May 28, 2012

An artist's inspiration


Silent Observer
by Christy MacKinnon



Artist and storyteller Christy MacKinnon remembers her early life in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Born in 1889, she lost her hearing at the age of two. She describes a simple, charming life on her family’s farm. Raised by her grandparents while her father taught in a one-room schoolhouse, her days were filled with chores, mischief, and misadventure, made more difficult due to her deafness. MacKinnon eventually attended the Halifax School of the Deaf, where she learned to speak.


MacKinnon's paintings have a warm, folktale charm that fondly evokes a past way of life.







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