"A Place in the Kingdom" by Lynda Toews
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Mennonite Heritage Centre Gallery 600 Shaftsbury Blvd, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3P 0M4
A Place in the Kingdom: Paintings and Heritage Stories Celebrating Farm Animals
By Manitoba artist Lynda Toews
Opening Reception March 15, 2015 at 2:30 pm
Free admission, storytelling, refreshments, 100 free printed story booklets
If you love animals and you need a dose of rural sensibilities, come feed your soul at Toews’ upcoming exhibit. A Place in the Kingdom is a several-year project including producing 50 original paintings and collecting 22 animal stories contributed by Manitobans who grew up on farms. When one stops to think, it is not difficult to count many ways in which farm animals have contributed to our survival!
Spectators of the paintings will encounter the straightforward gaze of fellow creatures who share the earth. They are bathed in warm light and depicted with a strong commitment to artistic technical facility in order to propose that they are indeed worthy of our attention.
The stories are meant to forge stronger connections between generations as well as urban and rural people. With our 21st century urban lifestyle surrounded by hard, cold metal, glass, and concrete, or exhaust, noise, and cyberspace, we can easily forget the beauty in natural things – soft fur and warm breath and the smell of hay.
The stories and paintings are intended to evoke contemplation of the beauty, intelligence, individuality, and loyalty of farm animals as well as the love that can exist in the human/animal relationship. May these animals find a special place in our hearts.
A free story booklet will also be available at: http://gallery.mennonitechurch.ca/LyndaToews
Lynda Toews, B.F.A., B.Ed. - Artist’s Bio
Toews has degrees in Fine Arts (Honours) and Education. Her involvement in the arts includes teaching, writing curriculum, and having her art accepted in various publications, juried and group exhibitions and solo shows. Toews’ paintings can be found in numerous collections. She can be contacted at: