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Local artists legacy on display By Brenda Mason Sunday, July 15 saw an exciting art exhibit featuring many works of the late local artist Gloria E. (Ayre) Messenger (1929-1998), held at the Point Clark Community Centre. The display outlined her gifted career as a graduate of the Hamilton School of Art in 1950 entering the commercial art field for Anthony Display Company in Hamilton. In 1954, Gloria was engaged as a senior artist for Eaton Co. later working for the Right House in Hamilton where she freelanced until approximately 1990. A long time resident on the 4 th concession at what is now the Prehn Farm, Gloria and her husband Norris raised three children: Doug, Lethbridge Alberta, Margot, Point Clark and Christie of London. The family was active in the Huron-Kinloss community in particular The Holstein Society, the local Pony Club and the Lucknow Agricultural Society. Norris (1927-2003) developed his own skills for woodworking following retirement from farm life. His crafts included clocks, chins cabinets, blanket boxes and bookcases. Gloria and Norris’s daughter Christie was joined in a celebration of marriage on the Saturday prior to this art show. Scott and Christie MacGregor reside in London. The exhibit was magnificent. It included several commercial fashion sketches, oil and watercolours inclusive of all our changing seasons, commissioned renderings of local homesteads, charcoal and pen and ink sketches. Numerous pan and ink drawings were transformed to note cards that would stir great interest to history buffs in this area. The lighthouse illustrated is one of many. Besides family, friends and relatives this venue provided and opportunity for local residents to enjoy the world reflected through the eyes and hands of a truly dedicated artist. Gloria’s latest medium, that of watercolour is where her passion resided breathing vibrant colour and life to landscapes and exquisite florals. Much of this collection, cherished by various family and friends, revealed the true talent of Gloria Messenger who developed courage and commitment in creating a legacy of beauty that will live on for years to come.
Above shows another example of Messenger's talent, a sketch of St. Luke’s Anglican Church in Point Clark, built in 1862 and sketched by Messenger in 1986. |
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