My grade 9 #NipRockArt students were thrilled to have the opportunity to speak with Roy MacGregor today via Skype. The class is busy working on their culminating assignment as semester one draws to a close, and his research has helped our class understand the mystery surrounding the death of Tom Thomson. We began by watching his interview with Steve Paikin on The Agenda:
After watching the video, we discussed some of the main ideas and thought of questions we would like to pass along to Mr. MacGregor. At this point, we didn’t know that we would have the chance to speak with him, so our written notes came in extra-handy during our discussion!
We encountered a few technical glitches that threatened to affect the success of our call, but managed to work past the issues and eventually found a way to get both the audio and video working together. At one point, we thought we might have to use my iPhone for our entire chat… I’m so glad this didn’t have to happen!
To top it all off, we were interviewed on CBC radio! If you would like to listen, please click *here*.
The grade 9 art class and I would like to thank Roy MacGregor for sharing his time with us today!
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Northern Art Teacher 
Having grown up on the shores of Lake Superior I have always been enchanted by the water and the surrounding landscape. I have tried to imagine what it would have been like for the members of the Group of Seven travelling by boxcar through the hills of Algoma or by foot to the high vista on Neys Peninsula overlooking Pic Island. The inspiration Lauren Harris must have felt when he first laid eyes on the undulating hills of the distant island must have been incredible. He would have immediately set up his easel and started furiously sketching.
Unfortunately Tom Thompson never ventured as far as Algoma or the North Shore of Superior. Which is too bad because I think it would have ignited in him a passion to capture the incredible beauty of the landscape on canvas. His work and his inspiration came from the lakes and the woods of Algonquin. Leading up to his death he was producing an incredible amount of work. I have heard it said that his passion was so intense he was on fire. He had found his own artistic style and the dramatic landscape was fueling his passion to paint. He had a profound influence on the artists who would go on to form the Group of Seven. So much so I often think Harris might have paused while frantically sketching Pic Island and turned to Carmichael to say “can you imagine what Tom would have thought of this?”
Thank you Liam and Mrs. Rose and the Grade 9 students for sharing your learning it has been a delight to follow.
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