AS A MATTER OF GOOD FORTUNE, CANADA HAS MADE AN INVESTMENT IN FOLK ART, AS NATIONAL TREASURES OF OUR PAST
FOLK STORIES, FOLK HISTORY, FOLK ART. WHAT CAN ONE GARNER, IF ANYTHING AT ALL, FROM SIMPLE, EVERY DAY, OTHERWISE RUN-OF-THE-MILL STUFF, MOST MORTALS WOULD CONSIDER JUST AN ORDINARY EXISTENCE; AN INVISIBLE FABRIC, PAINTED, SEWN AND STYLED WITH RESIDENT JOYS, TRIALS, CELEBRATIONS, REJECTIONS, AND TIMES OF OUR LIVES WE'D RATHER FORGET. WE PROBABLY NEVER THOUGHT OUR LIVES WORTHY OF BEING QUILTED TOGETHER, IN A MOSAIC OF LIFE AND WORK BEYOND THE FAMILY TESTIMONIAL. THAT WE WOULD BE PART OF THE WIDER CHARACTER PROFILE OF NEIGHBORHOOD LIFE, AS IT BLENDS INTO THE COMMUNITY AND BEYOND. ORDINARY ACTIONS AND REACTIONS, COMINGS AND GOINGS, SWEATERS AND COATS, RED SOCKS AND GREEN AND ALL THE COLORS WE FIND CONSERVATIVE OR PASSIONATE, PAINTED INTO OUR DAILY ART OF A TOWN IN MOTION. FOLK STUDIES ARE FASCINATING ENTERPRISES, BECAUSE IT IS ALWAYS SPICED WITH EXPECTATION, AND WHAT UNPREDICTABLE REACTIONS MIGHT OCCUR AT ANY GIVEN TIME. THE CARPENTER WHACKING HIS FINGER WITH A HAMMER, AND US HEARING THE LOUD OUTCRY OF A TASK GONE WRONG. WHEN WE HEAR THE SOUND OF THE LADDER BEING EXTENDED, WE FEEL OUR OWN KNEES WOBBLING, BECAUSE WE DON'T LIKE HEIGHTS EVEN AS SPECTATORS. SOME MISHAPS AROUND US, BEING MORE GRIEVOUS AND INJURIOUS THAN OTHERS. AT TIMES, THE BROAD IMAGE OF OUR COMMUNITY SEEMS MORE LIKE AN ABSTRACT, BUT LIKE THE SETTLING OF AN AGITATED SNOW GLOBE, CLARITY SOON RETURNS, AND WE SEE OURSELVES IN THE MIDST.
I DROVE AROUND OUR URBAN NEIGHBORHOOD THIS AFTERNOON, OUT OF MY TRADITIONAL CURIOSITY, ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON IN TOWN. I'VE BEEN TAKING THESE MINOR GAD-ABOUTS SINCE I WAS SIXTEEN, DRIVING MY FATHER'S CAR AND USING HIS GAS. IT'S MY CASUAL OBSERVANCES, THAT TURN UP SOME AMAZING DETAILS, ABOUT WHAT MAKES OUR COMMUNITY TICK, AND OF COURSE, "TOCK." I WATCHED A LOCAL YARD WORKER MOWING A WET LAWN FULL OF LEAVES, AND SAW HIM STRUGGLING TO TRAVEL FROM END TO END OF THE BIG RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY. I SAW ANOTHER CHAP CLEANING THE GUTTERS OF WHAT WAS PRESUMABLY HIS HOUSE, AN ELDERLY WOMAN WITH A SPADE, OVER-TURNING EARTH IN HER GARDEN, A COUPLE OF WORKERS TENDING TO SOME RE-SHINGLING CHALLENGES ON A NEIGHBOR'S ROOF, AND THREE DISCONNECTED CITIZENS WALKING THEIR DOGS, ON OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE STREET. THERE WAS A PARCEL DELIVERY DRIVER, RUNNING UP TO THE DOOR OF A HOUSE, PACKAGE UNDER HER ARM, AND A TAXI DRIVER, DROVE BY ME SLOWLY, STRAINING HIS EYES, LOOKING AT HOUSE NUMBERS, TRYING TO LOCATE THE PERSON WHO HAD CALLED FOR A RIDE. THERE WAS A WOMAN WALKING A CHILD, ANOTHER YOUNG LADY WITH LETTER IN HAND, HEADING TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD MAIL BOX, THREE TEENAGERS RUNNING ALONG THE SIDE WALK, POTENTIALLY LATE FOR THEIR NEXT CLASS. THERE WAS AN ELDERLY CHAP ON A MOTORIZED SCOOTER HEADING NORTH UP THE ROAD, WEAVING THROUGH STOPPED TRAFFIC, AND WAVING TO A HUDDLE OF FOLKS IN A DRIVEWAY; AND TWO TODDLERS PLAYING IN THE SIDE YARD OF AN APARTMENT BUILDING, WHILE THEIR MOTHER SAT ON A STEP, CROSS LEGGED, TALKING ON HER PHONE. DESPITE THE FACT MY WINDOW WAS CLOSED, I STILL HEARD THE ROAR OF A DELIVERY TRUCK A BLOCK SOUTH, AND COULD CLEARLY HEAR A DOG BARKING, AND SOMEONE YELLING FOR IT TO STOP, OFF TO MY RIGHT. THERE WAS LOTS OF TRAFFIC, ON THE MAIN STREET, AFTER NOON, AND THERE WAS THE SMELL OF PIZZA CRUST AND ONIONS WAFTING IN THE AIR. THERE WERE BUSINESS-WOMEN WALKING TOGETHER WITH BRIEF CASES, AND A SUITED GENTLEMAN, WITH A FOLIO, HEADING INTO A SHOP TO HAVE SOME PHOTO COPYING DONE. OCCASIONALLY THERE WAS THE BLARE OF A CAR HORN, AND OFF IN THE DISTANCE, A CAR ALARM; AND AFTER DISEMBARKING THE VAN, PARKED ON THE MAINSTREET, I OVERHEARD PART OF AN ARGUMENT, BETWEEN A YOUNG WOMAN WHAT MAY HAVE BEEN A MATE, AND A TRUCK WITHOUT A MUFFLER ROARED BY, EVERYONE IN THE VICINITY, TURNING TO SEE IF A JET HAD LANDED. I FELT A FEW RAINDROPS, BUT IT WASN'T SNOW. I LOOKED AT MY WATCH, AND KNEW FOR CERTAIN, I WAS LATE RETURNING FROM LUNCH. IT WAS A TYPICAL AFTERNOON AND DAY, FOR THAT MATTER, IN A TYPICAL TOWN, IN ITS OWN TYPICAL CONFLUENCE OF COMINGS AND GOINGS, SOUNDS AND INTERVENTIONS, INTERRUPTIONS, RECREATIONS, AND BUSINESS INTERACTIONS. IT WAS, WITHOUT ANYONE AT THE TIME KNOWING IT, A WORK OF FOLK ART ON THE MOVE. IT WAS "OUR TOWN," THIS IS WHAT IS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN. SOMETIMES LESS INTRUSIVE, AND SOMETIMES MORE AGGRESSIVE. FREQUENTLY BUSY, BUT OCCASIONALLY NOT SO MUCH. THIS WAS A COMMONPLACE ABOVE ALL ELSE, TODAY, AND IF IT WAS A PAINTING, OR A SCULPTURE, IT WOULD BE ENTITLED, "SO HERE WE ARE AGAIN," AND WE WOULD WONDER, UPON SEEING THIS DEPICTION, WHY ANYONE WOULD BE INTERESTED IN "THE ORDINARY," OF TOWN LIFE AND TIMES. WELL, YOU SEE, TIME DOESN'T WAIT FOR ANY MAN OR WOMAN, OR HAMLET, VILLAGE, TOWN OR CITY. IT IS FOREVER FLEETING, AND THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN. EXCEPT THAT WE GROW OLDER, AND REALITIES CHANGE; SOME CITIZENS ARE NEWLY BORN, AND OTHERS ARE AMONGST THE NEWLY DEPARTED. NO TWO DAYS ARE THE SAME. WE EVOLVE JUST AS THE SEASONS CHANGE THROUGH THE ROLLING YEAR. WHAT WE HAVE TODAY, AND VIEW WITH SOME FONDNESS, MAY NOT BE THE SAME TOMORROW, AND IN ITS COMMONPLACE, WE HAVE A SILENT REGRET WE DIDN'T PAY MORE ATTENTION TO WHAT WAS GOING ON IN OUR HOMETOWN. WE MIGHT FEEL BAD THAT WE DIDN'T STOP TO VISIT A NEIGHBOR, WHO OVERNIGHT, WAS TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL. THIS IS FOLK HISTORY IN ITS LITTLE NUTSHELL. FOLK ART AS A VISUAL PLEASURE. A JOY TO BEHOLD, ONE MOMENT, A TEARFUL DEPARTURE THE NEXT. A FUNERAL IS BEING HELD AT THE CHURCH DOWN THE STREET. AN AMBULANCE JUST WENT ROARING DOWN THE MAIN STREET, AND I HEARD THROUGH A PASSERBY, THAT THERE HAD BEEN A TRAFFIC ACCIDENT. FORTUNATELY THERE WERE NO SERIOUS INJURIES. WHAT ART IS THIS? IT IS, AS A MATTER OF OUR PARTICIPATION, A GRAND, SPRAWLING, INTERCONNECTED COLLAGE OF AN EVER CHANGING MURAL.
YOU MIGHT FIND THIS ODD, BUT FOLK ART, EVEN IN ENGLAND, WITH ITS OWN AMAZING HISTORICAL CHRONICLE, IN THE NAIVE STYLE, WAS SLOW TO INSPIRE INTEREST. IN FACT, IT WASN'T UNTIL WHAT WE CONSIDER MODERN TIMES, BEFORE FOLK ART, IN ENGLAND, BEYOND WHAT WERE CLEARLY IDENTIFIED AS HISTORIC ARTIFACTS, FROM CENTURIES PAST, WERE RE-CONSIDERED FOR THEIR CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE. EVEN IN CANADA, IT TOOK THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION, IN 1967, BEFORE WHAT WAS CONSIDERED THE WORK OF NAIVE ARTISANS, AND PAINTERS, HAVING LESSER CAPABILITIES THAN THOSE OF PROPERLY TRAINED ARTISTS, BEGAN APPEALING TO OUR NEWLY ENLIGHTENED APPRECIATION FOR THE BROAD RANGE OF OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY. FOLK ART IS NOT BAD ART. IT IS THE HANDIWORK OF THOSE WHO WERE INSPIRED, BY THEIR BASIC OVERVIEW OF THE ENVIRONS, UTILIZING WHAT MATERIALS WERE AVAILABLE, AND SKILLS THEY POSSESSED; TO CRAFT ART PIECES THEY WERE INTERESTED IN, AS A MEANS OF EXPRESSING THEIR CREATIVE INTERESTS. WITHOUT HAVING HAD THE ADVANTAGE OF ART TRAINING, THEY INFILLED WITH THEIR OWN STORIES, WHICH ARE IMBEDDED IN THE ART FORM. FOLK ART HISTORIANS WOULD LIKELY AGREE, TRAINING, EVEN IF IT HAD BEEN AVAILABLE, WOULD HAVE RUINED THE INTEGRITY, AND HONESTY, OF SOME BRILLIANTLY CRAFTED PIECES OF CANADIANA.
THE REASON I WANT TO OFFER A BRIEF GLIMPSE OF FOLK ART, IS TO CONNECT IT MORE INTIMATELY WITH WHAT I HAVE BEEN WRITING ABOUT IN DAYS PAST; BEING FOLK HISTORY, PRETTY MUCH THE SAME AS THE FOLK ART FORM, EXCEPT THAT IT TURNS UP IN PRINT. IT IS A MINOR TEMPLATE FOR MY SERIES OF "CHRISTMAS IN MUSKOKA" BLOGS, BEGINNING ON NOVEMBER 12TH. I WOULD LOVE TO CURATE A FOLK HISTORY AND FOLK ART MUSEUM IN MUSKOKA, BECAUSE IT WOULD HIGHLIGHT, FOR ONCE, WHAT MUSKOKANS WERE ALL ABOUT, OTHER THAN THE STEWARDS OF THE TOURISM INDUSTRY. OUR MUSKOKA IDENTITY IS VERY MUCH IN EVIDENCE, IN THE FOLK ART AND FOLK HISTORIES THAT HAVE SURVIVED AND BEEN SHARED. IN MY TIME AS BOTH A REGIONAL HISTORIAN AND ANTIQUE COLLECTOR / DEALER, I HAVE HAD THE VERY GREAT PRIVILEGE OF SEEING THESE BOOKS, JOURNALS AND DIARIES, IN THE "FOLK" STYLE, FROM A RANGE OF AUTHORS, AND AS WELL, A CHANCE TO VIEW SOME EXCEPTIONAL EXAMPLES OF MUSKOKA FOLK ART, MAINTAINED IN PRIVATE COLLECTIONS; SOME REMAINING WITH DUTIFUL FAMILIES LOOKING AFTER THEIR HEIRLOOM PIECES.
WHEN I WAS WORKING ON A STORY ABOUT FORMER AMERICAN PRESIDENT, WOODROW WILSON'S, STAY IN MUSKOKA, AT "THE BLUFF," A WELL KNOWN AND RESPECTED TOURIST RESORT, IN MINETT, I ALSO HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO VIEW SOME OF THE OUTSTANDING ART WORK OF THOMAS SNOW, THE PROPRIETOR OF THE LAKE ROSSEAU HOTEL. THOMAS SNOW AND WOODROW WILSON WERE FRIENDS, AND THE WILSON FAMILY HAD COME TO STAY AT THE RESORT SEVERAL TIMES, BEFORE HE BECAME PRESIDENT IN 1913, PRESIDING THROUGH THE YEARS OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR, AND POST WAR RESTORATIONS UNTIL 1921. HE HAD PURCHASED AN ISLAND PROPERTY ON LAKE ROSSEAU, AND THOMAS SNOW WAS HIS CHOICE OF STEWARD, TO LOOK AFTER IT FOR THE PRESIDENT. WILSON, ONCE HE BECAME PRESIDENT, WASN'T ABLE TO RETREAT TO MUSKOKA, AND AFTER HE TOOK ILL, POST WAR, WHILE IN OFFICE, IT WAS THE CASE, HE WAS NEVER AGAIN ABLE TO VISIT. SNOW, A WELL KNOWN BUSINESSMAN AND CHARACTER, BECAME A HIGHLY COMPETENT PAINTER IN HIS SPARE TIME. WHILE IT IS STILL CONSIDERED FOLK ART, IT WAS AT A HIGH LEVEL IN COMPETENCE. THAN OF COURSE, THE NAIVE PAINTERS OF THE PAST, DEFINING FOLK ART, SUCH AS MAUD LEWIS FROM CANADA'S EAST COAST, AND GRANDMA MOSES, THE AMERICAN NAIVE ARTIST, KNOWN FOR HER COLORFUL VILLAGE DEPICTIONS. THOMAS SNOW ENJOYED PAINTING BUT WASN'T PLANNING TO JOIN THE GROUP OF SEVEN ARTISTS, AS A PROFESSIONAL ARTIST. HIS WORK IS IMPORTANT, BECAUSE IT CAPTURES SCENES IN THE MINETT ROSSEAU AREA, AT A TIME WHEN THERE WAS A SHORTAGE OF FOLK ARTISTS INTERESTED IN HINTERLAND PAINTING.
WHEN I REFERRED TO ADA FLORENCE KINTON, THE ENGLISH ARTIST, WHO WOUND-UP LIVING TEMPORARILY IN HUNTSVILLE, IN THE EARLY 1880'S, I MUST FOOTNOTE, THAT SHE WAS A WELL TRAINED, EXPERIENCED PAINTER, WHO HAD TAUGHT ART TO SCHOOL CHILDREN IN ENGLAND. HER DEPICTIONS OF HUNTSVILLE AND THE SURROUNDING AREA, ARE FOLK ART, BY THE FACT SHE WASN'T SELLING HER PAINTINGS AT THIS POINT, AND WAS DOING HER ART STUDIES FOR ENJOYMENT, WITHOUT ANY CONCERN FOR PROFIT. SHE GAVE PAINTINGS AWAY TO HER FAMILY MEMBERS. SHE WENT ON, IN LATER YEARS, TO WORK FOR THE BOOTH FAMILY OF THE SALVATION ARMY, AND PROVIDE ART WORK FOR THEIR OUTREACH MAGAZINE, "THE WAR CRY." SHE COULD HAVE CHOSEN A CAREER AS EITHER A FULL TIME PAINTER, OR AS AN ART INSTRUCTOR, IN EITHER ENGLAND OR CANADA. SHE PREFERRED INSTEAD, TO GIVE HER WORK AWAY TO THOSE WHO THOUGHT THEM WELL EXECUTED, AND OF FAMILIAR SUBJECTS AND LANDMARKS.
THE FOLK ARTIST, LIKE THE FOLK WRITER, WAS NOT INTERESTED IN FINANCIAL GAIN, AS MUCH AS THEY WERE, HAVING AN OUTLET FOR THEIR CREATIVE ENTERPRISES; WHETHER WOOD CARVING, FURNITURE MAKING FOR UTILITY PURPOSES, HOOKING RUGS, CRAFTING QUILTS, PAINTING OR DECORATING TO REFLECT THEIR LIVES, AND THE ENVIRONMENT THEY FOUND THEMSELVES IMMERSED. THERE WERE FOLK ART PIECES, BY TODAY'S STANDARD, THAT WERE FOR HOUSEHOLD, UTILITY PURPOSES, LIKE RUGS, DRAPES AND CURTAINS, QUILTS, KNITWEAR, TREENWARE BOWLS AND DRYING RACKS, THAT HAD TO BE HAND CRAFTED, AS THERE WAS NO MONEY TO PURCHASE MANUFACTURED GOODS AT THE LOCAL GENERAL STORES. THESE ARE THE ANTIQUES I ABSOLUTELY CRAVE; THE HANDMADE FLAT-TO-THE-WALL CUPBOARDS, TABLES, CHAIRS, DRESSERS, SHELVES AND SIDEBOARDS, MADE FROM WOOD RESOURCES HARVESTED, FROM THE FORESTS OF THE REGION. I GET A COLLECTOR'S RUSH, WHEN SUZANNE AND I COME UPON HANDMADE QUILTS AND HOOKED RUGS, THAT DATE BACK TO THOSE EARLY IDENTIFIABLE FARMSTEADS, SPRAWLING OVER THE LAKELAND TOPOGRAPHY, FROM SOUTH MUSKOKA TO NORTH, EAST AND WEST; HOMEMADE ARTICLES THAT MIRROR THE VALUES AND HOME ECONOMY OF THE TIMES. FOLK ART ISN'T JUST A RELIC FROM PIONEER TIMES. IT IS A REALITY OF ARTISTIC EXPRESSION, THAT CAN BE QUITE CONTEMPORARY, CRAFTED BY THOSE WHO ARE SELF TAUGHT, AND HAVE, AS A PRIMARY INTEREST, THE NON COMMERCIAL ASPECTS OF CREATION. NOT HUSTLING TO MEET MARKET DEMAND, OR TO SATISFY A PARADE OF CUSTOMERS. TRUE FOLK ART ISN'T MEASURED IN THIS FASHION, AND COMES DOWN TO ENJOYMENT OF THE CRAFT PURSUIT, WHATEVER THAT MIGHT BE. THERE HAVE BEEN MANY FOLK ARTISTS CORRUPTED BY MONEY, AND THE DEMAND FOR THEIR WORK, BASED ON A CERTAIN, UNSPECIFIED AMOUNT OF SUCCESS. FOR EXAMPLE, THE SERVICE STATION ATTENDANT, WHO USED TO WHITTLE WOOD, CREATING INTERESTING SCULPTURES OF GNOMES THAT HAPPENED TO APPEAL TO HIM. SEVERAL CUSTOMERS, SEEING HIS HANDIWORK, CASUALLY ASK IF THEY CAN PURCHASE ONE OR MORE. THE CARVER, NOT THINKING THEM PARTICULARLY VALUABLE, DECIDES THAT HIS TIME WHITTLING THEM, (COMPARED TO HIS WAGE AS A GAS JOCKEY) WAS WORTH A BUCK OR TWO. THE CUSTOMERS AGREES, BUYS TWO, AND THEN COMES BACK ONCE A WEEK TO SEE IF THERE ARE ANY MORE AVAILABLE. AS THE STORY GOES, FOLKS COMING TO THE GNOME-BUYER'S HOUSE, REMARK HOW MUCH THEY WOULD ALSO LIKE TO HAVE ONE OF THE CARVINGS, AND WELL, PRETTY SOON, THE GAS JOCKEY HAS GONE FROM A DAY-JOB, TO PROFESSIONAL WOOD CARVER, WITH A GROWING LIST OF CUSTOMERS. DOES HE QUIT TENDING THE PUMPS, TO DEVOTE HIS TIME TO GNOME CARVING? MORE THAN A FEW HAVE DONE THIS VERY THING, AND WHEN THE MARKET FOR THE CARVINGS, OR PAINTINGS GOES SOFT, THEY FOUND THEMSELVES WITHOUT JOBS. THE ART MARKET, EVEN FOR FOLK ART, GOES THROUGH CYCLES AND IS FICKLE AT THE BEST OF TIMES. THE WOOD CARVER, WHO TURNS PROFESSIONAL, STARTS MAKING QUICK REPLICAS IN THE ESSENCE OF TIME. AND THERE ARE OTHER ADJUSTMENTS TO MAKE QUANTITY, AT THE COMPROMISE OF QUALITY. WITH THE VOLUME REQUIRED TO SATISFY NEEDS, WHAT WAS ONCE A RECREATION, HAS BECOME A BURDEN OF PROFESSION. CORNERS GET CUT, AND CREATIVITY DROPS, TO CREATE INSTEAD, A STANDARD MODEL EASIEST TO CRAFT; AND WHAT HAD BEEN UNIQUE IN SMALL QUANTITY, HAS BECOME AN ART COMMONPLACE. IT GETS MUCH MORE COMPLICATED, AND DEMANDING, AND THE HONEST, UNFETTERED FOLK ARTIST, WHITTLING FOR ENJOYMENT'S SAKE, BECOMES SLOWLY CORRUPTED, AND ORDINARY, AFTER ONLY A FEW MONTHS OF MARKET INFLUENCE. THE CRAFTSMAN THEN HAS TO HIRE OTHER "WHITLERS" TO KEEP UP WITH DEMAND. THE HISTORICAL VALUE OF THE WORK, WILL EVENTUALLY PLUMMET, AND MEAN VERY LITTLE TO OUR CULTURAL LEGACY.
FOLK ART IS THE MIRROR OF OUR SOCIAL / CULTURAL HERITAGE, IN THE SAME VEIN THAT FOLK WRITERS INFILL THE EMOTION OF THE TIMES, AND THE FORMALLY TRAINED HISTORIAN MOVES FORWARD WITH FACT, AND CHRONOLOGICAL INFILLING. WHEN WE ACQUIRE WHAT WE CONSIDER A FINE PIECE OF MUSKOKA FOLK ART, WE WILL STUDY IT FOR HOURS, DAYS AND WEEKS, ANALYZING ITS POINT OF ORIGIN, AND ANY OTHER PROVENANCE WE CAN ATTACH; EACH PIECE REPRESENTING A SMALL CHAPTER IN A BIG STORY. THE WEAKNESS HOWEVER, IS THAT SO MUCH FOLK HISTORY AND FOLK ART HAS BEEN LOST, AND SOLD-OFF, BECAUSE WE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND JUST HOW IMPORTANT IT ALL WAS, TO THE TRUE PROFILE OF MUSKOKA'S DISTRICT WIDE HERITAGE. MANY UNIQUE AND WONDERFULLY STORIED ART PIECES, WERE THROWN OUT, OR OTHERWISE DISPOSED OF, BECAUSE THEY WERE BELIEVED TO BE POORLY CRAFTED, AND THE HANDIWORK OF A CHILD EXPERIMENTING WITH FOUND RESOURCES. IGNORANCE TO THE CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PIECES HAS MEANT THAT THOUSANDS UPON THOUSANDS OF VALUABLE RELICS, HAVE BEEN SOLD OFF INDISCRIMINATELY, OR TOSSED IN THE RUBBLE HEAP, AND THAT HAS DENIED US A GREAT RESOURCE TO CALL UPON, WHEN WE PONDER OUR REGIONAL IDENTITY.
WORKERS IN THE LUMBER CAMPS, AND ON THE SPRING LOG DRIVES, WOULD MAKE ARTICLES FROM THE TIMBER CHUNKS THEY GATHERED AFTER THE WORK OF THE AXE AND SAW. GERMAN PRISONERS OF WAR, FOR EXAMPLE, DETAINED IN GRAVENHURST'S CAMP CALYDOR, CARVED WOODEN SHIPS AND PICTURE FRAMES, AND PAINTED WHILE UNDER GUARD AT THE MUSKOKA BAY PROPERTY DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR. THESE WERE WELL EXECUTED PIECES, BUT FROM THE HANDS OF MILITARY PERSONNEL, NOT PROFESSIONAL ARTISTS. SOME OF THIS WORK TODAY, IS NOT ONLY VERY DESIRABLE AMONGST COLLECTORS, BUT WORTH A SMALL FORTUNE TO PURCHASE. QUILTS, HOOKED RUGS, AND EVEN HANDMADE CLOTHING, ARE IMPORTANT FOLK ART REPRESENTATIONS, AS THEY WERE MADE FOR A UTILITY, HOME PURPOSE, AND NOT FOR SALE IN RETAIL SETTING. FROM THE PIONEER PERIOD, ESPECIALLY THERE WERE THOUSANDS OF EXAMPLES OF HANDMADE PIECES OF FURNITURE, FROM PINE PIE SAFES, HANGING SHELVES, ROCKING CHAIRS, MIRRORS, LADDERS, TO PINE CRADLES FOR INFANTS, AND FOR THEIR OFFSPRING'S DOLLS. TOYS WERE OFTEN CRAFTED, BY THESE HOME HANDIMEN AND WOMEN, BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T AFFORD TO BUY THEM FROM GENERAL MERCHANTS OR TOY SELLERS. THERE IS SOMETHING SPECIAL, SEEING A HANDMADE SPINNING, OR WALKING WHEEL IN USE, AND A PRIMITIVE WOOL WINDER PERFORMING ITS FUNCTION, AS WAS REQUIRED BY THE HOME-KNITTER; POSSIBLY THE WOOL GATHERED FROM THE HOMESTEAD SHEEP, SHEARED, SPUN, WOUND, AND USED FOR KNITTING THE WINTER WEAR, THAT KEPT THE PIONEER RESIDENTS COZY-WARM.
FIRST NATIONS HANDCRAFTS MY TRUE COLLECTING JOY - MUSKOKA HAS HAD LOTS OF EXAMPLES, ESPECIALLY FROM PORT CARLING
Did you know that beautifully handcrafted first nations baskets, of all styles, were sold from loaded canoes, traversing Lakes Rosseau, Muskoka and Joseph, from what was known in the past as "Indian Village," situated on the east shoreline across from today's Muskoka Lakes Museum? Suzanne's father, Norman Stripp, used to tell stories about a First Nations' woman, who used to visit their Lake Rosseau home, in Windermere, several times each year, with an array of handmade baskets in her well laden canoe. He said she would come up to the house, and bring baskets she thought his mother would wish to purchase. As well as selling elaborately crafted quill baskets and larger fruit, vegetable and flower baskets, there would also be some much more significant vessels for use in the home as laundry baskets. We have several examples of the larger baskets in our private collection, along with some of the quill containers. This of course was a practice from many decades ago, but is still remembered on a number of regional lakes, as having similarly occurred, and how they acquired these excellent First Nations' crafts. Folk art? Of course. The fact they were sold, for long and long, doesn't, in the First Nations situation, take away the cultural / folk art value. Obviously, as far as collecting First Nations folk art, there are those who are most interested in those items, that were made for personal and community use, and not intended for sale either by canoe-shop, or in any retail circumstance. I am just an admirer of First Nations' artistry and although I'm not interested in contemporary souvenirs, even community made, I would gladly fill my home with their traditional, handsomely crafted baskets, and related handiwork, that were made-in and sold, here in our region of Ontario. These pieces carry a lot of social / cultural tradition, and the quality of the workmanship is unmistakably excellent. For me, because of my specific collecting interests, preferring older pieces, I would always lean toward the most antiquated baskets, no matter what their purpose or size. But that's just me.
Folk art and even folk writing, is still judged on competence and artistry. It's judged on how well it gets a message across to an admirer. In the case of art, how did the subject piece, catch a potential buyer's attention? How did it speak to them and what was it saying? Imagine yourself, in this situation, and could you explain how a hand-crafted art piece, of really any style or dimension, influence your opinion? If you were asked to write a review of the piece, or to explain it in your own words, could you? What, in your own life experiences, and emotions, does the subject piece appeal, or remind you off? Whether quilt, hooked run, tea cozy or naive painting of an old building, or a farmer walking behind horse and plow? This really is the point, of what makes a folk art piece special, and culturally significant. Does the piece, on display in front of you, remind you of ethnicity, or as a cultural, religious icon? Does the piece make you happy, or make you sad? Is it a pleasant piece, or does it remind you of something a tad evil? Folk art isn't necessarily passive. I remember one day, buying an African carving from a Muskoka area antique dealer, for one particular, glaring reason. I had spotted something about the piece I knew made it exceptional. There are thousands of African souvenir carvings, and some even crafted cheaply in other countries, made to appear as if from this region of the world. Suzanne looked at me, as if to say, "do you really want to buy another carving, to add to the ones we already have?" I didn't respond immediately, but just winked, as I do frequently, to let her know there was something unique about this carving. When we got to the car, I unwrapped it, and showed her the carving of the African man, pointing to the very slight evidence, the chap was wearing an ankle cuff, attacked to what would have been a heavy block, to stop his escape should he have made the attempt. This was an African who would soon become a slave, and when we did a cursory search via online sites, this is exactly what the carving was, and yes, it was of a sad period in history. It was sold to a collector of these slavery-era relics. I was glad to have seen one up close, because they had always evaded me in the past; as most carvings are pretty basic, and because they have a tight commercial purpose, are rather shy on being "storied."
Folk art is a basic art form, marked by its naive qualities, but heralded, as much, for the story it prevails upon us, about the remarkable commonplaces, the creator has celebrated for posterity. Art imitating life, and the other way around. Folk art makes extraordinary, what we assume is typical and unremarkable. Every day, art is generated from inspirations, from our most fundamental operations and functions, and the result of interactions with one another, that in some ways, are proven exciting and full of energy; or the complete opposite. Folk art might be considered a junior art form. It may be considered frivolous and, in some cases, disrespectful to the finer arts. Once again, I find the complete opposite to hold true.
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