Artful departure
Well-known artist retires from teaching but plans to keep painting
Marie Moore never had a doubt about what she would do with her life.
“I started teaching when I was about 16,” she recalled on Wednesday at one of her final classes before she retired Thursday after 50 years of giving art lessons.
“I started a little class after school and I’d run home from the (Sydney) Academy to get there before the kids would come and there would only be a few of them but it went on from there.”
Moore has taught thousands of Cape Bretoners about the finer points of art, from whether to use a burnt sienna instead of a raw umber to why a palette knife can be an artist’s best friend. She has taught as many as 14 classes a week, each lasting two hours and filled with people from all age groups, all hoping to create something unique but also to have fun.
“I can’t remember everybody but it’s been a wonderful, wonderful thing for myself and all the people who have come through my doors,” Moore said, while surrounded by happy students and at least a half-dozen cakes celebrating the final lesson on Wednesday.
Moore may be best known as the creator of a series of paintings of iconic Cape Breton landmarks such as Moxham Castle, The Savoy Theatre, the Sydney Forum and other well-known sites, all depicted in their nostalgic prime.
She credits the Moxham Castle prints for raising her stature as an artist in the local area. She fondly remembers roaming with her sister through the castle grounds on King’s Road before it burnt in 1966.
“It was there in ruins when I was a kid — you could go through this little door and the furniture was still there — I was only a kid then but we went in and it was amazing,” said Moore. “Later I started doing the pictures of the castle and it just blew up. Everyone wanted one. I can’t imagine how many thousand prints I sold of that but it was there — anyone could have done it but everybody didn’t even notice — it just didn’t come to their minds to do it.”
Those prints led to community
groups contacting her to do paintings which they would sell the prints of in local stores.
“It would help everybody,” said Moore. “It brought back a period that everyone forgot.”
Moore still paints as much as possible and always has something in progress on her easel. When her final class ended Thursday, she packed up her painting supplies and headed to her second home in Baddeck where she will spend the summer with her longtime partner Russell Brake.
She will be missed by her students. Many have attended her classes because they promised themselves art lessons when they themselves retired from hectic, demanding careers.
Kathleen (Kay) McIntosh, 90, is a former inspector of schools and has held other education-related positions. After she retired, she thought it would be a good idea to pursue something completely different.
“I was retired and wanted to get
out and meet people and I wanted to do art,” said McIntosh, sitting by one of her own creations, a painting of a vase filled with flowers. “I had heard about Marie but I didn’t think she would take me because I had never been to art class before. But she said ‘yes’ and I came.
“It’s been a most wonderful group of people — I just come for the people. I don’t even come to learn the art — they’re very special, they’re all friendly, they’ve all been here for quite a while too. And I did learn a bit of art
too.”
Marie MacDonald-Campbell, 81, had taken art classes when she was a student at the former Holy Angels High School. But when she went into a nursing career and raised a family, she put her brushes aside.
“When I resigned from nursing I promised myself art classes so I’ve been here over 20 years now and I’ve enjoyed it all,” said MacDonaldCampbell. “It’s been a wonderful experience. I love Marie and I love everybody in the class. We’re just like a family here. I would advise
anyone to take it up at any age.”
Josie Matheson has been studying art with Moore for more than 25 years. At 90, she’s decided it’s time to retire from art as well and she has no regrets about her decision.
“It will be sad to see it go — different people will pick it up with another teacher but at my age, I think it’s time to quit too,” she laughs. “She was one of the nicest people and teachers that you could possibly have. She was just great.
“A lot of fun.”