muskoka Archives - Womens Post

Editor's Journal June 3, 2018

The impact of action

It’s one of those overly warm spring evenings at the cottage. An afternoon storm passed through Muskoka and the air is still heavy. The lake is calm, like glass, and the large puffy clouds in the distance are lit bright orange by the setting sun. Spiders are busy in the corners of the boathouse windows, I’ve just turned on a lamp and their webs will catch the bugs attracted to its light. It is so quiet I can hear the clock ticking away the minutes. A bird calls to its mate, or maybe he is just letting his friends know where he’ll be for the night. I am feeling thoughtful thinking about the new journey my family and I are setting out on.

Our goal is to have a positive impact on the world through the work that we do. We’re heading to Barbados to start a project working with local communities to build a culture-entrepreneurial centre that will be sustained by a unique “experiential” resort.

Tourism has become the biggest economic driver on most of the islands, but it has also had some negative impacts on local communities – like the loss of local food production and manufacturing. Even local arts and craft markets are becoming dominated by cheap Chinese imports. The cost of importing food and products has risen as local production has slowly disappeared; and many of the islands have become far too dependent on imports. Our goal is to reignite the entrepreneurial flame by providing space, encouragement and resources. We hope to inspire local entrepreneurs, artists and manufacturers.

Barbados will be our first “proof of concept” location and we are moving there to launch the project. It’s a big life change but one both my husband and I are looking forward to. We have some terrific local partners and just recently the island elected their first woman Prime Minister – Mia Motley. She is a strong, smart, and dynamic woman with an excellent record. Prime Minister Motley sat in opposition to the local government as leader of the Barbados Labour Party for over a decade. She was elected in a landslide victory winning all 30 seats in Parliament and over 70% of the popular vote. With no opposition she’ll be able to bring about significant changes to a government that was plagued by inaction. There is a new sense of vibrancy on the island, and it fits well with our own determination to contribute to the community.

The sun is low in the sky and long shadows stretch out over the lake – a stillness has settled over things and all the possibilities that a new day will bring are just beginning to form.

What's Hot September 6, 2017

The best summer camp in Canada

This summer, my boys spent two weeks at Camp Muskoka and they are still talking about it.

According to them it is the “best summer camp in Canada or even the world.” Not only did they make some terrific friends, but they learned new games (Magic) and songs (Little Red Wagon) that they randomly start singing at the dinner table.

What they like most about the camp is the freedom to choose what they do during the day instead of feeling like they have to stick to a strict routine that other camps have. Rather than swimming in a freezing cold lake at the crack of dawn, their only worry is to get to the cafeteria before breakfast is finished. And the meals are apparently way better than anything we serve them – there too they have a lot of choice in what they were served.

Camp Muskoka is in the business of making happy campers. As their website states, “we firmly believe that everyone has physiological needs that must be met in order to have any hope of meeting their more refined needs. For example, a camper won’t be able to enjoy the mental and physical activities at camp without proper nutrition or a comfortable, good night’s sleep. Likewise, a camper won’t be able to build confidence and friendships if they don’t feel safe. Whether it be providing our campers with healthy, well-balanced meals throughout the day, having air conditioned lodging to ensure a good night’s rest, or nurturing a healthy and safe environment so campers are recognized for their personal achievements; everything we do is about helping our camper’s reach their highest potential.”

The thing is, the camp truly does live up to this description. I notice that my kids came back a bit louder than they were before going (their voices raw from singing, laughing and shouting), a bit more conscientious (aware of the need to clear the table – which they are taught to do their at meal times), and a bit more enthusiastic – “hey mum lets make a song about that.”

If you are looking for a safe camp your kids will truly enjoy, I recommend Camp Muskoka. Here’s a video the camp and kids put together that will give a small view of the great energy that permeates the camp.

I tip my hat to the founder of Camp Muskoka, Scott Creed, for creating a fantastic safe place where kids can learn, grow, and have a heck of a lot of fun!

What's Hot January 11, 2015

Wowie Cowie

By Kevin Somers

We were visiting a cottage on a Muskoka island earlier this summer and between the ideal setting and toys that float, it was picture perfect. Inside, large windows provided spectacular views from every glance, but amidst nature’s best, an oil painting by Ellen Cowie stood out. It is a commissioned piece of canoes on the dock, with the lake and a neighbouring island in the background. The sun is twinkling off rippling water and tranquility emanates from the canvas. There’s a photographical precision to the piece, yet a surreal richness that couldn’t have come from a camera. All the guests stopped to admire the work and agreed it was something special.

I had tea with Ellen recently and she’s as lively as her paintings. “Family is everything to me,” she said. Indeed, the second youngest of 10 children, Ellen and husband, Brian, married for 25 years have 6 kids of their own, between 23 and 14. “They’re all wonderful people,” she said of the extended clan.

Ellen has paint in her veins: her mother’s mother worked in oil and her father’s brother was a gifted sketch artist. Grandmother, Rose McGuire, raised 10 kids during the depression and didn’t begin painting until she was in her 60s. Although she began late, Grandmother was talented and prolific. “Her paintings were always around,” Ellen said. “Her style was more towards realism.” Ellen’s uncle, was not a professional artist, but, “He drew and sketched everyday. One of my strongest memories from childhood is him coming on Sunday and sketching with a pencil or a piece of charcoal. In a few seconds, and with 15 lines, he could capture a portrait. He was a truly an amazing artist.”

Cowie has taken something from both, combining the realism of her Grandmother with the startlingly swiftness of her Uncle. “I go straight to work,” she said, “no sketching or measuring, I just start painting with oil.” Although deceased, Ellen’s ancestors speak to her still, “Sometimes when I step back and look at my painting, I hear my uncle say, That’s enough, Ellen, and then my grandmother says, Maybe a little more over here, Dear.”

Because of higher obligations, Ellen has only been painting full time since 2001. “I always knew I would be an artist surrounded by family,” she said, but how she’s arrived at this point is the stuff of legends. “I got married when I was 18. I loved Brian Cowie and wanted to have a family with him.” Brian’s career meant the family has moved 15 times. “There were times when I’d go months without painting,” she said. Laughingly, she explained how her family would force her to go and paint because her withdrawal from creating made her irritable. “I always came back feeling better.”

After misdiagnoses, it was discovered in 2000 that Ellen had severe thyroidosis and her nodal gland was removed. The three years previous, while raising her family with a wonky thyroid, Ellen had also been parking cars at Casino Rama. “I was exhausted all the time. In the hospital, a light came on. I thought, what am I doing?” and she gave up parking for painting.

Brian is Native, so Ellen has full status and received assistance from Kagita Mikam, an organization dedicated to helping First Nations people. “Their financial and moral support really helped me get started and I’m so grateful to them.” Another break came from Ellen’s brother, Jim Donnelly, owner of Foot’s Bay Marina on Lake Joseph in Muskoka. In 2002, he provided Cowie space to take part in the area’s annual studio tour, The Big Art Thing. The show was a success and later that summer Jim asked Ellen to return to the marina because he had a surprise. Jim had converted part of his business into a seasonal gallery. “Go home and paint over the winter and fill the gallery with nice work,” he said.

It was a daunting prospect, but when opportunity knocked, Cowie answered with enthusiasm. Along with her talent and work ethic, the gallery provides Ellen with an ideal location. During the summer, she paints outside the gallery and the public can watch her work. “Wayne Gretzky’s family watched me paint every day for 5 days while they were on vacation,” she said. When a young man commented to Janet Gretzky that Ellen’s painting was like a photograph, Janet, who knows Greatness, replied, “No, it’s better than a photograph.”

Person, place, or thing, Cowie is confident; “If I see it, I can paint it. I’m not afraid of the canvas.” She prefers commissioned work, “It’s challenging. If someone wants me to paint something they are passionate about it, so I have to find inspiration in it too.” You can see that inspiration at www.artincanada.com/ellencowie/. This may be the ancestors talking, but I think Ellen Cowie is going to be BIG.