Members of my family have been part of this club for a long time, and despite having the word game in the title, the Fish and Game club isn’t centered around hunting, at least not so much anymore. They do fish throughout the summer though. They’re very community based; the meetings I went to were very focused on having discussions about the lake the club is on, and getting people’s opinions on matters brought up by the president. After one of the meetings, we went for a walk and they showed me “blocks” that my grandfather had built in order to help preserve the shoreline.
The area the club house is built on was once a gravel pit, so when harsh rains would come their way the water would run down the hill and basically ruin the shoreline. And then there’s the waves from the lake itself and it was just a mess. These blocks help keep the shoreline from receding by allowing the water to drain through them and keep the dirt and gravel intact. Very cool. We also went out and walked to an island that is usually not accessible due to the lake itself. As we went across, they talked about how interesting it was to see what was on the bottom of the lake, like the stones and the neat little clusters and formations they formed over time, and how the different levels of the lake’s bottom were now visible.
It was mucky…very mucky…but very worth it. There were even stumps from trees that were once rooted in the lake who knows how many years ago.
The members of this club have next to no art experience. Interesting natural tips and stories for sure but I thought it would be a nice experiment to take this group of people and throw them into the art world. Last weekend there was a studio tour in Guelph so I invited members to come out and see the different works of art and studios, and talk to some of the artists we met along the way. We saw a variety of pieces, including more traditional works of art like painting, drawing and sculptures, but also artists that work with pottery, jewelry, glass and works of art made from found materials.
The first image was predominately a painting space, but it also had a glass-works studio and print making studio. The following image was taken at a pottery studio. It was interesting overall for me because there was this element of give and take; I went out with them and we explored their world and what they were used too, and then they got to come out and see mine. Very fun.