The Fall so Far

What a long and beautiful fall it has been, and there are still many leaves on the trees, mainly just the yellow ones left now.

The annual WMSC fall weekend trip was another highly enjoyable success, timed to coincide with the height of the fall colours (October 15/16), and this year the visit was to Collingwood.

And last week William Whitla presented an excellent introduction to Morris, "The Life and Work of William Morris" in Elizabeth Beeton Auditorium at the central Toronto Reference Library. JUST when you thought you knew a lot about Morris, Bill illuminated us still further in a most uplifting and informative illustrated presentation.

The WMSC will pause to celebrate the season at our annual dinner, and then please watch our Future Events tab at the top for some exciting events in the new year!

Below: the first four images are from the Collingwood tour, the first three taken by WMSC president Susan Pekilis. The top picture is Claverleigh, built 1871, now a national historic site near Creemore. The second and third pictures are the federal building in Collingwood, built 1914. And the fourth picture is by member Ria Harvey, showing some trip attendees against some lovely fall trees.

The bottom two images are from William Whitla's talk at the Toronto Reference Library, taken by WMSC board member Gianna Wichelow.

Fall for Morris!

We have it on good authority that fall is not far off, and in keeping with the shortening days and lengthening nights, the WMSC has got a great line up over three evenings.

Check out our FUTURE EVENTS tab above to find out more.

Our Annual General Meeting takes place on Tuesday, September 20 at the Textile Museum of Canada. The short meeting will be followed by an illustrated lecture, "1881: A Year in Morris" presented by John Wichelow. Last year John presented a similar lecture on 1876. It was a very successful format and that's why we're repeating it. Morris has many highly productive and interesting years in his busy, brilliant life.

Over the weekend of October 15/16 we are running the Collingwood Heritage Tour, another in our series of highly popular weekend excursions, this time to the southern shore of Georgian Bay, where we will explore the area’s history and architecture! As in previous fall excursions, transport will be by luxury coach, and the costs include all meals and overnight accommodation at the Cranberry Resort. These will be two fun, packed days with visits to galleries, musuems, craft studios and a number of architectural treasures from grand homes to a log cabin and even a jail!

On Tuesday, November 1, join us for an illustrated lecture by Professor William Whitla, titled "The Life and Work of William Morris." This is a great way to introduce newbies to the wonderful Morris, so please share this information widely! This lecture is jointly sponsored by the Toronto Reference Library and takes place in the Elizabeth Beeton Auditorium.


Image: Portrait of William Morris by George Frederic Watts

Six Short Films About Nova Scotia Craftspeople

An series of short films, focussing on six of Nova Scotia's finest craftspeople, are to be made viewable online, the first one having been released last week.

Ben Proudfoot has directed the shorts, titled Life's Work: Six Conversations with Makers. Here is the trailer containing clips from all six films.



Last week, Stone, focussing on stone carver Heather Lawson was released and widely enjoyed and acclaimed.



Watch each week as the five remaining films will be released on Vimeo: Turns, featuring Steven Kennard will be released on May 5, followed by Mother Earth (May 19), Fibre & Wood (June 2), Lady Bug (June 16), and Rust (June 30).

Life’s Work is a collaboration between Craft Alliance Atlantic Association and the Nova Scotia Designer Crafts Council.  Funding for the project was provided by ACOA Nova Scotia and Film and Creative Industries Nova Scotia.

Bravo to all!