“Left, left, left, left, last right before gravel and you’re there.” These were photographer James Wilson’s minimalist directions to his Hampton studio traveling from the highway. I’m running late, as usual, and coming at it backwards, taking the scenic route through the Kingston Peninsula. “Right, right, right, right, left, oops, there it is”, and whoosh —straight past his studio and into the weeds. Cursing, I course correct and pull up a steep drive to a rambling century home where Mr. Wilson appears from within — self-possessed and welcoming. Continue reading The Portraiture of James Wilson
Tag Archives: Saint John
The Saint John Arts Centre: How To Look Good After 113 Years (Updated)
Inside the front doors of the Saint John Arts Centre is a large brass plaque with a very short list of donors. It’s their exclusive platinum donors list, reserved for only the biggest of names. At the very top is none other than steel tycoon Andrew Carnegie. In 1904 he donated the money to construct the building (and 2508 others buildings across North America and Europe just like it) as a public library. You can imagine how hard it is to compete with that. Lady Aitken made the list in 1987 after providing the funds to support the building for over a decade in it’s conversion to the Aitken Bicentennial Exhibition Centre. While that’s some pretty rare air, over the last one hundred and eleven years a lot of love and support has gone into this building as a hub for the arts and culture community, often in the form of smaller donations and grants. Now in its current incarnation as the Saint John Arts Centre, it’s looking for a new way to give back. Continue reading The Saint John Arts Centre: How To Look Good After 113 Years (Updated)
Mike Trask From Mudhill To The Precious Memories
“Adam Mowery told me that everyone in Saint John looks like they’re having the worst day of their life, and this is a good corner to observe that. That’s why I sit here,” says Mike Trask sitting in the diner on the corner of Union and Waterloo, or for the geographically-minded, the intersection of Strip Club and Sally Ann. The unobtrusive diner with its large windows makes for one of the best locations in town for inconspicuous character watching, and it’s become the go-to spot in Saint John for Mike and his band, The Precious Memories. Continue reading Mike Trask From Mudhill To The Precious Memories
The House On Kennedy Street
The old Indiantown of Saint John’s North End is not the sort of place you would expect to find a hotbed of culture, it’s barely made it into the 21st century. The modern trappings of power lines have crept across neglected homes and often derelict buildings like vines. The old carriageways haven’t seen a lot of love since they were laid out after the fire of 1864. But in the very heart of it, on Kennedy Street, is the home to a collection of artists and musicians that have turned their space into something special. Continue reading The House On Kennedy Street
Jill Higgins: Artist and Architect
“You’re lucky, we actually had a chance to clean,” Jill Higgins says humbly as she leads me through an obviously immaculate home and into her office studio. For the moment, it’s a private oasis dedicated to Jill’s work as an architect and an artist; draft table in one corner, and a monstrous easel in the other, two juxtaposed pillars of work and play. But there is a child-sized easel tucked away in there, and noises of active family life in the nearby kitchen hint at the fragility of that solitude. “You can join them if you like,” Jill jokes at my apparent jealousy as her kids head out to Beavers for the evening, “I’m sure you can borrow someone’s buggy and race it.” Continue reading Jill Higgins: Artist and Architect