Wellington County Museum and Archives opens new exhibit

WELLINGTON COUNTY – The Wellington County Museum and Archives held an opening reception for a new exhibit on Oct. 5. The exhibit is called A Century Later by the Octarine Artists, inspired by A.J. Casson.

The event marked the beginning of the three-month exhibit, which runs until Dec. 30. Attendees were able to meet the artists and see some of Casson’s original work on display.

Although the group usually has eight members, making it the Octarine Artists, this year they expanded to nine by bringing along a former member of the group.

Members include: Judy French, Carol Hughes, Kim Johnston, Dianne Kennedy-Cruttenden, Gail Brown, Gail Root, M. Anne Smith, Nancy Farrell and guest artist Leslie Miles.

“It’s a group of women called the Octarine Women Artists Collective, and they do a show together every year on different themes,” said the museum’s curator Hailey Johnston.

“This year, their idea was to revisit A.J. Casson’s work in Wellington County.”

Casson was a former member of the Group of Seven, who joined the group in 1926. He had created a particular piece of the Mill in Elora which caught the artist’s attention.

The Octarine Artists went to the same scene, nearly 100 years later, to paint their own interpretations of it.

“In those cases, we’ve hung Casson’s print alongside the new artists work for a bit of a now and then comparison,” said Johnston.

The Octarine Artists work in a variety of mediums such as oil and pastel. Johnston told the Advertiser that there are also some artists in the group who use fiber, so there are tapestries and other fiber art pieces in the new exhibit.

“Many people commented [at the opening] that they feel this is [the Octarine’s] strongest show yet,” Johnston stated in an email.

For more information on the Octarine Artists, visit octarineartists.com.

To read more on the exhibit, visit wellington.ca or call the museum at 519-837-2600.