Tonia Di Risio
Field Notes: Hillier, Prince Edward County
Collage on mirror with hand cut photographic vinyl

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This four-part collage is a series for Redtail Vineyards gleaned from collected photographs the artist took when visiting Hillier from 2017 – 2021. Di Risio’s new work is a series of collages consisting of fantastical landscapes that reflect on consumption and the labour of food preparation. Assembled using traditional method of collage, her hand cut works are playful compositions that also include the reflection of the landscape and surroundings of Redtail Vineyards.

Tonia Di Risio’s work has developed through ongoing investigations of the growing, making, preserving, celebrating, and sharing of food. She employs time-based media including photography and video.

She is also one of the coordinators of Alchemy.

About Redtail Vineyards
Redtail is a 5-acre farm winery off the beaten path on beautiful Partridge Hollow Road. Re-opened in 2018 under new ownership, Redtail focuses on Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris produced in an old world-style with low intervention methods.

Lynn Hubbs
Untitled
Treated cotton, eco ink, thread

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Using found objects from Casa Dea’s vineyard, with a nod to the County’s quilting history, Lynn Hubbs’ wall hanging tells the story of grape to wine in the hands of vineyard workers.
Paralleling the importance of sunshine and water in the grapes’ growth, each unique cyanotype image was made using sun and water before adding print and stitched embellishments.

Lynn Hubbs is a multidisciplinary artist based in Collingwood, Ontario working primarily in textiles. When she is not experimenting with various mediums, her work often explores friendship and family relationships.

About Casa-Dea Estates Winery
The Founder of Casa-Dea, Domenic Di Pietrantonio, grew up in the small village of Lettomanoppello located in the Abruzzo area of Italy. At an early age, he left home to study with the monks and as he entered the priesthood, he was assigned to the wine cellar room at the monastery. The experience stayed with him and he fell in love with the true art of wine making— this underlying passion is why Casa-Dea Estates Winery exists today.

Jane Macdonald lives and writes in Wellington, a small town 15 minutes from Hillier. She used her time at Hillier Hall in the production of her manuscript, revising existing poems and creating new ones. For her final piece, Macdonald gave a reading of her manuscripts in Hillier Hall. Learn more about her project, here.

About Hillier Hall
Built in 1867, Hillier Hall is the second oldest town hall in Prince Edward County. It was built during the year of Canada’s inauguration, and has been a central municipal facility in Hillier for over 140 years. It was once a school and has been marked as a national historical site. The hall is activated by the local community for events and meetings. Hillier Hall remains a community hub for the hamlet of Hillier. It is a common meeting place for the Hillier Women’s Institute and Rec Committee, amongst others.

Mary Macdonald
Untitled
Installation: two sets of walls, 2 meters high, made from wood, recycled bottles and mattress springs

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For her installation, Mary Macdonald hopes her project can inspire someone to work with their own overlooked materials and think on what draws us together beyond the wine we share and the meals we prepare in the place we call home.

Mary Macdonald lives in Prince Edward County, and has the great fortune of farming a vineyard known as Stanners Vineyard. She says about her studio work: “My practice begins in found objects/materials and place; ideally it is situated with site specific responses. I am interested in the power of art and beauty to draw people together, to invite inquiry of place, of self, of the relationship therein.”

About Stanners Vineyard
Stanners Vineyard is a small family vineyard and winery dedicated to producing premium Pinot Noir. Cliff and Dorothy work side by side with their son Colin and daughter-in-law Mary. During especially busy times they can always count on family members from the Toronto area to show up for a strenuous weekend in the vineyard, followed by an evening of good food, excellent Pinot Noir, great guitar, and singing.

Claire M. Tallarco
Genius Loci
Rusted farm and kitchen tools, charcoal pastels, coffee, vinegar, tea and yupo paper

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Genius Loci: the Latin term for the pervading spirit of a place.

Through locally foraged and gifted farm and cooking tools, Claire M. Tallarco offers a definite and powerful illustration of Genius Loci at Cold Creek Vineyard.

Working with neglected and forgotten rusted objects, Tallarco explores the history of the County and examines ongoing connections to winemaking, farming and cooking. This documentation acknowledges materials used over decades by local families to cook, bake and prepare food. It honours the bond between people and place.

Claire M. Tallarico is a visual artist and cook.  Tallarico’s work considers the daily actions of artists, cooks and makers and their impact on the wellbeing of themselves and others. Through an ongoing collaboration with artist Tonia Di Risio, Claire facilitates Alchemy Artists Residency and Table Settings.

About Cold Creek Vineyards
Cold Creek Vineyards’ passion for crafting exceptional beverages, coupled with their love for restoring historic buildings and appreciation for the past, has brought them to a cidery housed in a former dairy barn built in the 1800s.

Barbara Brown
Entwined
Archival pigment on cotton rag, Edition of 1 plus Artist Proof

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This photographic work offers a view of the exuberant growth and physical nature of vines. This fabricated and constructed image expresses the lively natural character of vines and the careful tending by the grower.

Vines  have been trained and tamed by skillful hands over many years where excess growth has been pruned away. Once the fruit is set, the lower leaves are pruned away exposing the grapes to the morning sun. All this is part of an ongoing relationship between the grower and the vines, between the vintner and the weather.

Barbara Brown’s current practice focuses on photographic documents of ephemeral arrangements using natural materials as a visual meditation. Her work deals with themes of memory and the passage of time, referencing the growing season and inevitable decline. Ultimately, she explores the question of belonging and making home in the place known as Canada.

About Hinterland Wine Company
Hinterland produces premium sparkling wine. They are terroir enthusiasts, and their real passion is seeing vines grown in the appropriate geographical region. Their wine is made in the vineyard and each wine vintage is a historical snapshot of that particular season.

Lisa Wood
Walking the Vines
Mixed media on paper

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While in Prince Edward County, Lisa Wood was partnered with Closson Chase Vineyard. Shadowing four of Closson Chase’s seasonal farm workers from away, she walked up and down the rows of vines with the workers, listening to their stories and taking photos of them through the vines as they worked putting up protective netting.

In her responsive art piece, a 5.5′ mixed media drawing titled Walking the Vines, Wood focuses on the workers’ hands in action. While the workers are largely hidden from view by the lush foliage, their contribution to the county and the vineyard is integral and is shown through this representation of each of the workers’ strong nimble hands.

Lisa Wood is a visual artist and Assistant Professor at Ishkaabatens Waasa Gaa Inaabateg, Department of Visual Art at Brandon University. Her art practice focuses on figurative painting and drawing that investigates interpersonal relationships, social exchanges, and the role of food.

About Closson Chase Vineyards
Closson Chase is a quality-driven winery that helped spearhead the birth of the Prince Edward County wine industry, using centuries-old European traditions and sustainable, innovative techniques to create world class wines using only the finest Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris grapes.