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Art at the heart<br />
OF A VILLAGE<br />
travelstyle<br />
ENRICH YOUR VISIT TO BLYTH<br />
By Janis Wallace<br />
Art is about storytelling and Cindy<br />
McKenna and Hans Veenvliet<br />
believe small-town Ontario is an<br />
ideal place to share stories. Their<br />
Wild Goose Canada Studio invites people<br />
in, to spend some time with the works,<br />
the makers and admire the old building<br />
in Blyth.<br />
“When they leave, people appreciate<br />
getting to know the art, the artist and<br />
the building,” says Veenvliet. “They leave<br />
with an experience.”<br />
McKenna agrees. “It’s a whole different<br />
atmosphere being in a small town.”<br />
But it wasn’t their original plan. “When<br />
we married seven years ago, we had a<br />
place in Southampton,” says McKenna.<br />
Both are artists and wanted to expand<br />
that space to offer more workshops.<br />
While picking up some art from the<br />
Blyth Festival Theatre, they noticed a<br />
gallery across the street. An offhand<br />
comment that the building was for sale<br />
switched their plans abruptly. “It had<br />
absolutely everything we needed,” says<br />
McKenna. “A huge space, room for expansion,<br />
three garages for workshops and<br />
a store front.”<br />
Hans Veenvliet and Cindy McKenna are promoting culture<br />
as part of life in the village of Blyth. The couple purchased<br />
an old store, across from the Blyth Festival Theatre, and<br />
have developed it into a multi-use space called Wild Goose<br />
Canada Studio.<br />
They created a gallery, workshop<br />
space, a writer’s loft and guest suite.<br />
The loft is designed to be an inspirational<br />
spot for writers, playwrights, artists<br />
and musicians. The B&B is an intimate<br />
extension of the gallery.<br />
The gallery offers group and individual<br />
shows of Ontario artists, many from the<br />
Blyth area. “We’re building an artistic<br />
community,” says Veenvliet.<br />
“Children are my passion, and we<br />
provide art classes and fun camps yearround,”<br />
says McKenna. They built Little<br />
Rita Rutabaga’s house in the garden,<br />
complete with a small stage. Inspired by<br />
folk artist Maud Lewis, Veenvliet cut<br />
plywood butterflies, flowers and birds<br />
and invited children to paint them, then<br />
added them to the house.<br />
The main building recounts its history<br />
hosting various retail enterprises over the<br />
years. It also survived a fire that gives a<br />
patina to one area of the original tin ceiling.<br />
The couple enhanced it and exposed<br />
chimney brick damaged in the fire.<br />
Veenvliet built a stone fireplace as a<br />
gathering spot. They also hold weekly<br />
workshops “based on prayer, in which<br />
people can express themselves creatively,”<br />
says McKenna.<br />
“I watch people come in, their reaction<br />
is mostly OMG,” says Veenvliet. “It's<br />
constant. It’s a lot of fun. People who<br />
love art look, linger and ask about the<br />
artists and the building. It turned out<br />
really well.” •<br />
● FOR MORE INFORMATION • WILD GOOSE CANADA STUDIO • 432 Queens Steet, Blyth • 519-386-5868 • https://wildgoosestudiocanada.square.site/<br />
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