The Nordic mural at McDonald's Corners,
a small village north-west of Perth on #7 Hwy and west of Lanark. Based
on the myths and legends of the Nordic countries, the mural was designed
by Marie-France Nitski, an artist who resides in the West Quebec
region, at Chelsea. It is 12ft high and 80ft long. It was painted as a
community arts project by 35 members of MERA (McDonalds and Elphin
Recreation and Arts) and took over 400 hours of work to complete. The
mural is painted on 30 8ft. x 4ft.panels of cor-plast, using 100%
acrylic outdoor paint. The official unveiling took place at the
Labyrinth Nordic Festival which was held on June 19th, 2004.
For information about MERA,
visit website at:
http://meraschoolhouse.org/pr05-13-04.php
or call:
(613) 278-1203 or (613)
278-2943.
The Nordic mural is permanently on view at the Schoolhouse in McDonalds
Corners. It is mounted on a public works building which faces the
parking lot and the Schoolhouse entrance. Visitors may also enjoy
walking the Living Willow Labyrinth.
The festival was supported by the Canada Council for the Arts.
Marie-France Nitski, originally from France, studied in France, at
Ottawa (University of Ottawa and Algonquin College) and in Chile.
She is an extremely active artist and teacher, and has participated in
the annual Wakefield-Chelsea artists’ studio tour “Artists in their
Environment”.
June 17
A Perpetual Memory- the Aylmer Library
becomes the Lucy Faris Library.
A sculpture was unveiled in the Library (located at 115 Principale,
Aylmer) to commemorate the gesture of Lucy
Faris, whose will, following her death in 1924,
provided for the sale of the Faris family farm
and the conversion of the proceeds into a fund
for the purpose of establishing a public library
in memory of her father. The Library came into
being in 1938, and a portion of the money was
used to make an initial purchase of 220 books.
The Lucy Faris Foundation continued to provide
financing for the Library until the City of
Aylmer assumed responsibility for its
administration.
In recognition of Lucy Faris’s action, the
remainder of the fund has been used to
commission the sculpture, symbolizing the
contribution of libraries to literacy, education
and culture. In addition, the Library is now
officially named the Lucy Faris Library. The
ceremony was attended by representatives of the
Gatineau City Council, the City Library
administration and the Lucy Faris Foundation, as
well as Lorette Mackey. the former head
librarian, and Louis Landreville, founder of the
first library in Hull. Speaking in French and
English, Councillor Louise Poirier (chair of the
City’s Arts, Culture, Literature and Heritage
Committee) emphasized how remarkable it was that
Lucy Faris had decided to dedicate her legacy to
the founding of a library.
The artist is Rick Ritza, who lives in
Wakefield and engages in both sculpture and
painting (see our entry on the Wakefield page:
“Currently at Le Corbeau Bleu.”) Mr. Ritza
says of his work: “All aspects of art interest
me. It doesn’t matter if it is fine art or more
on the commercial side. The important thing is
to produce it. I have had a lot of varied
experiences over the last thirty-seven years.
It has been my life. I cannot think of anything
else I’d rather do.”
The final sculpture was produced at The Crucible Foundry, located
north of
Belleville,
Ontario. using the “lost wax process” (see the
Foundry’s website at
www.cruciblefoundry.ca.)
