St. Martin's, NB

St. Martin’s, NB

Travelling along Route 111 in New Brunswick, through the rolling emerald hills from Sussex to St. Martin’s is a refreshing day-trip.  The drive offers visual treats, tidy green and gold fields on immense farms, roads edged with seeding wildflowers and chocolate-hued cattails, vibrant green woodlands, lush with feathery larch.

In St. Martin’s, we were delighted to visit Desideratum Art Gallery at 2559 on Route 111, and more than satisfied with the welcome and the artistic creations we found there.  (Read my blog entry from yesterday, August 9, 2011 for more.)

The weather was the usual dreary soggy stuff we’ve endured all summer long.  Despite that, there were breaks in the rain which gave us time to walk the tumbled stone beaches.

We saw the sea caves carved into red rock along the shores.

St. Martin’s has two covered bridges and colourful fishing boats.

The shoreline and protected waters invite people to kayak or walk about and enjoy the quaint ambiance of this seaside village.

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Our Sunday meanderings were cut short by the fog rolling in to re-possess the land, followed hard by heavy rainfall.

We left before we had seen all that we had hoped to visit.  A great excuse for a return day-trip very soon!

Note:  Any print words that are in a colour other than black will lead you to more information, if you just click on them.

All photos are mine.

Desideratum in St. Martin's, NB

Desideratum in St. Martin's, NB


Last Sunday threatened to be another in a drear series of sombre soggy days, so we decided to drive to Sussex to lunch at the Broadway Cafe and then to explore some shops.  We arrived and everything was closed...ah, Sunday!

After a snack at the local Tim's, we were still up for adventure.  Having had none to this point, we headed to St. Martin's, NB.

The rain held off for the next 40 minutes, while we travelled the rolling green hills, past lush farmland and healthy forests; a soothing visual delight all the way to the village of St. Martin's.

In St. Martin's, we headed straight for the Desideratum Gallery at 2559 Route 111; easy to find with its vibrant turquoise double doors.  The Gallery houses original paintings, metalwork, handmade art and jewellery, photography and art cards by Gwen Buchanan and John Ackerson.

I've been following Gwen's blog at   http://gwenbuchanan.blogspot.com  and was delighted to meet her and John in person, and greet her welcoming committee of well-mannered and friendly dogs.

Gwen has recently posted a blog entry all about the gallery, with stunning photos of her art and jewellery work, and of John's art work. If you'd like to see, click here.

It was busy at the Gallery, but Gwen made time to talk with us, to explain the evolution of the gallery and of her work, to suggest other things to do and see in the village of St. Martin's.

She is lovely and warm, an extremely talented woman.  I thoroughly enjoyed her and was so impressed by her creative gifts and the wide range of work she produces.

The earrings, prints and card I bought have all found home with me, (though I intended them for gifts).  I will be returning to Desideratum soon to buy gifts for others, really others, this time!  Well, maybe...except for a couple of pieces for me, including a painting of John's, a touching, delicate romantic portrait, with which I am in love.

Gwen's art website   http://gwenbuchanan.blogspot.com

John's art website     http://johnackerson1.blogspot.com

If you haven't been to see Desideratum Gallery yet, do go!  It is a treasure!

I'll post another blog tomorrow of what we saw in St.Martin's, before the fog rolled in.

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