked a sensory connection, and paralleled similar emotions he had felt, at the time of composition, made him feel his art had attained an important allure, and the representative peak, he felt was needed to continue as a landscape artist.
Richard Karon was known as a volatile critic of his own work. As artists are usually compelled, Karon destroyed many sketches and even larger paintings, he felt missed this pinnacle of personal standard. He was prone to considerable mood-swings at his easel, and might walk away in frustration, and anger, acknowledging that the palette knife, in hand, and his mindful intent, were too far apart at that hour, or for that day, or week, to create anything more than the escalation of discontent.
So when some hiker, or picnic group suddenly came upon the Muskoka artist, sitting alone in an alcove of rock, sketching the landscape below, while he might have initially been annoyed by the intrusion, he would soon perk up, when one passerby, might have complimented the depiction, tabled by his knees; as being beautiful and accurate to what they could look out, and see of the lakeland vista. Karon didn't ask for these impromptu critiques of his work, but he listened intently to the passing reviews, and benefitted from the observations. He often found the critiques, by those who had no interest in buying art, his or anyone else's, were far more honest and trustworthy, as there was no pretense, with either party, that a purchase was imminent. He paid attention to what people had to say about his panels, and was very much interested in harsh critiques, because he was aware of the necessity to mature and broaden his work. In Poland, he had many accomplished artist-types, offer him advice on his early sketches of city scenes and architectural studies, and he benefitted, as a fledgling artist, because he had purposely exposed himself to more than just praise and admiration of his finished pieces. Karon was aware of his inabilities as an artist, and made a huge commitment to adapt to new realities, and accommodate the changes around him, into his art. He wanted exposure to lakeland scenes, like this, where there was so much diverse natural activity, and nothing typical or predictable. Every visit was different. The light on the water, creating a new color. The approach of a storm, making what was a picturesque scene, into a forboding place, the water a cauldron of wind-raised whitecaps……the sky white against the tumbling grey of a spring thunderstorm.
A fish jumping for an insect, a small watersnake swimming along the shore, the thunderous bolt through the thicket, from the escape of two startled deer, was the actuality that provided Richard Karon, his sense of adventure in art; restored each new outing, and from every secluded portal he found in nature. The exciting bombardment of life forces, re-generated, time and again, his ambitions and purpose, to capture the legendary enchantments of Muskoka on has canvases.
Arthur Lismer, of the famed Group of Seven, Canadian artists, also wrote, "The artist uses nature in its present aspect, not as a standard to copy, but as a source of inspiration."
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