In January Maud Lewis was our artist of the month. This Canadian folk artist lived in a tiny little house that she had turned into a work of art by painting flowers and butterflies on virtually every surface of the house.  Maud’s house is now inside the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. Inspired by her work, my grade three students set to work on transforming a dark and dingy stairwell into a beautiful garden. The kindergarten students who pass by stairwell have named it the Magic Garden.

I shared the video with the Art Gallery of  Nova Scotia and this is what Dale Sheppard, Curator of Education and Public Programs had to say.

Wonderful to hear from you. I am so glad to hear about your great art program and that you chose Maud as your Artist of the Month again. We actually just re-vitalized the Maud Gallery with fresh paint and new publications and a timeline of her life – it looks really good and it is probably our most visited exhibition space.

 I absolutely love your students’ work and the video! Please pass on our thanks to them for depicting Maud’s joyful and creative spirit in their own beautiful artwork! I have copied some of my colleagues, one of whom is Laurie Hamilton who was instrumental in conserving Maud’s house.