Read "Unsettled Ground" by Claire Fuller and then participate in a book discussion at the Sarnia Library and a tour of "A Family Palette" at the Judith & Norman Alix Art Gallery.
Pick up your copy of "Unsettled Ground" at the Sarnia Library beginning January 8, 2024.
"Unsettled Ground" is a portrait of life on the fringes of society, a heart-stopping novel of betrayal and resilience, love and survival. What if the life you have always known is taken from you in an instant? What would you do to get it back? Twins Jeanie and Julius have always been different from other people. At fifty-one years old, they still live with their mother, Dot, in rural isolation and poverty. But when Dot dies suddenly, threats start raining down. Jeanie and Julius would do anything to preserve their small sanctuary against the perils of the outside world, even as their mother's secrets begin to unravel, putting everything they thought they knew about their lives at stake.
A Family Palette brings together for the first time the work of Frances-Anne Johnston, Franz Johnston and Franklin Arbuckle – three artists from the same family. Acting as a purposeful feminist recovery project, the exhibition focuses more deeply on Frances-Anne.
Using a feminist lens, the exhibit sheds light on the ways Frances-Anne Johnston and her relatives have contributed to the development of Canadian art. As a woman working within a patriarchal society, Frances-Anne’s artistic career has not been as well documented as those of her father Franz or her husband Franklin, though she pushed forward conceptions of the Canadian Still Life with her aesthetic approach.
