Leanne Cherwinski and I thoroughly enjoyed most of the Thickwood Hills Studio Tour on Sunday near Shell Lake. The tour was cancelled last summer due to the pandemic. There was a large attendance at most studios as people drove for miles to view and purchase the good quality items.
It was a real treat to meet a world-renowned artist, 86-year-old Rigmor Clarke, who moved to Canada from Sweden at age 14. She wished not to be advertised on the guide brochure due to COVID-19 still hovering about, but was happy to see us and took us on a tour of her workshop.
She spends many hours painting and fashioning frames for her paintings. Clarke has sold paintings all over the world, privately and to businesses. She has won many prestigious awards and is the founder of this studio tour, which began 20 years ago.
Clarke’s paintings are impressionistic renderings of Northern Saskatchewan lakes and forests. Most were painted on exploration trips with her husband. One interesting story was years ago in March on Lac La Ronge. The ice started to heave and crack, so they were stranded for nine days before they were rescued.
The Saskatchewan Woodworkers’ Guild set up a display featuring about 10 artisans under a large open tent in Shell lake. President Paul Perron said these gifted individuals hail from Regina, Saskatoon , Prince Albert, Aqueado Beach, Melfort and surrounding areas . Most gather for a three-day sitting with many locals and tourists coming to purchase and view the carefully crafted articles .
There were 12 studios on the tour, and we managed seven of them and, of course, the food venue. It was a day well spent and it will be on my agenda 2022. We ended up visiting Shirley Lamontagne, a retired farmer from Whitkow, who moved into a seniors’ complex last December in Shell Lake. Now she is close to her sister Dawn who only lives a few miles southeast of Shell Lake and frequently sees brother Jack Day from Saskatoon who comes to his rural house on weekends.
Please mark your calendars for this Saturday, Aug. 14 as the Hoffnungfelder Mennonite Mayfair church is hosting a barbecue from 5 to 8 p.m. Cost is $10 per person. If weather doesn’t permit it will be in held in Mayfair Community Hall. Come for supper and reconnect with neighbours and visit with others you have not seen in the last while.
In September there will be a farmers market/craft sale, but the date is unknown. The Creative Corner Club who sponsors this follows Saskatchewan Public Health guidelines and I will keep everyone posted on the coming date.
Local gardener Dora Brown has an abundance of fresh garden vegetables for reasonable prices. Her labour intensive enterprise is in full swing and if you are interested call her at 306-246-4848
Last Saturday, on the first anniversary of Walter Ewanchuk’s passing, his family held a memorial in Whitkow Ukrainian Catholic Church with some relatives and locals attending. Daughter Audrey Mushtayler from Lloydminster and his wife Stella did the organizing. We all enjoyed visiting and are thankful to have attended this celebration.
After the memorial, my husband and I drove to Saskatoon for the live entertainment at the exhibition. Tom Cochrane and Red Rider were enjoyable and at 10:30 p.m., The Stampeders from Calgary, who hadn’t played together in two years, gave an outstanding performance. It started to rain one quarter into their show, but a committed group, who stood in front of the stage during the heavy rain, kept singing and dancing.
