MERA’s May Art Show Marks 100th Birthday for Award-Winning Botanic Artist
The largest room at MERA (McDonald’s Corners and Elphin Recreation and Arts) is the original one room school, now named Dean Hall in honour of Ankaret Dean, one of MERA’s founding members and still an active volunteer. Today, with its high ceilings, wainscoted walls and good lighting, the hall lends itself well as an art exhibition space. MERA has happily promoted it as such for several years, featuring local artists in shows that change monthly. In May, MERA welcomes art lovers to an Art Show and Meet the Artist Event featuring the work of Peg Graeb.
A. Margaret Graeb, usually known as Peg, is an award-winning botanic artist who will celebrate her 100th birthday this year, on May 13th. The milestone will be honoured with a retrospective exhibit of her work, at MERA, during the month of May.
Peg was born and raised in the small town of Preston where her father owned a grocery store and had several acres of field and orchard which were Peg’s delight.
In the late 50s Peg enrolled in the program at the Ontario College of Art. She graduated with distinction and opened a studio in Toronto with several other colleagues. At this point her focus was sculpture and carving. Her work shows the raw abstract influences of that time. The shop closed in the sixties and Peg returned to social work to make her living.
After retirement in 1982 she began botanic painting classes and quickly showed an astonishing talent. She began with flowers and soon found a fascination with the dances of dead crumpled leaves and the structures of lichens. Her work was requested by the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation and in 1996 she won the bronze Grenfell medal from the Royal Horticultural Society in London, England.
You are invited to join Peg at the MERA Schoolhouse in McDonald’s Corners (974 Dalhousie Concession 9A) on Sunday May 15th from 2 to 4PM to meet the artist, view their works and purchase that “must have” piece. To arrange to see the exhibition at times other than the Meet the Artist event, please contact Wayne Stryde gwstryde@outlook.com.
