Melanie Jackson - Creative Works

By Melanie Jackson msjacksonpei@gmail.com If, as the saying goes, music is the universal language of mankind then Montague resident Con Zaat is fluent in the art of conversation. The 85-year old has spent most of his life writing, playing and teaching music. Even up until just last Sunday, he was the organist at St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Church in Sturgeon. He resigned not because he wasn’t able to carry out his duties any longer, but because he plans to move to Charlottetown this summer and thought the travel would be too much. In 1969, Mr Zaat was the music teacher at Cardigan Consolidated School. At the time, there was a significant number of children of Dutch descent attending the school - children with family names that are still familiar in the community today, such as Nabuurs and Van den Broek. That Christmas Mr Zaat was asked to organize the students for a Dutch-themed performance as part of the school’s Christmas concert. “Because there were so many Dutch students...

By Melanie Jackson msjacksonpei@gmail.com Some might say 11-year old Cam White is good at anything he puts his hand to. The son of Sandra and Blayne White of Pinette, Cam started playing hockey when he was just four years old. This past winter, his pee wee AA team made it all the way to the provincials. Last summer, Cam was junior club champion at Belfast Highland Greens, after playing the game seriously for just one season. “I got my name on that trophy up there,” Cam said, pointing to an impressive piece of hardware inside the clubhouse. Earlier this year, the Grade 6 Belfast Consolidated student discovered yet another of his talents. However it had nothing to do with a hockey stick or golf club, it involved a paintbrush and a palette. A few months ago, Cam decided to go to art class in Vernon Bridge with his mom. “The first night he said, ‘I’m coming too, Mom’,” Mrs White said with a proud glance toward her son. Mrs White said Cam’s request came as a bit of a surp...

By Melanie Jackson msjacksonpei@gmail.com Rilla Marshall has an unusual way of expressing her appreciation for Prince Edward Island’s changing landscapes. She does it through textiles. Inspired by aerial photos of shifting coastlines, Rilla translates her interest in erosion and rising sea levels through loom-woven tapestries and miniature three-dimensional dioramas - crocheted by hand - which depict familiar Island scenes, such as sand dunes and marshlands. She calls the handmade 3-D exhibits her “islands”. It’s taking something that’s scientific and factual and cold and translating it through all the connotations that come with textiles, like warmth and comfort and security,” Rilla says. Last spring, Rilla and her partner, Damien Worth, also an artist, purchased the old schoolhouse in Eldon. The couple are in the process of renovating the historic building and hope to be moved in this month. There, the pair will be able live and practise their art—all inside one expansive...