By Sarah Joubert

Artsy chat: Susi Reinink with her loom, talking to spectators. Newburgh Ont. June 14 2008. Photo by Sarah Joubert Local artists gave back to the community while braving the weather at an art show and sale nestled among the ruins of a 19th century mill in Newburgh, Ont. on Saturday.
Art Among the Ruins, an outdoor community art show and sale attracted artists and patrons from Toronto to Ottawa on June 14. Stacey Anderson, the creator and organizer of the event, said there is a demand for this event from local artists and people in the community.
This year, the show attracted 32 artists with a wide range of media, from paintings to photographs, and sculptures to renaissance costumes. The event is set among the ruins of a burned down paper mill, offering an aesthetically pleasing backdrop.
Anderson created the event in the 1990s and operated it successfully for two years before moving to the United States. Upon her return in 2006, many members of the community approached her, asking to resurrect the event.
Susi Reinink, a talented weaver, is just one of the artists who took part in the event during the 1990s and came back to attend for the past two years.
“Well I was here back in the ’90s, but I missed the first year when Stacey (Anderson) came back because of short notice. I’ve attended last year and again this year,” says Reinink while demonstrating the loom to on looking spectators. Reinink has been weaving for the past 30 years.
Anderson says the reason behind the event is to bring the community together and to give something back. She says it gives the opportunity for children to see these art forms. She is very happy to offer it, saying someone needs to offer these art forms if they are ever to be seen. “It is important to give back to the community,” she says.
Under overcast skies and raindrop-covered canopies, groups of people both young and old showed up from the surrounding area. The biggest concern of everyone involved was the weather. “I’ve been nervously watching the weather,” says Anderson. All the artists were very worried and watched the skies for signs of rain. Those not protected by canopies had plastic sheets at the ready to protect their artwork if it started to rain.
Since her return from the United States, Anderson has put on this event for the past three consecutive years, from 2006 to 2008. Last year, there was an estimated 750-800 people from Toronto to Ottawa who attended. There were eight new additions this year of new artists and new media, including stained glass and pottery.
Jane Thelwell was one of the new additions, supplying functional pottery, including bowls, dishes, mugs, cups, spoons, and pitchers. All of her creations are microwave and dishwasher safe. She also supplies customized dog and cat dishes for pet owners. With her at her station was her dog, named Fish, chewing on a bone he found on the property.
“If pretty girls can sell cars, then a dog can sell pottery,” she says. “You should have seen him earlier, running around like a maniac.”
Her first year at the event, Thelwell has worked at her studio, Anglin Bay Pottery, for a year and a half out of Kingston. She did pottery as a hobby until she quit her job to take a course at Sheridan College to make pottery her career. Thelwell is part of an artist community called NGB Studios.
The venue is part of the appeal of the event. Artwork set against an esthetic backdrop of a stream and river, and the ruins of a 19th century mill set this event apart from others, says Anderson.
The property is privately owned by Anderson, allowing her to host the event without any venue costs. The event is revenue neutral, in that the artists must pay for the operation but keep their own profits from artwork sold. Admission is free as a part of giving back to the community. Anderson shows at the event as well, with her mosaic tile art on a European standard. She studied in the U.S. and Venice, using churches as her subject. However, she stresses the point that, “it is not a show about me, it’s for everyone else.”