Posted on October 21, 2019 under Monday Morning Musings with no comments yet

Aida Arnold and Beth Latwaitis of The Arts House

 

When an artist puts her brush to a blank canvas, it becomes a work in progress.

Such is The Arts House in Antigonish. A vision that started with the people who run the very popular Antigonish Art Fair, the Arts House has become a thriving, energetic entity in our community.

What is The Arts House?

According to the visionaries, it is a “space to create.” Antigonish has been a big proponent of the arts for decades so it comes as no surprise that it now has a facility that supports artists and those who are interested in participating in creative activities. The Arts House provides a space (the former Visitor Information Center) where artists are employed to teach young and old alike.

The Antigonish Art Fair recently completed its sixth summer. More than a year ago, organizers felt that the artists who routinely show up to display their works on warm summer evenings, needed an actual facility to produce art and share their talents with locals interested in learning more about art.

With the generous support of local businesses, government and private donors, The Arts House opened its doors in the spring of 2018. July and August saw the first children’s’ art camps which were enthusiastically embraced by the community. But art lessons are not just the purview of young people. Many older folks, including retirees, now take part in a variety of creative endeavours. Last Friday evening, several people signed up for a “Paint Night”. Participants were asked to choose from two paintings posted on social media. At the event, the painting that was selected became the subject for would be artists. Under the watchful eye of the artist, people learned techniques and had an opportunity to create their own version of the painting.

The Arts House also houses a pottery studio complete with a kiln and five wheels.

Local dance groups now call the Arts House home for weekly practices.

The Arts House is quickly becoming a hub in the community. Birthday parties for children include an hour of hands on art activity. Several groups now hold meetings at the facility on a rental basis and a few local authors (including yours truly!) have chosen this intimate setting to launch a new book.

Would you like to explore your creative side? Are you interested in having your event hosted in a great facility that is affordable with lots of parking? Are you a new artist in town who would like to share your talents?

The Arts House (http://antigonishartfair.ca/the-arts-house) is just getting started. Like a new piece of art, it is a work in progress.

Thanks very much for your support of my new release, “Eat, Sleep and Walk: Stories from the Camino”. While copies will always be available on Amazon (https://www.amazon.ca/Eat-Sleep-Walk-Stories-Camino/dp/0992070643/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Eat%2C+Sleep+and+Walk%3A+Stories+from+the+camino&qid=1568728469&s=gateway&sr=8-1), I only have 45 hard copies left in the initial run. If you want an autographed copy (or 5!), send me an e-mail at lenpdmacdonald@gmail.com and I’ll sign the book (s) and mail it (them) out to you. You can pay me by e-transfer. If you live in the area, you can contact me. I’ll sign your book and we can have a coffee.

It goes without saying that today is another important date in our country’s history as Canadians go to the polls to elect a new government. Please go and vote. It is a privilege and your civic duty.

Have a great week.

P.S. Come to the Halloween Harvest Bash

 

Posted on October 17, 2019 under Thursday Tidbits with one comment

 

I want to talk about the upcoming Federal election in Canada.

Actually, this is the last thing in the world I want to be talking about. My disdain and despair for the discourse and conduct in this particular election is well known to regular readers of my column. Our country is starting to resemble our neighbors to the south and in other countries where respecting other point of views has gone the way of the dodo bird. Politics is becoming more and more tribal in our country. Respectful debate among politicians and ordinary citizens is hard to find these days. Everyone seems so entrenched in their own point of view.

I have had the privilege of driving across Canada from coast to coast on many occasions and I have lived, at times, in three different provinces. I understand why it is a difficult country to govern. There are so many competing interests and regional differences. But this doesn’t mean that we must be nasty to those who don’t share our politics or values.

Maybe I’m just getting old and cranky but it seems that we have lost the gift of civility when it comes to politics. I am not naïve. Politics has been a bare knuckle sport since Confederation. It may be because of social media, where news and fake news gets bandied about every second of the day, that the playing field has changed.

The only thing possibly more disturbing than the venomous rhetoric that we have become accustomed to might be apathy. When the stakes are so high, why do so many people sit on their hands and refuse to take the time to go and vote?

I voted in one of the advance polls. To me, this is one of the great privileges of living in a democracy. Please get out and vote next Monday.

In case you missed this yesterday on Facebook, I am alerting readers that my Camino books are going fast so if you’re planning to buy one or more (for Christmas presents!) you might want to do so sooner than later.

When I first started publishing books, I was forced to buy large quantities of books to keep the unit cost down. This only works if you have walk in closets in your home to store them or a separate baby barn… or an industrial sized dumpster! Storing books is a pain in the butt. Over time, I have been able to source smaller runs of books so I basically order what I think I can sell. For some reason, my Camino book is selling very well and I am not likely to do a second run. I have learned from experience not to get too overzealous and order a second run.

Of course, this does NOT apply to my books on sale through Amazon. They can be purchased at any time as they are printed on demand, one copy at a time.

So if you’re living near my hometown and want to get a copy of my book you can either contact me directly as some of you have already done (lenpdmacdonald@gmail.com) and I can arrange to meet you. Alternatively, you can go to the Antigonish 5 to $1.00 and pick one up there. They will charge you tax. I won’t. If you live outside the area (anywhere in North America) and want an autographed copy, just fire me off an e-mail with your address. I’ll sign the book, package it up and ship it to you. You can send me an e-transfer.

If you have any thoughts of ever doing the Camino (I know a few people who are going next year!), this book would be quite helpful as each chapter has a “Camino tip”. I learned a lot about doing a long walk. If you want to know what to pack (and what not to pack), how much cash you need to keep on hand and the merits of carrying toilet paper, then this book is a must.

P.S. I’m hoping to drive around the Cabot Trail next week and can personally deliver books to any of my friends that I met during my recent walk.

Sorry for all this shameful self-promotion but unfortunately this is what a self-published author ends up doing to survive and pay fixed costs.

I know enough about the book business now to do a seminar if any of you are thinking of writing a book. Or, you can try your luck at the slots in Vegas. The odds of success are about the same!

Have a great weekend.

Posted on October 14, 2019 under Monday Morning Musings with 3 comments

 

Generous, gentleman Joe.

The community lost a good one last week. Joe Arsenault was one of those truly decent human beings. He was incredibly talented with his hands, turning stone into works of art. He was a fine musician who loved a good jam session. He was a loving husband, father, grandfather and brother. He was warm and he was very witty. I can’t ever remember seeing Joe out of sorts.

Joe was also a generous soul. Back in the mid- 1990s, much to the chagrin of our neighbours in town, we harbored a small collection of farm animals including a rooster named Archie. Archie had attitude problems but was nonetheless, the pride and joy of one of our children. Early one morning, I went out to the fenced in area behind our house to check on the flock. Some predator had gotten in during the night and wiped out the entire crew. The children were quite upset.

To this day, I don’t know how Joe found out but one day a few weeks later, he arrived at our home with a small memorial stone for Archie. He refused payment. I know he did this for several other people.

I had the privilege of spending some time with him in the small workshop behind his house where his creative genius flourished. He could do anything with those hands.

On this Thanksgiving Day, while we enjoy food, family and friends, let us be thankful that people like Joe come into our lives. He made our community better. His memory is etched in the many stone carvations he created. He was one of the good guys.

Happy Thanksgiving.