For those coming to Crochet Adventure in Nova Scotia with Mikey in the summer of 2025, I encourage you to understand some history about one of Canada's most iconic folk art painters, Maud Lewis.
A metal reconstruction of her 9-foot x 10-foot home stands at the exact place where it once was. To save a piece of her, her house was taken apart and moved for preservation to the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in Halifax.
Living with her husband, Everett, both lived their life in poverty. With birth defects combined with rheumatoid arthritis, her ability to move was complicated, most notably with her hands.
While visiting us, you will see prints of Maud Lewis in various gift shops.
She would sell paintings from her home with people who would stop in. She would paint cards and sell them for 5 cents. Her husband encouraged her to paint, and she, without training, painted from the heart.
A painting sold from her was about one or five dollars. Today, in 2024, a painting can fetch up to $160,000. She also painted on other surfaces too.
Her paintings were generally small, as her husband cut out the boards for her to paint on. According to historians, she never mixed paints to create different shade possibilities. Fearing to overprice her paintings when she sold them, she kept her prices low so people would stop by to buy something.
There's a lot of history here, and she died in Digby, Nova Scotia, on July 30, 1970. Most disgustingly, Everett was killed in 1979 by someone attempting to rob their house. It makes me so angry.
Understanding her story is essential. It will make you appreciate the trip even more. We encourage you to close your eyes, imagine standing on the outside of the replica, and listen to her shuffle around, painting and suffering the pain she went through. Reflect and absorb, and when you slide by a gift shop, you will be able to understand it even more.
Angela Bennett says
There is a Hollywood-ish movie based on her life called Maudie with Ethan Hawke and Sally Hawkins. I need to watch the movie again as it came out in 2017 as a “homework” in preparation for this trip.