The arts in Weyburn was the theme for the October 17 meeting of the Town and Country Women, as they met at the home of Margaret Lukey with eight members attending. The thought for the day was, “Creativity is not limited to creating art — it’s also music, writing and other ways of bringing art into everyday life.”
Secretary Kathryn Groshong read the minutes of the September meeting, and treasurer Edith Jacobs gave her report. A donation of $100 was sent to the United Way Communithon.
For the roll call, each person related a short story about the influence of the arts from their school days.
• “My Grade 1 teacher was very artistic. Her example persuaded me to pursue a teaching career. Art can take many forms, even baking is an art.”
• “I loved making homemade valentines for the school party and I treasure a homemade valentine from my son, and a small clay bust made by another son.”
• “I liked art class at school and created a picture of a farmhouse. Actually I believe this fostered an adult interest in embroidery cross-stitch pictures.”
• “Singing and acting in the school Christmas concerts and in high school dramas and three-act plays inspired a love of theatre and acting, and writing plays and skits.”
• “I looked forward to the art class at school and the art appreciation books with coloured pictures of famous paintings and the artist’s history, talented masters of art from around the world. Small coloured pictures of these masterpieces were given to the students, inspiring an appreciation of fine art.”
• “I was a rabbit in a school play and lost my tail. I never forgot that incident and how much fun we had over it, and how we enjoyed acting.”
• “Writing was an actual class with beautiful penmanship as one of the goals. I liked making posters for community events and using fine lettering.”
• “Sewing can be an art form. My mother taught me to sew.”
Kathryn Groshong gave the program on “arts and literature”. Viewing the City of Weyburn’s Permanent Art Collection at the Allie Griffin Art Gallery was most enjoyable. There were painting by former and current well-known artists, such as Pearl Wicks, Hugh Alexander, Edna Markle and many others, each with their own particular style of painting.
Wynonna Mulcaster had a prairie landscape in this display. She taught art at the Sask. Teachers College in Saskatoon for many years, and was known as a trailblazer in the world of art.
She said, “Art is a language, it is not a skill, it’s not a stunt. It’s something you learn to do and put down. It comes from the heart.”
She was born in 1915 in Prince Albert and studied art with A.Y. Jackson and Ernest Linder at the Banff School of Fine Arts from 1935 to 1945. In the late 30s, she helped establish the forerunner of the famed Emma Lake Artists Workshop, and received the Sask. Arts Board Lifetime Award for Excellence in the Arts in 1943.
In 2015, the Mann Art Gallery in Prince Albert celebrated her 100th birthday with an exhibition of her work. Throughout her life, Mulcaster enjoyed combining her passions for art, teaching and her love of riding horses. Even in her 80s, after hip replacement surgeries, she delighted in taking time each day for both painting and riding.
For many years she spent her winters in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, returning to Saskatchewan in the summers to paint her beloved landscapes. She was Kathryn Groshong’s art teacher when she attended Normal School in Regina, and remembers her teaching skills, and her influence and beliefs about teaching art to children. Mulcaster said, “Young children speak the language of art that is as natural as growing.”
She died on Aug. 25, 2016 at her ranch in Mexico.
The Weyburn Arts Council was the first arts council established in Saskatchewan in 1964. The City of Weyburn Permanent Collection is housed at Weyburn City Hall. There are a total of 136 catalogued pieces in the collection of fine art, books, photographs, textiles and historic paintings. They are often exhibited at the Allie Griffin Art Gallery and displayed at City Hall.
“Happy Birthday” was sung to Dorothy Dennis and Margaret Lukey for their October birthdays. Congratulations were extended to Ruth and Gerry Prost for their 59th wedding anniversary. Lunch was served by hostess Margaret Lukey.
