Architectural Feast - Yarmouth

When in Nova Scotia, any easy way to get a taste of the range of architectural styles to be found in the province is to visit Yarmouth. What a feast.

The information bureau puts out a great self-guided, walking tour brochure.

Ron and I set off on the tour once the soft late afternoon light was creating enough shadows to highlight the architectural details. We took a photo of the paragraph in the brochure before taking photos of the building so I have a little bit of information about each place as a reference to begin further study.

For those of you interested in Canadian architecture, there is an excellent book that focuses on what can be found in Nova Scotia.

Penny, Allen, 'Houses of Nova Scotia An illustrated guide to architectural style recognition', co-published by Formac Publishing Company and The Nova Scotia Museum, Halifax, 1989.

I use architecture as a resource in my art work. I see buildings as portals into the social history of the time. Acting as a detective and noticing the details, talking to the owners, and tracking down primary resources such as newspapers and diaries in local archives can build up wonderful stories to share through my work.

Port -Royal, Nova Scotia

During our Maritime trip we spent a fascinating few hours walking through the reconstructed fort that was the first French settlement in Canada.

It felt authentic....

with the guides dressed in period clothing....

....and sheep skin vellum over the windows.

Highest Tides in the World

We have spent many hours this week driving around the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to find front row seats from which to view the rising and falling of the largest tides in the world.

The flowing water sculpts grasses growing in the mud flats.

This shot was taken from the same place as the first one just 6 hours later.

Wolfville, Nova Scotia

One of our stops, while travelling through Nova Scotia, was Wolfville, which has just applied to Italy to become the second 'slow' city in North America (the first was Cowichan Bay, Vancouver Island). And what an impressive place it is with its mix of a long history of European settlement, unique marine geography, a magnet for world music, significant centre for biological research...and the list goes on. One of Canada's oldest universities, Acadia University, is located in the small city. Students double the size of the city during the academic year.

Harriet Irving donated lots of money to build a spectacular research greenhouse and gardens. The milder climate (by Canadian standards) has meant they could put in plantings to represent many different bio ecosystems, which can all be accessed by paths and trails.

'Face In Nature`by Judith Leidell

Throughout the walks art has been placed as part of the Uncommon Common Art community project put together by the Alliance of Kings Artists http://www.uncommoncommonart.com/

`The face, decomposing in nature, can be given renewed life if visitors place found natural objects at the base of the tree.``

Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

We spent the morning exploring the UNESCO World Heritage Site Lunenburg, a town that is the best example in the world of an 18th century town planned in England then built in the New World. The straight streets arranged in a grid pattern ignore the hilly terrain so some streets are very steep.

I opted for a self guided walking tour to view the range of architecture that has been preserved in the town.

In the historic area most of the buildings have been lovingly restored.

And there were lots of pleasant details waiting to be found.