Lakefield is already the place to be when it comes to celebrating art, but fortunately there’s no such thing as too many galleries. Enter Divine Craft, a new space created by artists for artists which is so much more than just a gallery.
Focused on fine craft and featuring artists hailing from across Ontario, Divine Craft is now open at 15 Burnham Street in Lakefield but will be hosting a grand opening from 4 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, May 25th. Though still only in its earliest stages, the gallery’s owners — both local artists themselves — have big plans in mind.
“It’s a great space and allows us to do our vision of a gallery space but also a workshop space that we can work in and bring people into to create even more of an artistic atmosphere,” says co-owner Christy Haldane. “We’re really fortunate to have this space and want it to be a space for building a community.”
Divine Craft is the passion project of Haldane, a Peterborough-based glass and stone sculptor, along with Emerance Baker, a Douro-based textile artist who creates bags, clothing, home goods, and more through her studio Stoney Lake Textiles.
The artists named their hub after the 1974 novel The Diviners by celebrated author Margaret Laurence, which won the Governor General’s Literary Award for fiction and has been repeatedly banned by school boards and high schools over the years because of its profanity and explicit sexuality. Laurence lived in Lakefield from the early 1970s until her death in 1987, and coincidentally had a relationship with the previous landlords of 15 Burnham Street.
“We were told that a lot of ladies in town would avoid Laurence and were very critical of her book, so the mother and grandmother of the owners would both have her over for tea,” says Baker. “She would stop in, bring books to sell at the shop, and drink tea — like little subversive old ladies.”
It felt like a sign from Laurence herself to learn about the relationship because Baker and Haldane both already held a deep appreciation of the text due to its depiction of small towns and the image of higher beings at play.
“There’s that idea of divine intervention,” says Haldane. “I think a lot of artists feel like they go outside their body and it’s not necessarily them working when they’re creating, so I liked that parallel.”
Further, the text and gallery name highlights the dichotomy of how functional craft is viewed in the art world.
“There’s a hierarchy between contemporary art and then contemporary craft, whereas I see them as totally interchangeable, and I think it’s time they are accepted by others as well,” says Haldane. “We’re at a really great time for artists to take control of what art is rather than having people, like academics, define what art is.”
“That’s why we love Margaret Laurence’s book, because she doesn’t hit you over the head with the politics of sex and Metis-ness in small-town rural Ontario,” adds Baker. “I think about how hard it was for women and Indigenous people at the time, because there was really no positioning of the artist. You were just supposed to always write from a place of neutrality, and she didn’t. Now, I think she’s shining her light down on us.”
Haven’t read The Diviners? One bathroom break to the “Literary Loo” at Divine Craft will fix that for you, as the wallpaper is uniquely comprised of pages of an old copy of the book — an interior design choice that only two artists could come up with.
“It’s got our favourite chapters up,” says Baker. “We have to show them to everyone who walks in.”
The “Literary Loo” is symbolic of the inclusivity of Divine Craft and the willingness to accept and accelerate all forms of artwork, from jewellery to light fixtures to textiles to prints, and much more. Haldane even hopes to present a themed exhibit of artwork inspired by works of literature.
“You get inspiration a lot of the time from reading novels and other people’s writing, so it’s the interconnectedness of the arts community that is so important,” says Haldane.
Fostering this intersection of the arts is at the root of Divine Craft, where Baker and Haldane are both hopeful to introduce local artists to one another and encourage combining passions.
“I just keep thinking about the opportunities to work with people and create collaborations between our other artists, because it’s a different way to create a broader community and make better connections for people,” says Baker. “We’re really excited by that.”
For example, for Mother’s Day, Divine Craft is teaming up with Wanderlight Alpaca for an afternoon where participants will walk with alpacas before going back to Divine Craft to engage in a fibre workshop using cardboard cut-out looms.
“It’s very hands-on where you’re taking all kinds of fibres, including alpaca wool, and putting them around the loom, roving and weaving them just to get an understanding or an idea of basic weaving,” says Baker. “It shows this is a community where you’re able to really call on your neighbours to do something fun, and that’s just the height of Lakefield.”
By soon selling art supplies — textile kits, paper products, Beam Paints, and more — on site, hosting workshops led by local artists, and providing studio space, Divine Craft will be paving a future of arts in Lakefield by guiding emerging artists.
“We are so looking forward to being able to open a space for people who are starting out and can’t afford a studio, or can’t afford the equipment right off the hop and just need some extra space and support,” says Baker.
“We have this knowledge and experience and if we can help someone, I’m more than willing to help them if they book an appointment or through workshops,” adds Haldane.
Also essential to the gallery, as it is with both Haldane and Baker’s individual artwork, is the focus on environmental consciousness. As their own works are crafted with repurposed textiles and recycled glass, so too are the furniture, shelving, and displays at Divine Craft.
“There’s so much over-consumption with textiles,” says Baker. “That ethos of being able to connect to things and being able to have them be meaningful is really important to both of us and it doesn’t have to be new things.”
This philosophy is apparent in many of the art pieces that are currently on display at Divine Craft. One of the best-sellers right now are prints from Peterborough-based artist Leah Wood which use vintage frames from the early ’80s.
“They are flying off the walls,” says Baker. “And we just love that idea.”
Other artists using the zero-waste approach to art creation include Karen Cameron, Ruth Dyer, and Sheldon Story, as well as sculptor Garrett Gilbart, who used recycled materials to craft the metal sign that welcomes visitors into Divine Craft.
One plan the two artists have for the future is to host a swap for repurposed materials collected by makers in the community, so they can repurpose pieces that have been sitting around, waiting to be used.
Such is one of the many ideas in the works for Divine Craft — all with the purpose of elevating the local community of makers and artisans.
“We have a gallery space and we’re showing artists, but in reality we wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for the artists who are actually making the products and the people who have trusted us,” says Haldane. “We’re a conduit for the artists.”
Divine Craft is now open at 15 Burnham Street in Lakefield from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday, noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday, or by appointment. Visit www.divinecraft.ca to learn more about the artists or follow Divine Craft on Instagram @divinecraft_lakefield.
This story was created in partnership with Divine Craft. If your organization or business is interested in a branded editorial, contact us.
