Homer Watson House & Gallery

Looking to get creative during the upcoming long weekend? Artist-instructor Jacquie is hosting a one day workshop for watercolour sunflowers! Learn to paint sunflowers in three different ways; fun and free or relaxed, but realistic!

Sunflower Fun in Watercolours:

📅 Sunday August 4th, 2024
🕐 1:30-5:30

Friends of the Gallery price: $65.00
Regular: $70.00

Looking for a fun and creative way to spend time with your friends? Sign up for one of our art programs together during our Bring a Friend promotion and receive an extra 10% off your HWHG (minimum 2 people) program registration!

For workshop details, go to our website at, https://www.homerwatson.on.ca/programs/calendar/ =814&cid=1700&wid=801&type=Cal

We are looking for vendors for our annual outdoor Spirit Market on Saturday, October 5th, 2024, from 11-4 pm. Our spirit-themed market will be a part of Culture Days, celebrating arts, culture, and creativity.

About the Spirit Market:

Homer Watson showed an interest in spiritualism at an early age, which influenced both his personal life and his artwork. In the 1920’s, Homer Watson’s interest in spiritualism was deepened with the passing of his wife loving Roxana. The Spirit Market carries on the tradition of the exploration and practice of spiritualism. Join other enthusiasts with spirit-themed vendors and workshops.

For more details on the market, please visit our website, https://www.homerwatson.on.ca/upcoming-events/spirit-market/

Have you checked out our latest exhibition, Renewal? It's bursting with color and texture—perfect for your Insta feed! 📸✨. Including the quilted Phoenix wings titled, Rise Again, by Susan Avishai. When viewing the piece, that artist encourages you to think about, what new life can we bring to what we no longer want?

📸 Tag us in your photos:

Insta: homerwatsonhouse

Rise Again, 2019 Susan Avishai, Ontario

Artist description: The Phoenix is a mythical bird that cyclically renews itself, rising from the ashes of its predecessor, its life force eternal. I use the metaphor of reincarnation to show the artful possibilities within materials, previously thought of as past their use or esthetic value. The Phoenix wings transformed cast-off men's shirts into a work of art. My hope is that when viewers stand in front of them, they feel tangibly renewed, asking themselves, what new life can we bring to what we no longer want? Hand cutting, machine and hand sewing, quilting, gluing. Deconstructed men's shirt parts, polyester fill, buttons, thread.

$3500
72 x 72"

Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc.

For the final day of , we are highlighting Phoebe Watson’s Palette Garden. Planted inside a ring of stones, the Palette Garden was named for its shape which imitates an artist’s palette. Inside the garden, Phoebe planted colourful plants to “honour the colour-splashed palette of her brother”. 🪻🌷

Read the full blog post on our history and archives website, https://history.homerwatson.on.ca/phoebes-palette-garden/

New online art programs with Kamalpreet starting July 21st!

Doodle Art with Kamalpreet ✏️
📅 Sundays July 21, 28, August 4, 11
🕐12:30-2:30pm
💻 Online

This online class is perfect for both beginners and experienced artists who want to explore the playful and expressive art of doodling. Get ready to turn your doodles into captivating works of art, filled with character and charm. Beginners are welcome. Suitable for teens and adults.

Friends of the Gallery price: $80.00
Regular: $89.00

For more details on this online class got to our website: https://www.homerwatson.on.ca/programs/calendar/ =820&cid=1700&wid=801&type=Cal

Paper Quilling with Kamalpreet

📅 Sundays July 21, 28, August 4, 11, 18, 25 (6 weeks)
🕐 4:30-6:30pm
💻 Online

Join Kamalpreet in exploring the art of paper quilling. Quilling involves using strips of paper that are rolled, looped, curled, twisted and otherwise manipulated to create different shapes, and glued together to create decorative designs. Suitable for teens and adults.

Friends of the Gallery price: $80.00
Regular: $89.00

For more details visit our website, https://www.homerwatson.on.ca/programs/calendar/ =821&cid=1700&wid=801&type=Cal

Register today! Sign up for a program with a friend and get an additional 10% off. Use promo code BAF2024 at checkout.

Currently on display 🖼

For a limited time we are highlighting the Doon School of Fine Arts in the main hallways and Watson Studio in the gallery.

In the main hallway of the Gallery, we are featuring the work of a Doon School of Fine Art Student, Donna Mazurek-Letson. Donna began painting at a young age and come to the Doon School of Fine Arts as a teenager.

In the Watson Studio, we have a display about summer at the Doon School of Fine Arts where you can see past photos, brochures and post cards.

You can learn more by visiting in-person or going to our history and archives website, https://history.homerwatson.on.ca/

Closet Fix-Up Workshop (2 Part Workshop) with Ivonne ✂️

📅 Part 1 – Friday, August 9, 5:00-7:00PM ,
📅 Part 2 – Friday, August 23, 5:00-7:00PM

Learn how to rejuvenate your closet with creative ways to repair and enhance your outfits. Explore different techniques such as mending, embroidery, and printing to transform your closet, giving new life to old favorites and adding a fresh spin to your everyday attire.

This hands-on workshop is your gateway to a more sustainable and stylish approach to fashion. Bring those stained clothes! Let's roll up our sleeves, get crafty, and unleash your inner fashion designer in a fun and engaging environment!

Teens/Young Adults 16yrs+ are welcome.

Friends of the Gallery price:$60.00
Regular price: $65.00

Register today!
https://www.homerwatson.on.ca/programs/calendar/ =815&cid=1700&wid=801&type=Cal

We are pleased to announce our NEW ONLINE SHOP! We are working with a third party print-on-demand company called PRINTFUL. You can now purchase your own Homer Watson House & Gallery designed items and have them delivered right to your door.

Printful handles all the printing and shipping which allows us to focus on creating new exciting items. Keep coming back to see what’s new in our online shop!

https://mailchi.mp/ad5e3861dbca/new-online-gift-shop

Do you have a fond memory of visiting Homer Watson House & Gallery? 📸 Post a selfie or a photo and a blurb describing your experience with us for by July 17th for a chance to win awesome prizes! 🎁 Visit the Historic Places Days website for more details. www.historicplacesdays.ca/contests

Make sure to tag us and with the hashtag

Sharing a meal is a universal human experience that brings us closer together. 🍽 The Watson family often gathered to share a meal in the basement of the house. The Doon School students had their meals in the same space. Though the basement area is now a classroom, people still gather on the grounds to picnic. 🥪

Read about the experience of Dinner at the Watsons: https://history.homerwatson.on.ca/dinner-at-the-watsons/

Do you have a favourite family recipe or mealtime tradition? Leave a comment below!

Join us in discovering the significance of historic places through the theme of food and gardens! . Get creative with a selfie or photo and post it on Facebook or Instagram with the hashtag before July 17 for a chance to win $500! Enter the contest today.
www.historicplacesdays.ca/contests

Image 1: Doon School students gathered for a meal together. The dining room was located in the lower basement floor of the Watson House. C.1954.

Image 2: Teacup, milk pitcher and sugar bowl painted by Phoebe Watson. In addition to painting china, Phoebe hosted tea at the house – a tradition carried on by Ruthe Cayley. HWHG Permanent Collection.

Sunflower Fun in Watercolours with Jacquie 🌻

📆 Sunday August 4th, 2024 (1 Day Workshop)
🕘 1:30-5:30pm in the Garden Studio

Learn to paint sunflowers in three different ways; fun and free or relaxed, but realistic. Composition and value sketches will be a first step, before diving into painting. The colour wheel and complimentary colours will be discussed.

A demonstration will show you how you can take a loose approach to painting sunflowers. The second painting will be a more realistic approach to painting sunflowers. Watercolour techniques, such as wet into wet, wet on dry, dry brush and negative painting will be an important part of the instruction.

🎨 Come and have fun!

Sign up today, https://www.homerwatson.on.ca/programs/calendar/ =814&cid=1700&wid=801&type=Cal

We’re entering the summer months and people are planning their getaways. ☀️ Did you know that Doon used to be a vacation hotspot? ⛱

Willow Lake was a small, local beach created in the 1920s when the Cluthe family trucked in sand to form a beach around the Doon Mills mill pond. Hundreds would drive in to enjoy swimming and cottaging. It was also a popular place for students at the nearby Doon School of Fine Arts to come and paint. 🎨

The lake washed out after a huge storm in the 1960s – but it’s now known as Willow Lake Park!

To explore more of our history and archives, go to https://history.homerwatson.on.ca/

New staff alert! We would like to re-introduce Shannon to the team as our new Education Assistant & Clay Studio Technician! Here's a little message from Shannon about what she is going to be doing in her new role...

"Hi Everyone, my name is Shannon! You may recognize me from my previous roles as a HWHG instructor, museum guide, and curatorial intern. In my new role as Education Assistant & Clay Studio Technician I will provide support to our programming team and tend to the needs of the Pottery Studio located in the historical Coach House. In my own art practice I flux between printmaking, fibre art, sculpture, and painting.

The Coach House Pottery Studio has been repurposed many times since it was originally used by the Watson's as a stable and chicken coop. By the 1950s it was converted into a classroom and dorm for students of the Doon School of Fine Arts. It continues to serve the community as a pottery studio for lessons in both hand built and wheel thrown pottery."

We are so thrilled to have Shannon join our team in a larger capacity, and we can't wait to see what Shannon has to offer!

Welcome Fridays all summer with us.

Teas at 2 at Guelph Museums - McCrae House

Open
Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory
City of Waterloo Museum - Conestoga Mall
Homer Watson House & Gallery
THEMUSEUM
Gallery of Guelph
Brubacher House
Castle Kilbride
Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery
Guelph Museums - Civic and McCrae House
-Waterloo Art Gallery
History Museum
Archives and Special Collections
Langen Art Gallery
The Arboretum, University of Guelph
Region of Waterloo Museums & Archives - Ken Seiling Waterloo Region Museum, McDougall Cottage, and Schneider Haus
Cambridge Art Galleries
Wellington County Museum and Archives

New staff alert! Help us welcome our education assistant Emmi! Read the personal welcome message from Emmi below...

Hello! My name is Emmi and I’m excited to be a part of the HWHG team as an Education and Programs Assistant. I will be spending my time here developing and supporting the educational programs.

When I’m not here you can find me outside talking to the plants and the bugs, running youth art workshops, or creating my own art! 🖌🖍️

My favourite part of the HWHG is the grounds, particularly the fairy garden, and the clay sculptures that surround it by local artist Glenn Smith. This one is called The Three Brothers.

📣 Applications are still open for The Waterloo Region Record - Lyle S. Hallman Foundation Kids to Camp Fund. Homer Watson House & Gallery camps are designed to challenge and develop the skill sets of little artists ages 4-14. Each day is a new artistic adventure and may include painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpting and more.

Summer Art Camp at the Homer Watson House & Gallery is supported by The Waterloo Region Record – Lyle S. Hallman Foundation Kids to Camp Fund held at Waterloo Region Community Foundation. This fund will cover 100% of summer camp fees for the selected applicants.

📅 Apply now and seize this fantastic opportunity to learn, create, and grow! Spaces are limited, so don't miss out!

About the Fund:
The Waterloo Region Record – Lyle S. Hallman Foundation Kids to Camp Fund provides grants to camps enabling children and youth who reside in Waterloo Region (Cambridge, Kitchener, North Dumfries, Waterloo, Wellesley, Wilmot, or Woolwich) and need financial assistance to attend camp.

Since 2014, over $1.5 million has been distributed to support kids in having a camp experience. Prior to beginning your child(ren)’s registration please read the guidelines below to ensure you meet the specific criteria. Note: All questions must be answered in full in order for your application to be processed.

Applications will remain confidential, and the information will only be used to determine eligibility for subsidy funds.

Go to: https://www.homerwatson.on.ca/programs/camps/summer-camps/

Spots still available for Clay Vessels with Shannon (In Person)

📆 Sundays July 7, 14, 21, 28 (4 Weeks)
🕘 4:30 - 6:30PM in the Coach House

This course focuses on a variety of hand building and wheel-throwing techniques in clay. Each participant will create a vessel: a clay sculpture capable of holding something precious to you. This class is open to all adults and teenagers (13 and older). Beginners welcome!

*Materials Provided

Sign up for a program with a friend and get an additional 10% off. Use promo code BAF2024 at checkout.

https://www.homerwatson.on.ca/programs/calendar/ =811&cid=1700&wid=801&type=Cal

What's New this Month at HWHG ☀️ -

Homer Watson House & Gallery Homer Watson House & Gallery logo on a grey background.

📣 Our featured artist for July is Ivonne! Discover more about Ivonne below...

What is your name? Do you have a company/artist name?
▪️ My name is Ivonne, and my artist name is Mrs Fox.

What kind of art do you create?
▪️I specialize in embroidery and block-printing, constantly exploring innovative ways to blend these two passions.

What classes are you teaching here at the gallery?
▪️ I'm teaching the "Closet Fix-up Workshop" where participants will discover a range of techniques and tips to breathe new life into their stained or damaged clothes, transforming them into even more beautiful pieces.

What is one thing about you that would surprise people?
▪️ I'm an autodidact artist with a profound connection to nature, which is my primary wellspring of inspiration.

Make sure to check out Ivonne on social media:
Instagram:
Website: https://mrsfox.co/

Closet Fix-Up Workshop (2 Part Workshop) with Ivonne
📆Friday, August 9, 5:00-7:00PM and Friday, August 23, 5:00-7:00PM
🎟 Friends of the Gallery price: $60.00
🎟 Regular price: $65.00

Register today: https://www.homerwatson.on.ca/programs/calendar/ =815&cid=1700&wid=801&type=Cal

Gallery Closure 🔔

HWHG will be closed from Tuesday July 2nd - Thursday July 4th for exhibition changeover.

We will be reopening Friday July 5th.

We are honoured to have displayed 'Rigged' by Julie Sperling and 'The Stone that Moves Me: My Relationship with Material' by Heather Vollans.
https://www.homerwatson.on.ca/whats-on/rigged/
https://www.homerwatson.on.ca/whats-on/the-stone-that-moves-me/

Next up: 'Renewal' by Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA)
https://www.homerwatson.on.ca/whats-on/saqa-renewal/

We are busy getting ready for summer camp that starts July 2nd! 🌞 Homer Watson House & Gallery has a long summer camp tradition dating back to the Doon School of Fine Arts in the 1950s. Swipe through the images to see our summer camps through the ages. We can't wait to see what memories we capture this year!

Image 1: Doon School Founder Ross Hamilton pictured with Frederick Varley, Yvonne Housser, and summer students showing off their artworks, c.1950. Image description: Black and white image of a group of 6 people standing, and 3 people standing outside the front of Homer Watson House & Gallery, showing their artworks to the camera.

Image 2: Tom Cayley teaching a portrait lesson to a group of students, photographed for the Kitchener-Waterloo Record, 1971. Image description: Sepia-toned image of a young person sitting on a stool, with a group of young student sitting and standing in the background and a person in the foreground sketching the individual on the stool.

Image 3: Summer programming at Homer Watson House & Gallery, 1994. Image description: A coloured image of a group of young campers sitting outside on the grass and on stools working on art projects.

You can register for our summer camps on our website:

Adult Summer Camp: https://www.homerwatson.on.ca/programs/calendar/ =755&cid=1700&wid=801&type=Cal
Kids Summer Camp: https://www.homerwatson.on.ca/programs/camps/summer-camps/

Final Days! 🚨 This is your last chance to view our contemporary exhibitions, "Rigged," and "The Stone that Moves Me: My Relationship with Material" before they close June 30th!

Our weekend hours:
Saturday: 10am-4pm
Sunday: 12-4pm

Admission: Suggested donation of $5

Image 1: The Problem with Billionaires, Julie Sperling
Image 2: Gratitude, Heather Vollans

Julie Sperling Mosaics

Today is National Canoe Day! Did you know Homer Watson was an avid canoer? 🛶He was the “Vice Commodore” of the Grand River Canoeing Club in 1879, where he and his friends paddled throughout southern Ontario and the northern parts of the United States.

Some memorable places they travelled to on canoe are Chieftswood (the childhood home of Mohawk poet Pauline Johnson) and the Spiritualist settlement of Lily Dale in New York.

Can you guess which one of the people pictured is Homer?

The answer is in the image description below.

Image: Photograph of the Grand River Canoeing Club, 1880. “Cook” J.A. Mowat (left), “Purser” David Forsyth (centre back), “Commodore” Adolph Mueller (right), “Vice Commodore” Homer Watson (centre front). HWHG Permanent Collection.

Upcoming camp: Adult Summer Camp 🎨

📅 August 12-16th, 2024
🕐 6:45-8:30 PM
🎟$165 for the week.

Who says camp is just for kids? Escape the ordinary at HWHG's adult summer camp. Grown-ups deserve to let loose and relive their childhood memories too. Join us for some "camp-tivating" fun! Pick your favorite workshops to attend or attend them all!

No experience is required and all materials will be provided. Suitable for ages 18+

Camp Itinerary 🌤

Needle Felting with Emilie
Monday August 12, 2024 6:45-8:30PM

Create 3 dimensional forms by manipulating fluffy fleece into firm felt in this one-session workshop!

Fairy Houses with Emilie
Tuesday August 13, 2024 6:45-8:30PM

Spend an evening creating a magical Fairy House! Come with an open imagination and a creative mind. Supplies will be provided but feel free gather up your own materials from nature or around the house for your own unique fairy house!

Linocut Art Cards + Prints Workshop with Shannon
Wednesday August 14, 2024 6:45-8:30PM

Try your hand at a popular printmaking technique this winter in our Linocut Art Cards + Prints one-day workshop. Our instructor will teach you how to take a simple sketch and turn it into a bold and intricate image by carving it into a linoleum block.

Natural Dyeing Workshop with Nimra
Thursday August 15, 2024 6:45-8:00PM

In this workshop, we will explore using colours that are grown in gardens, foraged from the landscape, and gathered from our kitchens to bundle dye cotton.

Art Social
Friday August 16, 2024 6:45-8:30PM

An art night out with great friends and great vibe. Finish an art project or just hang out with creative people. Snacks and refreshments will be served.

Register today! https://www.homerwatson.on.ca/programs/calendar/ =755&cid=1700&wid=801&type=Cal

Sign up for a program with a friend and get an additional 10% off. Use promo code BAF2024 at checkout.

🖼️ Upcoming Exhibition - RENEWAL -

Homer Watson House & Gallery Homer Watson House & Gallery logo on a grey background.

Check out the latest Community Picks display at Pioneer Park Library! This year Pioneer Park Library is highlighting book recommendations from their community partners. We have so many great partners who help make Kitchener Public Library a better place. It’s fun to see what they like reading!

The current Community Picks are from the staff at the Homer Watson House & Gallery. These recommendations will be on display until Monday, July 29.

Visit Pioneer Park Library or check out our blog to learn more: https://www.kpl.org/your-library/blogs/all-blogs/blogs/~306-Browse-Community-Picks-from-the-Homer-Watson-House-Gallery

Making Natural Inks Workshop with Nimra

📅 Saturday July 20, 2024
🕐10:00am-12:30pm

Cultures around the world have rich histories and stories related to colour. Natural colour derived from plants, rocks, and shells are used as part of ritual and everyday life. In this workshop, we will dive into stories and folklore around colour. You will learn how to safely and ethically forage for and use kitchen waste to create natural inks. We will create colour swatches of inks made by the artist and experiment with adding modifiers to shift colour. Finally, we will paint two postcards using natural inks. Materials Provided.

Friends of the Gallery price: $65.00
Regular price: $71

Register today! https://www.homerwatson.on.ca/programs/calendar/ =141&cid=1700&wid=801&type=Cal

Sign up for a program with a friend and get an additional 10% off. Use promo code BAF2024 at checkout.

New Blog Post 🔔 Believe Me, Truly, Oscar Wilde

Discover the unique connection Homer Watson had with the notable playwright and author, Oscar Wilde.

Read it on the History & Archives website, https://history.homerwatson.on.ca/believe-me-truly-oscar-wilde/

Image 1: Napoleon Sarony, Oscar Wilde, 1882, albumen print on card mount, 30.6 x 18.4 cm, Prints and Photographs, United States Library of Congress, Wikimedia Commons. Oscar Wilde is pictured here with a fur-trimmed coat.

Image 2: Homer Watson, On the River at Doon, 1885, oil on canvas, 61 x 91.6 cm, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. This painting was said to be similar to Watson’s Flitting Shadows, which is unlocated.

📣 Upcoming exhibition - Renewal

On display from July 5 – September 8, 2024.

Renewal is:
• Rekindling, looking to a new future, finding hope
• Resuming an activity after an interruption
• Repair or recycle of something worn and used
• Recovering strength
• Renewed cycles of life

How do you observe and experience renewal?

Thirty-three artists in this travelling exhibition have given their interpretations of renewal. Each perspective is unique to the individual artist and offers viewers a wide range of observations and experiences of Renewal.

Opening reception:
📅 Sunday July 7th
🕐1-4pm
🎟 Free

Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) is an international non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the art quilt and the artists who create them. Founded in 1989 with 34 members, SAQA has grown into a dynamic and active community of over 4,000 artists, curators, collectors and art professionals located around the world. Their vision is that the art quilt is universally respected as a fine art medium.

SAQA defines an art quilt as ‘a creative visual work that is layered and stitched or that references this form of stitched layered structure’.

The SAQA Renewal catalogue is now available in our gift shop for $25!

For more information and a list of exhibiting artists, head over to our website, https://www.homerwatson.on.ca/whats-on/saqa-renewal/

Featured artwork: Lori Everett "Forest Hope"

Art Quilt Associates, Inc.textile Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc.