Artist behind rock sculptures in Humber River revealed - 680News

Artist behind rock sculptures in Humber River revealed - 680News

Recommended Summer Reading - 'Blazing Figures: A Life of Robert Markle'

I encountered Robert Markle a couple of times in the mid 1980's. Following art studies at Georgian College in Owen Sound, I spent a couple of years working at the Tom Thomson Gallery, and with area artists on various community art projects. In 1987 we were installing a group show of local artists at the gallery called The Painted Room, when Robert stopped by to see what was up. We were in the process of installing elements from Markleangelo's, the restaurant he had outfitted in Toronto earlier in the decade. My friend from school, Lincoln Croft, had a couple of works in the show as well.

That same year I happened to be runner up to Mr. Markle in an Owen Sound mural competition, sponsored by the Downtown Business Association. Admittedly his was the better piece by far, and it remained on various Owen Sound walls for many years. I wonder where it is now? Later that same year I remember attending an artist talk he gave at the Durham Art Gallery, where he discussed his work, and showed slides of his Great Horned Serpent of Egremont - a massive construction on his Holstein area property made entirely of century old cedar rails.

Robert Markle lived outside Mount Forest, about twelve miles from where I was raised in Clifford, for twenty years. He would have traveled the same backroads and drank in the same hotels that we did - he was renowned for his visits to the local taverns and strip clubs that were the source of much of his work, and famously 'held court' regularly at the Mount Royal Tavern in Mount Forest with his country and city friends. Sadly, he died in 1990 on his way home from a night out in a violent collision with a tractor.

(Robert Markle, far right, 'holding court.')

J.A. Wainwright begins his excellent book, "Blazing Figures: A Life of Robert Markle" telling the story of Markle's death. And throughout this biography, and tribute to a lifelong friend, he spares nothing in the telling of this fascinating story of the life of one of Canada's most dedicated and determined artists. Markle made drawing and painting the female figure his life's work, employing his masterful skills in an endless quest to interpret the relationship between the artist and his muse.

Wainwright's book flows like an undulating Grey County road, giving space equally to the highs and lows that are inevitable in the life of an artist like Robert Markle. "Blazing Figures: A Life of Robert Markle" isn't just an art book - so don't be intimidated. It is the story of a man and his search for self amidst tempera washes and lots of beer!

Note: The next time you are traveling highway six through Mount Forest, look for Markle's main street mural, a fixture on the side of the grocery store for 25 years.

A Day-trip to Ontario's Largest Sand Pile

An advantage of living in Brantford, Ontario is that we are centrally located - just an hour from anywhere. On Friday we took a short drive to Sand Hill Park, located between Port Rowan and Port Burwell along the north shore of Lake Erie.

For twenty years we've been exploring these back-roads, and have driven past Sand Hill Park countless times, but finally made a commitment to visit Ontario's largest sand pile after reading about it in Ron Brown's Top 100 Unusual Things to See in Ontario. Brown is the author of over a dozen books on Ontario's ghost towns and roadside attractions.

Towering more than 120 metres above Lake Erie, the sand hill has been growing and shifting for centuries due to the prevailing southwest winds. The wind is so constant that surrounding farm lands, once renowned as the tobacco belt, now harvest the wind. Only the crashing waves of Lake Erie drown out the constant whirring and whooshing of the gigantic three propeller turbines that are quickly dominating the landscape of Ontario's South Coast.

We found the privately operated Sand Hill Park to be an excellent and inexpensive day-trip destination. At just $6.00 per person (children under 12 free) we were able to tumble down the sand pile to a Lake Erie swim and provided with a pleasant setting for our picnic. If you are a camper the park offers various options for your tent or travel trailer.

If you are going, make sure to check out the coastal town of Port Burwell, where you'll find one of the last remaining wooden lighthouses on the Lake Erie shoreline, still accessible to the public for a birds-eye view of the area. The adjacent marine museum and nearby Port Burwell Provincial Park are also worth a visit.

American Graffiti at the Mammoth Caves

We celebrated Canada Day this year by touring the Mammoth Caves, just west of Interstate 71 at Park City, Kentucky. If you haven't been, the caves are a labyrinth of passages and underground rooms that have been attracting tourists for 200 years to the 'middle of nowhere Kentucky', as the Tour Guide noted.

With the tourists came graffiti, most of it dating to pre-1941, when the caves were purchased from area residents (many reluctantly) to become a National Park. The above photograph illustrates an early example created using a blackening method. A candle was held to the cave ceiling and smudged dots - much like a magnified ink jet printer - were repeated to form a name or message. Tour guides would allow the cave writing for a small tip.

The Mammoth Caves are as interesting for their place in the history of tourism as they are for their geological wonders. Early on they were a destination for the wealthy, who would tour the caves in their best dress, and stay at fine establishments in nearby towns like Cave City. Later, as operators began to realize the enormous profits available to them through providing underground tours, 'cave wars' began, where rival property owners would outdo themselves by way of carnival like attractions within the caves. Subterranean cable car and boat rides are just two examples.

The height of cave craziness may have been the media event that surrounded the death of cave explorer Floyd Collins in 1925. On a quest to find a passage from his own Crystal Cave to Mammoth Cave (which would have increased his tourism revenue) Collins became trapped.

He died two weeks later, not before his entombment became front page news and a full-blown media circus erupted overhead. This event is loosely adapted in the 1951 film The Big Carnival (also known as Ace in the Hole) starring Kirk Douglas. A more factual film version of the Floyd Collins story based on the book Trapped! is rumoured to be in the works by Billy Bob Thornton.

The Mammoth Caves are certainly worth a visit.

If you are interested in going, let me know and I'd

be happy to send along information.

Hosting a Lawn Sale is a Great Way to Get to Know Your Community

A guest heading to a neighbour's backyard brought to our attention that our yard sale had become a yearly tradition, coinciding with the birthday party he was headed to. Well, I guess after three years we officially reserve the last weekend in June for the Demerling Yard Sale.

This year, the kids were successful at earning some spending money for our short trip to Kentucky this week. I didn't make out so well, slicing my leg while recycling cardboard, and ending up with seven stitches!

But the best part of any yard sale has to be the opportunity to meet new friends. We've lived in Brantford for over twenty years - half our lives now - and yet it is truly incredible how much more you can learn about your community by inviting residents to drop by your laneway to buy your stuff.

If you haven't held a lawn sale of your own, I'd encourage you to do so. It can be a lot of work, but the reward of meeting interesting folk from your town is worth the effort.

Canadian Redneck Games in Minto this Weekend

We all spend too much of our short lives pretending to be something we are not. But in the Town of Minto (the amalgamated Clifford, Harriston and Palmerston) citizens have embraced their perceived identity and created the Canadian Redneck Games - pig's feet, toilet seats, et al.

A series of tourism strategy focus groups back in 2005 suggested that a community weakness was a 'redneck' identity. Community leaders promptly squeezed that lemon to produce this annual festival. Weekend events include the 'Mudpit Belly Flop', 'Bobbin' for Pig's Feet', and 'Redneck Horseshoes' - this might be where the toilet seats come in. There is even a 'Redneck Wedding' at 5 p.m Saturday.

I don't know how current Minto residents feel (I'd like to hear your thoughts) about being the adopted Hillbilly Capital of Canada, but I don't recall 'redneck' being a part of the vernacular when I grew up in Clifford. But then again I was 10 years out of town by the time Jeff Foxworthy released his best selling 'You Might be a Redneck if...' comedy album in 1993. As young persons we certainly fit the Town of Minto redneck criteria - 'we lived in a rural area, worked hard for our money, and enjoyed a good time.'

I won't be revisiting my redneck roots this June 25-27, but if you have a chance take a drive to Clifford, Harriston and Palmerston to check out what these great little communities, pig's feet and all, have to offer. And be sure to wear your best cutoffs.

Pick Strawberries with Your Dad this Father's Day

This morning, after a visit to the Brantford Farmer's Market, we went strawberry picking at Sunny Terrace Farms, along Salt Springs Church Road just outside of town. The road winds along the Grand River to an expansive strawberry patch, where we picked three flats (18 pints?) of strawberries for just $30.00, roughly half the price if you buy them already gathered. I usually have found some excuse for missing berry picking, yet have never felt guilty enjoying the fruits of my family's labour! It was a great way to spend an hour with my family, and I highly recommend strawberry picking as a Father's Day event!

Wellington County's First Electric Car

When I remember my dad this weekend, one of the memories that comes to mind is the electric car he built for me in the basement of our house in Clifford, Ontario. My dad, Wayne Demerling, was an automobile mechanic by trade, the old school kind that knew how to fix things. His skills were learned on the shop floor of Demerling's Garage, founded by his dad Eldon in 1939, and still in operation today by grandson Terry.

When I was no more than four or five (late 60's) my dad built an electric car, using a car battery and an electric motor. I remember it had a wooden body, painted green by me with some paint found in the house. It had a lever for forward and reverse, and I would careen around the jack-post in the open basement in Wellington County's first electric car.

I don't remember the car being around very long, but do recall it made its final trip to the old Clifford dump (where another Demerling innovation - a snow-machine built from an Isetta) ended up.

I wish I had a photo of that car, and more photos of my dad, as I remember him this Father's Day.

BP (Better Practices) in Our Use of Petroleum Products

The environmental disaster (nightmare) in the Gulf of Mexico has forced me to consider my lifelong relationship with oil. From the opening credits to The Beverly Hillbillies to the many years (age 10 to 22) working in family owned service stations and auto repair shops, I've been around a lot of oil.

I've pumped tens of thousands of liters of gas and changed the oil on hundreds of vehicles. As a kid we played on the oil soaked (a dust suppressant) streets of Clifford, Ontario. We didn't always exercise the most responsible disposal or cleanup methods, either. Many a gallon of old oil was thrown carelessly behind the garage or burned in the wood stove. Gasoline spills were often washed down the storm drain, sometimes so much that vapours would rise from a neighbour's kitchen sink.

This was the 1970's - we didn't know any better and no one was rushing to provide information and education about safe petroleum handling practices!

I like to think that I've evolved, at least a little, over the past thirty years. I have a gas mower, but it has been abandoned in favour of a reel mower. I'm even working to put back in service a vintage reel mower found in my father-in-law's shed. Instead of the two-cycle weed wacker I've been using a 12 volt trimmer for nearly three years. Both alternatives are gentler and quieter - I don't need to announce to Eagle Place in Brantford that I'm grooming the Demerling acreage.

When I change the oil on our vehicles, I save it for disposal at one of the monthly household hazardous waste disposal events at the local landfill. Yes, going to the dump is an event, just as it was when I was a kid.

And for the first time in a number of years I have a bicycle, and am taking great pleasure in the brief and not frequent enough rides along the trail system near our home.

I hope everyone is rethinking their oil dependency (addiction) and finding small ways to lower consumption so that one day (if we don't use up our nine lives in the process) we can avert environmental catastrophes like the BP disaster.

Going Full Tilt into Community Carnival Season

This week marks the unofficial start of the community carnival season. Soon the bright lights wild rides of the midway will set up in fairgrounds and parking lots across the country, as the carnival comes to town!

In Brantford where I live, Campbell Amusements, family ran in the Telephone City since 1967, annually sets up the midway in the Civic Centre parking lot. Tonight you could ride the midway for just a buck a thrill!

When I was a kid the midway was a big deal. The only time I remember attending one in Clifford was during the 1974 Centennial. However, we would always make a trip to the fall fairs in nearby Harriston or Hanover. I wonder how the midway rides rank with kids today? With 3-D television and lifelike computer and video games, perhaps the carnival is old-hat?

I watched my daughter Rachael tonight as she mustered up the nerve to ride Full Tilt with her big brother. Throughout the ride she was white-knuckled and visibly nervous, and from the ground I felt for her. But she wanted to ride again!

Keep your Halo and 3-D. There is no greater thrill than riding the Scrambler or the Zipper to pounding rock music and the background bark of a carnival huckster. When the carnival comes to your town this season, don't hesitate to visit it with your family.

A Cow Can Be Your Friend on Twitter

When I was a kid, my Uncle Howard had on his farm a herd of milk cows. (His definition of a herd was probably no more than seven or eight!) He was an avid woodworker as well, and I was always impressed by the name plates he had mounted in the stall for each of the cows, and a little befuddled by the fancy crate that contained his milking machine, which I'm sure he never used.

Uncle Howard also gave us the opportunity to try our hand at milking the cows, something few Canadian kids have experienced. Michelle Ruby writes in the Monday, April 5 edition of the Brantford Expositor about a Brant County farmer, Chris Vandenburg, who is participating in a one-year "Dairy Diary" project coordinated by the University of Waterloo, where the milking activities of selected Holsteins are followed on Twitter through a 'tweet' triggered by a robotic milker.

Social networking with your favourite bovine is intended to educate us about the sources of our food and help transform our perception of farming - more than 80% of Canadians are urbanites and will never set foot on a farm. I'm not sure how successful Uncle Howard was as a farmer, but he certainly succeeded in giving me an education and appreciation of the value of the family farm.

(And if Uncle Howard had ever owned a computer, I'm sure it would be stored in a finely crafted crate!)

Hamilton Plays Itself in Woody Harrelson Film

In Defendor, Woody Harrelson plays an offbeat super-hero who dons a shoe black mask, black tights and a duct-taped 'D' on his chest to defend The Hammer against the evil Captain Industry. Yes, in this film the gritty City of Hamilton, belching smokestacks and all, is the star.

It is refreshing to see a city with as much character, tradition and integrity as Hamilton portrayed as is. "All the money in Hollywood could not give me this setting. You cannot recreate settings like that" states director Peter Stebbings.

It is important that communities acknowledge and embrace their identity, and to not pretend to be someplace they are not. In Hamilton, the escarpment waterfalls and the steel mill wharves can share equal billing.

Read Mark McNeil's article in Saturday's Hamilton Spectator, and be sure to catch a special Hamilton screening of Defendor at the Westdale Cinema this Friday, March 26.

The Stables Deliver a Shotgun Set at Brantford Concert

A back-lit banjo and a blended banana made strange bedfellows in Brantford last night as USS and The Stables played this frontier town as part of their westward bound Highway to Health Canadian tour.

The too few Jackhammers' crowd had certainly come for the hyper-energetic, pop-infused scratching and strumming of Ubiquitous Synergy Seekers Ash and Human Kabob, but The Stables' shotgun 'blackgrass' set has made me a fan!

Hailing from the 'Shwa', the trio's hardened harmonies accompanied by hand-made instruments were the antithesis to the gadget assisted USS set. While USS ended the evening with a ritualistic smoothie, blended and drunk as a symbolic intake of energy generated from the show, The Stables spilled their souls on stage with poetic tunes about love, death, addiction - life in a post industrial city like Oshawa or Brantford.

The players - Darren 'Choo Choo' Clarke, Blind Billy Blasko and Poor Pelly - all masterful musicians, rotated freely (at the call of 'snowball') between instruments ranging from guitar, a suitcase drum kit, and a washtub bass built with what looked to be Bobby Orr's hockey stick from his days as an Oshawa General. I was particularly impressed by Poor Pelly's light-box banjo.

Poor Pelly writes about their songs and shows: "Sometimes we are happy.... sometimes sad.... sometimes we are pissed off... our songs reflect who we are at the moment we write them. But when we get on stage to perform them for people it's always a celebration."

The Stables perform tonight at the historic Red Dog Tavern in Peterborough, and Monday in Thunder Bay as they head west with USS. Check them out when they come through your town. And be sure to track down Poor Pelly at the merchandise table - I didn't and regret not picking up their CD, which appears to be available only through their shows or the iTunes store.

Little House on the Prairie - A Lesson in Community Development

Each weeknight CTS (Crossroads Television System) broadcasts episodes of Little House on the Prairie, which I enjoy watching with my daughter Rachael. In tonight's episode, The Pride of Walnut Grove, the town's school board sponsors Mary's trip to Minneapolis, where she is selected to compete in a statewide mathematics competition.

In order to combat Pa's pride, Mr. Hanson and Ms. Beedle convince him that the trip is an important opportunity for the community - "How often do we get a chance to see Walnut Grove in the paper?" Mr. Hanson asks.

Mary's trip to the city was positioned as an important development and promotional opportunity for Walnut Grove. And the community pride displayed when Mary returns home with the second place prize helps define the culture of the pioneer town. Walnut Grove prides itself on perseverance, dedication, hard work, and community support.

Little House on the Prairie reruns, now 35 years old, air at 7 p.m. Check them out. They are great lessons in community development.

South Side of Colborne Street Brantford Saved!

As the demolition of 41 buildings along a three block stretch of Colborne street in Brantford draws nearer, the 1,600 followers of the Facebook site Save the South Side of Colborne Street need to be congratulated for their determination. Although they won't change the minds of City Council or stop the bulldozers, they have through their tireless advocacy 'saved' the south side.

In just a few short weeks, the group has raised more awareness, assembled more research, and contributed more historical documentation in support of this stretch of buildings than has probably been accumulated during the lifetime of the structures. Their collective work will not go unnoticed, and will help to set the standard in Brantford and other communities for defining inclusive processes for community development, especially where built heritage is concerned.

Although I personally feel that clearing the way for new development is the best option for Brantford at this time, I have a great deal of respect for the heritage of our communities, and the dedicated and devoted that work tirelessly to preserve it.

Learning Through the Arts Creates Recycled Fashions in Niagara Region Schools

Niagara Region artist Angie Geiss, through her In the Orchard art program, has found a way to keep discarded clothing from the dumpster. In partnership with Niagara schools and Salvation Army thrift stores, Geiss works with students to create wearable, recycled fashions, according to this article in the St. Catharines Standard. Jeans, sweaters, shoes, scarves, handbags and much more are transformed under the guidance of area artists as part of this innovative program. Look for this Learning Through the Arts Initiative, with support from the Ontario Arts Council, to be exhibited in the Niagara Region soon.

Art or Trash? Art Bin Defines Creative Recycling

In Taking Out the Trash, Elizabeth Davies writes for the CBC about a new installation by British artist Michael Landy. His Art Bin is on display in London until March 14.

By invitation, the Art Bin accepts discarded or rejected works by artists - a legitimized purge described as 'defining creative recycling.'

The article goes on to suggest that the cumulative work will be hauled to the landfill at the end of the show. What is the point? Perhaps a more creative solution would be to invite the public to rummage through the bin and find new homes or uses for the items. Once it is kicked to the curb, art or trash is fair game.

Please don't use the veil of 'art' as a justification to clog landfills.

The Wisdom of Friedrich Nietzsche

In March of 1995 Mark Moran of Wyoming, Ontario began publishing Daytripping, a unique bi-monthly travel guide and directory to the wonders of Southwestern Ontario. Mark fills his paper with small town tourism information and advertisements, and nuggets of information that need to be repurposed, including The Wisdom of Friedrich Nietzsche, reprinted here.

(Portrait of Friedrich Nietzsche by Edvard Munch)

• All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking.

• We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once. And we should call every truth false which was not accompanied by at least one laugh.

• Glance into the world just as though time were gone: and everything crooked will become straight to you.

• He who cannot give anything cannot feel anything either.

• He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.

• He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying.

• In every real man a child is hidden that wants to play.

• One ought to hold on to one's heart; for if one lets it go, one soon loses control of the head too.

• All things are subject to interpretation. Whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth.

• Art is the proper task of life.

Authentic Theatre Chairs

An advertisement appeared today on the classified website Kijiji listing 'authentic theatre chairs for sale - ideal for your home theatre!' The Ingersoll Theatre for Performing Arts has 150 seats available as of August 1, when I expect they will be replaced by something more stylish, and comfortable.

Before television and the VCR kept us inside our homes, theatres were the social centres of our communities. The Peterborough Museum and Archives recreates the ambiance of an evening at the theatre with their traveling exhibition Voices of the Town: Vaudeville in Canada, currently on display until April 2 at the Spruce Row Museum in Waterford. As the promotion for the exhibit describes, a visit to an opulent vaudeville house was almost as exciting as the performance itself.

Whether it be a movie or a play, the experience is certainly enhanced when it is enjoyed in a vintage theatre in a stiff, old seat. What they lack in foam padding they compensate with history. Maybe your favourite seat in aisle seven is exactly where your granddad sat sixty years before? I know putting 'bums in seats' is essential for making theatres viable, but I prefer that mine doesn't have a cup holder or a head rest!

Cambridge Artist Sue Sturdy to Blanket Grand River Bridge

This summer, look for an innovative public art project spanning the Grand River in downtown Cambridge. Artist Sue Sturdy, as reported in this Hamilton Spectator article with photograph by Peter Lee, plans to knit a huge blanket which she will drape over both sides of the Main Street bridge in old Galt. She will be assisted by members of the Kitchener-Waterloo Knitters Guild and community members, who will contribute blocks that will be knitted into the 'bridge cosy'.

This project is a great example of an effective public art project, integrated with the heritage of the community. Banks of the Grand River in Galt and Hespeler are lined with old factories that a century ago housed textile mills that were for decades the lifeblood of the community.

Sue is also involved in coordinating the 'World Wide Knit in Public Day' event in Cambridge, to be held June 19 & 20 at the Cambridge City Hall and Cambridge Centre for the Arts. She is also developing a book that will include people's tales and stories about knitting. For more information about this project you may contact Sue by email to sturdys@cambridge.ca