From 1958 until her passing in 1976, my mother was involved with Indigenous issues. She helped Aboriginal people to market their crafts and supported many of their other endeavours. Some people encouraged me to carry on with her interest, but since the mid-2000s, I have mostly been on the outside looking in.
From the 1950s to the 1960s, my mother was involved with many projects at First-St Andrew’s United Church in London, Ontario. For instance, she helped organize religious art and artifact exhibitions. The Very Reverend Angus J MacQueen (1912-2006) gave my mother’s 1976 eulogy at the church. He described her as “very special kind of person.”
My mother created a shoulder-bag carrier for infants. She also turned a banana box into a swing that small children could play in. She acknowledged she got her ideas for these devices from researching how women had carried their offspring throughout the ages.
This is the first of a four-part tribute to my mother on the 40th anniversary of her passing December 15, 1976. I discuss her 1950s paintings of children, her design of the “Moo Cow” marionette for James Reaney’s “Apple Butter” play, and her baby chair invention which was acquired by Museum London.
My father Charles T Peterson loved to tell the story of his great-grandfather Michael Sullivan. Michael changed his name from O’Sullivan to Sullivan after he got on the wrong side of the Roman Catholic Church. My cousin, Ken Whiteley’s song “That Other Shore” tells Michael’s story. Whiteley played it at Home County in July 2016.
I incorporate my mother’s artwork into Christmas cards. The 2014 addition was of her family enjoying a get together in 1942. In 2015, I used her 1939 Christmas carollers creation.
2014 and 2015 Additions to “Cards of the Season – the Art of Jay Peterson” Read More »
My custom domain, www.leithpeterson.ca, is the way to locate this site.
My Custom Domain, www.leithpeterson.ca, is the Way to Locate This Site Read More »
My mother Jay Peterson designed two posters for the Canadian Mental Health Association – London-Middlesex Branch Mental Health Week in 1952. One was a functional family montage and the other was a dysfunctional one. I will leave it up to you to decide if these posters are still relevant today.
I converted an old plastic CD tower and some empty CD cases into a low-budget organizer for kitchen cleaning pads.
Low-Budget Organizer for Kitchen Cleaning Pads Read More »
In December 2013, the Ivey Family London Room at the London Public Library put on a display of four of my Christmas cards, which feature my mother Jay Peterson’s artwork. My post includes photos of the display.