Chris Lowrey
PONTIAC Sept. 27, 2017
A new artistic project that aims to engage people with the region’s historic architecture has cropped up in a community near you.
The Pontiac Heritage Barn Quilt Project is the brainchild of the Pontiac Historical Society. It aims to enhance the heritage value of agricultural buildings in the Pontiac.
“We’re interested in local history,” said the president of the Pontiac Historical Society, Chris Seifried. “And agriculture played a big role in local history.”
“One of the things we wanted to do was to bring people’s attention to local history and historic buildings.”
Several barns throughout the Pontiac have been adorned with large images that are based on quilt motifs. These images are usually painted on pieces of plywood that measure anywhere from 4’ by 4’ to 8’ by 8’.
Barn decorations like these originated in the mid-19th century when early settlers painted or carved small patterns on barns to celebrate heritage or bring good luck.
The owners of each barn, in some cases the descendants of those who built the barn, had a say in the look of the design that adorned their barn.
The hope is that the barn quilts will add a little bit more flavour to the existing architecture in the Pontiac and may draw a few more eyeballs towards these oft-ignored buildings.
“It adds to the attractiveness of our roads,” Seifried said. “It’s something that people like to see because the barn quilts in and of themselves are beautiful pieces of art.”
Although this could be a way to attract more people to the Pontiac, Seifried said that the project was meant to connect with residents of the Pontiac first and foremost.
“Our primary audience is the people of the Pontiac themselves,” he said. “Our hope is that they will see this and see how beautiful these buildings are and it will develop a sense of pride in our own heritage and the architecture of the Pontiac.”
The quilts were created by Quyon designer Amber Walpole of Atelier Amberbrook.
Walpole is no stranger to putting the history of the Pontiac on display. A few years ago during the anniversary of Samuel de Champlain’s journey into the Ottawa Valley, Walpole created a travelling exhibit on the history of Shaw Falls.
The locations of each of the five barns can be found on the Pontiac Historical Society and Museum Facebook page.
“My favourite is probably the one just past Ladysmith,” he said. “That particular barn I really like, it’s really impressive.”
Which is ultimately the goal: to impress people.
“It makes people feel good about our landscape,” Seifried said.
