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| Dawn MacNutt in her studio. (Danny Abriel Photo) |
Weaving and social work might seem an unusual combination, but the two have always been intertwined for Dawn MacNutt.
The 72-year-old artist graduated from AV俱乐部 with a Master of Social Work in 1970 and worked as a social worker for more than 35 years in Halifax; she advocated for clients in family court and helped them navigate the social welfare system; she counseled patients at the Nova Scotia Hospital; she provided marriage counseling to couples.
Then, as her art began to take up more and more of her time in the 1990s, the single mother of three wasn鈥檛 ready to leave behind social work until her house was completely paid off.
Even so, she never did completely let go ...
Her free-standing sculptures, woven from natural materials including willow, wisteria, honeysuckle and seagrass, dip into a deep well of human emotion. One evokes the caring friend who bends her head to listen; another a mother who cradles her sick baby; and still another, a neighbor dejected and overwhelmed with sadness. And yes, this she achieves from using basketry techniques that she鈥檚 adapted into high art. Her work is uniquely, distinctly her own.
鈥淚 am affected by everybody I鈥檝e ever met,鈥� says Ms. MacNutt, who recently became a bride again. She became re-acquainted with her husband Merle Pratt 鈥� 鈥渁 gentle giant of a man鈥� 鈥� at the 50th class reunion at Mount Allison University, where she did her first degree, a BA, majoring in psychology with a minor in fine art. 鈥淧eople have always been my main inspiration source.鈥�
Further, her work 鈥渃aptures the beauty of human frailty.鈥� Her weaving is irregular, with ends hanging out instead of tucked in, and branches seemingly out of place. Her bronze works, moreover, never seem to come out of the forge quite right; there are always fragments missing.
鈥淭he work is full of imperfections and that鈥檚 OK. I love materials that are irregular because people are like that, so full of differences and irregularities.鈥�
Since the wedding, colour has begun to creep into her work and has now exploded in rainbow glory. She鈥檚 taken to painting metal and natural sculptures alike with automotive paints in delicious pearlescent colours. In her studio, for example, she has a willow sculpture on display that she鈥檚 painted bright red; its branches reach skyward like the flames of a campfire and seem to express the unabashed happiness of the artist鈥檚 new life. 鈥淚 think everything is in danger now,鈥� she says with a throaty laugh as she eyes older works.
The newlyweds live on a 140-acre property in the New Glasgow area, close to where Ms. MacNutt grew up. In a strange coincidence, she has set up her studio on the property鈥檚 surplus house, which after a little bit of research, the couple discovered had been built by Ms. MacNutt鈥檚 great-great-great grandfather in 1838.
鈥淗alfway through restoring it, Merle got out the deed and I got out my father鈥檚 genealogy and we discovered the connection,鈥� she says, amazed. They gave the raccoons the boot and renovated the old house so it would be airy and open. The front room opens to the second floor, to give space to display her taller sculptures.
鈥淲hen I鈥檓 alone here and working, the place just creaks and groans and I wonder about the people who lived here and their lives. What were they like? What kinds of problems did they face?鈥�
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| Dancer/choreographer/scientist Lisa Phinney. (Nick Pearce Photo) |
Lisa Phinney can close her eyes and she鈥檚 there: emerging from her tent听 in the early morning, she pauses by the shore of the mist-shrouded lake and listens enthralled at the tremulous calls of the loons.
It was a strange sight: loons are very territorial and only one pair will nest on a small lake. But on this morning, she could count several.
鈥淚 could see through the mist that there were at least nine of them,鈥� says Ms. Phinney, who at the time was doing research in Kejimukujik National Park as a summer student with Environment Canada. 鈥淚t was like they were having a meeting.鈥�
As an atmospheric scientist, Ms. Phinney was part of a research team investigating how the mercury found in loons鈥� bodies flows through the ecosystem. As a choreographer, she is interested in the birds for different reasons: the way they glide along the surface of the water; the way they dive like torpedoes in search of food; the way they carry their babies on their backs.
Her encounter with loons that morning is the inspiration behind her latest dance work,听which debut earlier this month through Live Art Dance Productions. Like scientific research, it鈥檚 a multidisciplinary enterprise, involving dancers, music composer Sageev Oore and set design by Peter Dykhuis, director of the AV俱乐部 Art Gallery.
Called Analogy for Solid Bones, the work brings together her two worlds: her love of science and of dance.
鈥淧ractically speaking, it鈥檚 a little bit tricky serving two gods, if you will,鈥� explains Ms. Phinney, who divides her time between her job as an air quality researcher at Environment Canada and her work as an independent choreographer. 鈥淏ut in a way, they don鈥檛 seem that different to me; they are both expressions of fundamental truth but explained in vastly different ways.鈥�
Throughout her life, she鈥檚 struggled to find the balance between science and dance. After doing her first degree at AV俱乐部, majoring in physics and oceanography, she moved to Toronto to pursue a career in dance. But life as a freelance artist in the big city was not appealing, and after a few years she returned to Halifax as a founding member of Mocean Dance.
At about the same time, she returned to AV俱乐部 to work on a master鈥檚 degree in atmospheric science. Her thesis project 鈥� investigating the link between phytoplankton, tiny algae which live in the world鈥檚 oceans, and their affect on global climate 鈥� led to a dance expression of scientific processes called Point/Counterpoint (homeostatis). The dance debuted at Neptune鈥檚 Studio Theatre in 2004 and aired on Bravo and CBC-TV.听
鈥淚 know it sounds a little strange, but I can see these cycles of nature expressed in a creative way,鈥� says Ms. Phinney. 鈥淚 just see such similarities in artistic creation and scientific inquiry 鈥� you鈥檙e coming up with ideas, finding the relationships, drawing conclusions. It鈥檚 all very rich for me.鈥�
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| Singer/songwriter/scientist听Alana Yorke. (Nick Pearce Photo) |
For Alana Yorke, it鈥檚 not so much about how her research influences her art 鈥� it鈥檚 more the other way around.
As a singer-songwriter, she is the outsider looking in, analyzing feelings and emotions for her lyrics. It works the same for her research.
鈥淵ou keep a foot outside the field and it allows for a lot of creativity,鈥� explains Ms. Yorke, 28, a graduate student in marine ecology at AV俱乐部. Her research is focused on invasive species, including one found in Atlantic kelp beds. A widely distributed bryozoan, Membranipora membranacea likely came from Europe. She鈥檚 interested in how this exotic encrusting organism interacts with native species.
鈥淵ou start asking questions that no one has thought to ask and I think that comes from having an outsider attitude 鈥� so instead of going down the same, well-worn path, you deviate a bit. In any case, I think it鈥檚 very important that science brings in people with a diversity of backgrounds; that鈥檚 where the fresh ideas and approaches will come from.鈥�
From the village of Bass River, N.S., Ms. Yorke has written and performed music since the age of five. She鈥檚 been compared to artists like Joni Mitchell and Sarah McLachlan for the expressiveness and dreamy quality of her voice. She also plays the piano and guitar.
Until recently, she鈥檚 been a solo performer, but now has her own band, cheekily named The New Oceanographers. Band members are bass player Clark Richards, who is working on a PhD in physical oceanography at AV俱乐部; drummer Katie Patterson, studying at the Leeds College of Music in the U.K.; Joyce Saunders who sings harmony; and keyboard player Ian Bent, a professional musician and piano teacher, not to mention Ms. Yorke鈥檚 fianc茅.
The band went into the studio last summer to record original material for an album which Ms. Yorke hopes to have out in the fall. With help from musician and engineer Don Mackay, she is self-producing the EP which is, as yet, unnamed.
鈥淚 identify myself as an artist and, in a way, I鈥檓 trying this out, this science thing,鈥� she says with a laugh. 鈥淚 am deeply connected to the natural world 鈥� I have some ideas that I want to explore and test, and science is the tool I am using right now.鈥�
Listen to Alana Yorke's song Push. To listen to more of Alana Yorke听and the New Oceanographers, check out
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