If wolf-woven, the trail is discreet,
pad-soft, whisker driven, intricate,
a twisted run through timber, brush and tall grasses.
We-dogs work this trail with nose and eyes, confronting food,
avoiding the unfamiliar.
If man-made, the trail is wide and clear ,
pad-hard, wheel-driven, open and blunt.
They-dogs run this trail with eyes closed.
We-dogs watch for them. We do remember contact.
But they are unsafe, as exposed on these trails as they are.
We too are unsafe on the man-trails.
Meringues
MacIsaac’s Pond in Inverness has been posted for several years now, against the harvesting of shellfish. The shell debris from hungry gulls has since increased dramatically in volume and in size. Razor clams 10 inches long. None yet appear so neon as this oyster pair but who knows what they’re living on and how it will manifest?
Hibernation
In Ojibwe tradition, Bear is the nurturer, she knows the sources of food and medicines in the bush.
Bear rescued the first human children from starvation by feeding them her own flesh when winter killed off the plants they had learned to feed on.
I bring Bear into the studio with me when winter comes. I ask her spirit for inspiration and fortitude as I make my way toward the images I need to bring into my stories. I trust Bear to direct my vision and to nurture my impulse for creativity.
Artist's Statement
I was born and raised in Northern Ontario. My father was born on the Fort William Reserve. His father was of mixed Ojibwe parents and his mother Acadian. My mother is a war bride from England and all of my family’s stories speak of the rich experience of mixed cultures and the raw newness of the North American frontier.
The story is the primary intent of the images you will find here. Figures, actions and places, whether observed or imagined, are brought together to convey the nature of experience, feeling or vision. Beginning with line, forms grow and incline toward recognizable figures. Figures touch, or don’t touch creating the impression of relationship. If I can keep the lines and forms strong, and the relationships clear, a story will be told and will have an effect on the viewer even if I made it all up.
Va McCoy
Broad Cove Trilogy
I spend much of my days exploring the backcountry around my home in Inverness County, Nova Scotia. I gather images of plants, animals, the ghostlike remains of long abandoned homesteads in this very old place.
3 comments:
This is a great blog and I'm eager to see more paintings! Virginia, thank you for "Pancho's stickgarden", a wonderful painting made on commission, that has a true soul and depth.
Here’s wishing you and all of yours a happy Christmas season.
This is the Duke and Nougie Memorial Christmas Card. Frank and I say goodbye this year and think of them as very comfortably - away in a manger.
The trilogy is beautiful. I wasn't quite sure about the church in the middle but thought it may be the United Church in Inverness. Am I correct?
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