Evanescence – St. Paul’s, Uffington, (interior) acrylic, 16×24 © 2009 Michelle Basic Hendry
To be evanescent is to be soon passing out of existence.
Choosing a title for this painting took as long as it did to paint it. This one is close to my heart as the last few posts might have indicated. I wanted to title it in a way that might communicate how special it was and that it is gone too soon. Light has that evanescent quality and since light is a prominent part of the painting, it seemed the appropriate word for both the feeling and the reality.
By the time the leaves are out for the Spring of 2009, this place is likely to be no more. The 120 year old church has had to make way due to a lack of funds in the community to save it. I was fortunate enough to spend some special moments in this sacred and spiritual place. This painting is a part of how I will remember it.
I wonder when the town of Bracebridge was aware of this – why did the Muskoka Heritage Foundation or the local historical societies not step up for the fundraising? Hopefully, I can find answers to those questions in the near future. I am hoping that the tragic loss of this once majestic building, will spur a movement to prevent others of our pioneer buildings on the edge of dereliction from the same fate. I am considering a project that will allow for a limited edition of prints for this purpose – something I don’t generally do. More on that later this Spring if I can get the right people to agree….
St. Paul’s, Uffington, Muskoka- History*
Uffington was founded in the 1860’s by the bold pioneers seeking homesteads in what turned out to be some very inhospitable wilderness. The town sprung up on the Peterson Colonization road – one of the primary roads built for the settlement of Muskoka and north. The timber and the traffic that resulted helped to make Uffington in the late nineteenth century fairly prosperous. However, this was not to last. When the trains went to Bracebridge, the growth stopped and the town began to shrink. Today, Uffington has a few residents, but almost no public buildings (St. Paul’s is/was one of the last standing along with the Orange Hall) and few original homesteads. The “Twilight” house is also unlikely to be standing in a couple of years.
Uffington had two hotels and three churches at its peak – a Presbyterian, a Methodist – and the oldest – St. Paul’s Anglican. The original church was log, built in 1870 and it was replaced by the structure in the painting in 1889. The land was donated by William Kirkpatrick, one of the earliest settlers. The church was supported in those early days by a large congregation that allowed for stained glass and a bell.
The last regular services were held in the church in 2002 and with a congregation of only five remaining, it closed its doors in 2005. Maintenance costs were too high and the crossbeams under the floor were rotting. In the years up until now, the church had been vandalized twice and some of the windows broken.
In late 2008, the decision was made to deconsecrate the church and tear it down – the wood being reclaimed. The deconsecration was held October 23 and the baptismal basin, altar and pews removed. For ceremonial and ritual reasons, the altar must be burned and if a new home cannot be found for the baptismal basin, it must be buried. Hopefully it will find a new home in Manitoba, where so many failed Muskoka homesteaders headed when their farms failed. No formal plans have yet been confirmed. The property itself will be used as further cemetery space for the Town of Bracebridge. The snow came too early in 2008 to finish the removal of the building. Demolition is expected to continue when the snow is gone.
*References
Andrew Hind, Maria Da Silva, Ghost Towns of Muskoka, Dundurn Press
Interview with the Venerable Dawn Henderson
Absolutely stunning. You’re so talented, Michelle! Thanks for the info about it, too.
Thanks for the history lesson 🙂
Very nice light in this, but is also has a huge sense of loneliness and emptiness to it. Perfect for a building that will no longer be with us
VERY nice. The painting projects great drama and emotion.
That is a beautiful Painting Michelle!!
Melancholic, spiritual, peaceful. This painting gives the sense of serenity one hopes to experience as they prepare to leave these earthly bonds.
Michelle, I have an affinity for churches ‘duomos’ if you will, and can relate to your sentiments
and your painting in a personal way.
I once came upon the term
‘ transducer’ as described by an artist of whom I cannot remember his name. but the jist of it was that art/architecture
stores the ‘psychic’ energy of all that have viewed a painting for instance or passed through a portal/worshiped/lived
in a dwelling place and this energy is present and interacts with the current participant in the experience.
I can remember sitting in the guggenhiem many years ago in aroom with Ver Meers ‘girl in a hat’ I had an uninterupted
half hour sitting on a leather bench,just me and her.
After awhile the girl started to lift off of the canvas and became ‘holographic’
the sense of light was so amazing that i beleive I was connecting with what the artist saw as he painted it.
I ‘see’ the essence of what you are trying to capture here and applaud your sensitvity
cheers
e
Again, so sad. Seeing this painting makes me wish I’d had the opportunity to be there when it was whole.
A beautiful painting and a sad story. Sorry that the church had to go. You are fortunate because its special light and piece will remain in your memory for you to find whenever is needed.
Michelle, Thank you for the story and also for sharing your work in progress on this blog. I really love that.
Thank, everyone for your kind and insightful comments. I love to know what others see and feel. Sometimes I learn more about what I am feeling about something from the finished painting myself!
Transducer… I must look more into that. The feeling of this building was strong but gentle – no doubt!
the painting feels sad but perhaps that is because you have told the story. We have a local village called Uffington and I do think it has a church…I must go and check it out.
Chrissy – If it is the village I am thinking of, you will notice the similarity in the interior structure from the photo in my post “Places of the Spirit”. Many of the Gothic elements are the same. Had my Uffington been of stone, we might be having a different conversation!
This piece is so beautiful, Michelle. There is so much emotion in it.
Thank you Jean. I put a lot of emotion into it….