A is for Art




We've only had one snow this year but that's enough to make me start planning my hibernation mode.

So far: I will knit, I will make soup, and I will try to convince Michael to let me paint flowers on the wall.

Any Nova Scotian, upon hearing this promise of paint, will automatically evoke images of sweet little Maud Lewis' home; our best known outsider folk artist. Her paintings make me SO HAPPY and a guaranteed cure to anyones woe's is a trip to the AGNS to see her exhibit.

Born in 1907 she married Everett Lewis when she was 34, Everett was a fisherman who delivered his catch to the villagers of Marshalltown in Yarmouth County. Maud accompanied Everett on his rounds and during the holidays she'd bring along Christmas cards that she'd drawn ( a hobby she and her mother previously shared) and sold them for 25 cents. Her neighbours looked forward to buying her cards and encouraged her to make more art. Everett also encouraged her talent by bringing home the old boat paint with which she began her career as a prolific folk artist. In their little tiny house Maud spent her days painting everything in their little tiny house. She also made work to sell to the locals and passersby who came to the door to enquire about the 'Paintings for Sale' as advertised outside. Maud suffered severely from rheumatoid arthritis, no movement was easy to make, but her slow colorful process of painting gave her a creative outlet that cured the harsh realities of life.





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