At the end of July, I (with 14 other artists) participated in CPAWS DRAW, an annual art residency “in support of the ongoing protection of the Dumoine River”. CPAWS is Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, a charity dedicated to the protection of public land, freshwater and ocean; DRAW is the acronym for Dumoine River Art for Wilderness; the art retreat is organized by the Ottawa Valley Chapter of CPAWS.
We camped at Lac Pennisault at the ZEC Rapide-des-Joachims in Quebec which is about two and a half hours north of Ottawa. It was an inspiring week of exploring, noticing, and learning. CPAWS-OV has been working with others “to identify and create ecological corridors on both sides of the Ottawa River”. During the week, I worked on sketches and developed ideas that I plan to develop in the studio. Each artist will be donating a work for a CPAWS-OV fundraising exhibition in 2023.
