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group of seven original donated economist suntribune march 25 1987 c5 local man artist casson join to save peaks by bruce etheridge group of seven painter aj casson and unionville artist paul gauthier are teaming up to help preserve one of canadas most distinctive natural phenomenon white quartzite mountains under mr cassons hand mr gauthier and artisan screen print ltd are reproducing a nev- erbeforedisplayed casson watercolor into a limited edition silkscreen print the watercolor entitled the entrance to baie fine depicts a most unusual area on manitoulin island mountains of snowwhite quartzite rock jut out of the land scape as high as 1000 feet the quartzite is what remains of a mountain range older than the rockies called the cloche mr casson painted the water- color from the perspective of one of these quartzite peaks overlook ing frazer bay the scene depicts an inlet waterway meandering through the treegreen hills hued in blues and violets with dashes of quartzite outcroppings but ironically the sites unique composition may be its downfall a mining company indusmin ltd wants to extract the white quartzite for the sand imbedded in the rock indusmin ltd plans to melt the quartzite down to extract the sand although sand can be found almost anywhere glassmaking companies covet sand extracted from quartzite because of its pur ity it produces topnotch glass at economical costs the 89yearold surviving mem ber of canadas illustrious group aj casson group of seven artist of seven approved the reproduc tion of the watercolor to help raise funds to save the baie fine area from the proposed mining de velopment with mr cassons permission the founder of the north channel preservation society stewart david cork is having 250 prints of the baie fine watercolor made the painting was given to mr corks mother by mr casson it has been in the cork familys pri vate collection for over 50 years the baie fine watercolor fea tures the same area as mr cas sons famous white pine oil paint ing which hangs in the mcmichael canadian collection in kleinburg launched campaign when mr cork discovered there were plans to take down a 1000foot quartzite mountain which could be leveled within 20 years he launched a campaign to save the area for him the paint ing has become a symbol for his fight the very spot mr casson painted is now a drilling site its a unique and startling area mr cork said the white quartzite is like snow moonlight reflecting off the mountains is bright enough to read from famous artists its also startling to consider the artists who have chosen to paint there along with mr cas son the quartzite mountains have been a favorite spot of ay jack son frank carmichael arthur lismer bruce brown and joachim gauthier pauls father paul gauthier has known mr casson since he was a boy mr gauthiers father joachim painted with mr casson and other members of the group of seven in markham and in other parts of ontario it was paul gauthiers task to translate the watercolor into a line drawing the actual size of the print which is twice as large as the original watercolor at mr cassons request painting to print the original painting was broken down into colors the baie fine print consists of 19 different colors and then the colors into shapes screen stencils were made of the various shapes unionvilles paul gauthier left and group of seven artist aj casson appraise the silkscreen print reproduction of a neverbeforedisplaycd cas son watercolor the print will be available in april proceeds from the sale of the print will go toward saving a quartzite mountain range on manitoulin island mr casson plans to resume painting this summer he is recovering from major surgery he wants to build up strength in his legs because he does all his painting standing up photos by bruce etheridgc and then the paint was laid down from lightest to darkest mr gauthier proofs the colors and the prints right from the original watercolor mr gauthier likens the silk screen print to a translation of the original painting into another language an original is something you dont copy mr gauthier ex plains the print is itself un ique we all have covetous feel ings mr cork said this is a chance for others to own a repro duction of a watercolor never be fore seen by the general public pattilyiji interiors div of shuttlecraft services broadloom vinyl floorings indian rugs dhurries wallpaper custom drapes blinds open 10 am530 pm tuesday to saturday shop at home by appointment 5028 brock road claremont ontario 6493551 6492618 v calmbrook construction limited quality workmanship by experienced tradesman specializing in residential construction renovations additions new home construction licensed tradesmen fully insured 12 month warranty call today for a cost estimate phone 416 6404412 box 145 stouffville ontario l0h 1l0 j