Several places to visit

Over the next few weekends you can see some of our artists displaying their work. 

Carin Bacher and Joan Humphrey

and Ann Lis Morris has 2 places to see her work over the next 3 weekends

When:    Saturday, November 24, 11:00 – 5:00 pm

Where:      127 Morning Dove Drive, Markham

From Ninth Line and 16^th Avenue, drive east on 16^th Avenue to Bur Oak and turn right and go south for one block to Morning Dove Drive. Turn left and continue to 127 Morning Dove Drive.  Tel. 905-294-0022

When:       Saturday, December 1, 11:00 - 5:00PM &

                  Saturday, December 8, 11:00 - 5:00 PM

Where:      5329 Durham Road 30, Stouffville, On

From Highway #48, drive east on Aurora Road past 9^th Line, continue until Aurora Road comes to an end at Durham Road 30.  Turn right (or south) and drive approximately 100 yards first house on the left (or east) side.

      Creative Designs by Anne-Lis

Every design by Anne-Lis is a handmade original.  The porcelain jewellery is glazed in a wide variety of fashion colours and hand painted with gold or silver lustres. The dichroic glass jewellery is uniquely lustrous and full of vibrant colour.

 

5329 Durham Road 30, Stouffville, Ontario L4A 7X4

Phone: 905-640-1970, Email: morrisr@idirect.com

Sandra Cole Burke

You can see Sandra's work at the Cornerhouse on Main in downtown Stouffville

.

This very supportive business has a different Tour artist work on their walls every month. November is Sandra.



Great place to have a meal and enjoy some art

 

If you are looking for something different to do this weekend why not visit the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre for the annual show Shades of Ink. Studio Tour member Diana Bullock has four paintings in this show and two of her older work is part of a calendar that will be on sale. One was selected for the cover.

There is a lovely tea room and demonstrations all day long of Sumi-e or Japanese ink painting.  Diana will be demonstrating at 3 pm tomorrow [Sunday] afternoon.

Stop by and say hello

How Will You Remember?

Today is a day of Remembrance.

We asked Studio Tour artist Grace MacPherson if she would share memories of her experience serving Canada during World War II. 


In 1943, Grace MacPherson was 18 year old Grace Gauntlett...

Studio Tour artist Grace MacPherson, RCAF WD, 1943-45

"If you had good marks in your final year at school, you could leave early to join the Armed Forces. I went and saw a film, “We Serve That Men May Fly.” It was all about serving in the Air Force, and I thought that if I enlisted I would be sent to England. My brother John was in the RAF and was ferrying planes between Lagos and Britain. Later he was posted to Burma. At age 18, I enlisted and my mother didn’t really approve of what I was doing.

The Air Force was recruiting women to take over jobs, allowing the men to serve overseas. I was happy to be chosen for training as an operational clerk. This was a very selective course and top secret. We would be getting information from radar stations and plotting it on grid maps so they could be identified as friend or foe.

The enlistment poster that inspired Grace to join

We heard we were going to the West Coast, Victoria and were stationed in a lovely old home. It was at one time earmarked as a government house. It was called Kildonan House in the ritzy Rock Bay area. The officers lived in the house and we had barracks, which were built on the extensive grounds.

We had four shifts; the operational room had to be manned 24 hours a day. I was on D shift and about 12 of us living and working together became a happy family. We had a lot of time off, as the work was considered stressful, and our work area was located in the basement of the Belmont Building, across from the Empress Hotel. I would have to be checked by service police when I entered and left.

We were connected to several isolated radar stations on the West Coast: information was relayed to us by radio telegram. We plotted it in on a grid map. If the identification couldn’t be made, Fighter Control would send up an aircraft to check. Sometimes a plane from the training base would get lost and it was through the radar and the Filter Ops that they were located and saved. Another time a plane went off course and was headed for the mountains, and they were alerted on time. There was an aircraft detection post on top of the Belmont Building, and we manned it during the day shift. We had to identify, if we could, anything that we saw. We also took calls from civilians who were also looking out for aircraft activity.

Our time off gave us the opportunity to travel up and down the island, to Vancouver and to the States. Our commanding officer would give us a letter of introduction, and we could go and get second priority on the planes. First priority was the wounded. We flew from Seattle to California and across to St. Louis. Another time we just hitchhiked. Everyone was kind to those in uniform. We never had any trouble we couldn’t handle.

Here, Grace (2nd from the right) and her fellow WDs pose for a photo that later appeared in the newspaper.

Once coming home on leave I used every form of transportation: ferry, train, plane, bus, and hitchhiking. Stopping at Thunder Bay, and looking out of the window, I saw the faces of young, fair-haired boys waiting in the bus beside us. They were German POWs waiting to be transferred to one of the camps.

 VJ-Day came and we paraded in Victoria. It was an exciting day for everyone. We went to a service at Beacon Hill Park—lots of service personnel there. The speeches were getting a bit too long so someone set fire to the grass and that caused a diversion. There was a big dance in one of the hangars. Aircraft took off and bombed the station with toilet paper!

Shortly after, I was given my discharge and I went to Vancouver for the final paperwork. I received $210 for my two-and-a-half years in the service. I was happy to be going home, though not regretting one moment I spent in the Air Force, to serve “that men may fly.” Maybe I didn’t get to England, but I found good friends, travelled across Canada by train and the United States courtesy of the government. We were told that our presence on the West Coast saved many lives, and prevented many serious accidents and loss of life."
 

In 2008 Grace attended a WD reunion in Ottawa; she stands beside a WD plaque that was unveiled at the War Museum

To Grace and the thousands of other Canadians who have served, we thank you.

This weekend...

A very busy weekend for our Studio Tour artists! The Beyond Craft has begun in Stouffville and three of our artists are taking part, and the Cynthia Cupples sale with one more; additional information can be found in the previous post. 

In addition, Grace MacPherson's work will be at Cedar Ridge Creative Centre 225 Confederation Drive  in Scarborough on Sunday. 

There are a lot of places to see art work and maybe do some holiday shopping; support the local arts community!

Don't miss these events

Just in time for holiday shopping we are happy to invite you to see work by several of our Tour members at these shows. 

Jennifer Creeggan, Laureen Lucas and Siek Wassener are part of this show.

Lis Simpson is participating in this show.