talpines' tay trail stump project
Our community minded president, Victoria Reaume, has a passion for art and making things look beautiful. She noticed other communities were displaying art projects and thought why not Waubaushene? We all agreed this was a fantastic idea so in 2023, Talpines approached Tay Township about our idea to turn the dead ash between Pine St and Albin St into living art! They agreed to leave the dead trees as tall stumps and so Talpines began the Tay Trail Stump Art Project. Our directors spread the word that we were looking for artists who were willing to decorate the stumps along our trail. We had a few step forward and decided to decorate Pine St Beach first. There are three art pieces at Pine Street Beach: The Sturgeon, the Birdhouses and the Tree Spirit
1.Sturgeon Carving by Peter Cox
You may know Peter from the Community Garden in Waubaushene. Peter and Sharon have worked hard to bring Indigenous ways and teachings to the Waubaushene community. Pine St Beach is situated on the banks of Sturgeon Bay, and Peter was inspired to carve a sturgeon, share its history and importance. The story of the sturgeon is as follows: Years ago, the waters here were occupied by lots of very large and very old Sturgeon. If you look in local history books, you will see lots of pictures of people who caught these huge fish. Unfortunately, they were overfished and you don't see them around here, not even here in Sturgeon Bay, anymore. Sturgeon can live to be over a hundred years old and grow to be three to four metres in length. The oldest recorded Sturgeon was one hundred and seventy years old. In Anishinaabemowin, the language of the Ojibway people, the word for sturgeon is name (pronounced naw-may) which you can see on the back of the artwork. The name for Georgian Bay is Gichi-name-wiikwedong or Big Sturgeon Bay. Sturgeons have lived unchanged for two hundred and fifty million years. The prehistoric quality of the sturgeon is represented by the fossil that is embedded in the wood. Sturgeons have no scales or dorsal fins and have feelers on their chins to locate food. The Anishnaabeg tanned the skin to create leather and the meat was eaten, If Sturgeons were present in these waters today, they would be eating lake bottom dwellers such as zebra mussels and round gobis both of which are now invasive. I have honoured the Sturgeon by adding glass beads along the length of the body and for the eye to show my respect for these ancestors.
2. The Birdhouses by Paul Roberts, painted by Vicki L Paul Roberts
Paul has been a great asset to the Talpines community association and basically builds whatever we send his way: signs at the entrances to Waubaushene, turtle nest protectors and birdhouses. Paul is an avid woodworker and enjoys creating unique projects. Vicki L is the talented artist who has painted our entrance signs in Waubaushene, all the bird houses Paul created and tackles any other creative project we send her way. Honestly these two do great work together and we are grateful for the whimsical, funky birdhouses decorating the Pine Street Beach stumps.
3 Tree spirit by Rob Root.
You may know Rob from Root Cellar Signs. Rob is a carver at heart and has created many tree spirits gnomes and dragons. Rob Root has a passion for carving and we are thrilled to have one of his creations tucked into a tree at the Pine Street Beach. Rob plans to carve a tree along the trail and we look forward to seeing his next creation.
4 JIM HUNTER, Stump Art Project Artist
My name is Jim Hunter. Our family has had cottages in Waubaushene since 1933. My father got me into art at age ten, making decoys and birdhouses, which earned me red ribbons and prize packages at the C.N.E. As a teacher, before entering the main board office, I mainly taught grades 3 to 8 including physical education and the occasional art class on rotary. I have enjoyed visual arts, scrollsaw, and creative pursuits most of my life. We tend to use the art work as gifts, give aways, and for our charity work. My wife, Janice, and I were also involved, for thirty years, with our church youth group and Black Light Christian Ministry. We annually had about 60 youth, who traveled all over Ontario , with various musicals, and props we created such as Noah's Ark. Much appreciation to TalPines and residents for their creative efforts along the trail in terms of beautiful gardens and inspiring art. Jim Hunter.
