For my next “Canada Shorts” item, here’s a brief look at a truly amazing and inspiring outdoor art gallery near Peterborough, Ontario that displays Zimbabwean stone carvings. Truly magnificent, and so unexpected.
One of the truly amazing attractions in O ntario is the Zim Art Rice Lake Gallery in Bailieboro, south of Peterborough. I was asked to check it out a few years ago and had no idea what to expect.
Fran Fearnley has a remarkable collection of Zimbabwean stone sculpture at her Zim Art Rice Lake Gallery. JIM BYERS PHOTO
I turned down a shady, quiet country road not much bigger than a standard SUV and there it was, a lush green lawn filled with polished, black sculptures of various sizes and shapes. I pulled into the small parking lot behind a beautiful, classic Southern Ontario barn and met up with the owner, Fran Fearnley, who guided me around the site.
It’s a remarkable, wondrous and peaceful place with lovely sculptures, a small pond, bountiful gardens and other artistic touches. She fell in love with Shona stone art (now more commonly known as Zimbabwe Stone Art) on a visit to Zimbabwe in 1998. In 2000 she brought 47 sculptures over by boat and scattered them around a property she had inherited on a hill overlooking Rice Lake.
Fearnley goes to Zimbabwe every winter to scout for new art. She also brings a sculptor over every spring for an annual artist-in-residence program that runs from June 1, when she opens her gate to visitors, to Canadian Thanksgiving, when she shuts down for the year.
A Zimbabwean stone sculpture at the Zim Art Rice Lake Gallery. JIM BYERS PHOTO
There’s no admission charge, but she does encourage folks to buy a small something, maybe a small carved animal, and make a donation.
I also love Petroglyphs Provincial Park north of Peterborough, where you’ll find rock carvings made by indigenous peoples hundreds or even thousands of years ago, as well as a fine interpretive centre.
Elmhirst’s Resort on Rice Lake is a wonderful family place to stay, with a to-die-for, inexpensive Sunday brunch.
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