OFF DAYS

What do writers do on their days off? I don't know, I don't get any. But what I often do between writing sessions is indulge in the rewards of other artistic disciplines. Today, for instance, I accepted an invitation to the McMichael Art Gallery in Kleinberg Ontario with actor Geordie Johnson to share his passion for the works of Fredericton-born painter Mary Pratt.

Mary's work is a careful study of ordinary-seeming objects, often in domestic settings. Food dominates her paintings, with a special emphasis on reflective surfaces--tin foil, saran wrap, glass--used in the preparation and presentation of the subjects. Mary's seemingly off-the-cuff remarks penned beside the works give keen insight into their inspiration and possible interpretation, such as her note about having lost twins in pregnancy not long before creating an eerie but innocent-looking painting of egg shells in their carton.

In addition, the McMichael is the adopted site of Tom Thomson's "shack", as it is called today, a wooden cabin where he lived and worked up until his death in 1917.

Although it's not open to public viewing, you can peer through the windows to see the recreation of his studio.