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Meet Cherie Daly & Discover Muskoka’s Thriving Art Scene

December 6, 2024

Muskoka’s natural beauty has long inspired artists, fueling a vibrant arts community that enriches life in the region. From Canada’s first studio tour to Ontario’s oldest outdoor art show, Muskoka boasts a rich artistic legacy. With many talented artists representing a broad spectrum of media including: pottery, jewelry, fibre arts, live edge art and furniture, metal art, wood carving, stone sculpture and painting, there’s really something for everyone. 

Muskoka Arts & Crafts (MAC) is one of Ontario’s oldest and most well-established arts organizations. Since its inception in 1963, MAC has grown into a diverse community of professional artists, hobbyists, patrons, and enthusiasts, fostering creativity through events, exhibitions, and their new gallery space, MAC on Main, in downtown Bracebridge. For those looking to support the local art community – or even invest in a unique piece for your cottage – we recommend visiting MAC on Main and downloading their app to view their artist directory, browse the online shop and get notified of upcoming events.

Meet Cherie Daly

Cherie Daly, one of our owners, is not a full-time resident but is an active artist within the Muskoka community – she even built a bunkie art studio at her cottage! Here, she shares her journey, creative process, and passion for abstract art in her own words:

“I have a four-season family cottage on Lake Rosseau where my family engages in typical cottage activities and where I love being in nature, hiking and observing native plants. But, I am also an artist and found that as my kids moved away, I had more time to pursue my art while at the cottage. Art had become more of a focus of mine since I had turned 60. Looking to honour my own needs, over my caregiving role in my family, I decided to pursue art full time at an adult program at Central Tech. From there, I chose to concentrate on intuitive abstract painting.

Looking to practice my art while at the cottage year round, I began to dream about an art studio on the property. In 2020/21 I worked with Yuill McGregor of Yuillbuilt and North on Sixty, a company that designs and builds homes and furniture and supplies wood, at locations in Dwight and Toronto. Adapting some plans for a laneway house we added large windows to it and built a studio/bunkie in the woods.

This has been my creative place, along with a Toronto studio, where I engage with the canvas, blocking thoughts from my mind and enjoying the process, because magic happens when we stop overthinking. I love my alone time in the studio where I can listen to music, be surrounded by nature and I can create my own world, while being influenced by the surroundings.

If you ask me to describe my style or my influence, I enjoy painters like Joan Mitchell, Harold Town and Robert Motherwell, popular during the 1950s period of abstract expressionists. Through my bold, funky, and gestural work, I aim to infuse joy and strength, offering viewers a chance to partake in the expressive energy embedded in each stroke. Bringing art into your home makes a statement about the values of the buyer, adding beauty but also expressing the character of the owner.

This creative evolution has not only shaped my artistic expression but served as a vital outlet during personal challenges, particularly in supporting family members facing physical and mental illnesses. Having an art practice has given me a focus for my creativity, but it has also been a way to meet a whole new community of people, online during COVID and in person since then.

In Muskoka, I joined Muskoka Arts and Crafts and I participated in their member shows as well as their annual outdoor summer show in Annie Williams Park, Bracebridge. This show attracts an estimated 10,000+ visitors per year, this year was their 62nd year! A fantastic tradition loved amongst locals, cottagers and day trippers.

My studio was open during this fall’s Autumn Art Crawl. This organization is made up of a very diverse and talented group of artists. I have also shown my work in the Britton Gallery and the Art Annex on Manitoba Street in Bracebridge. Since 2017, my work has been included in juried exhibits and shows including the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair, The Artist Project, Colborne Street Gallery, Fenelon Falls and the Paula White Diamond Gallery, Kitchener.

I am excited to be planning a joint show this spring with Lynda Lynn, an accomplished artist living in Bracebridge. We want to make abstract art more approachable, as many people feel they don’t understand it. Abstract art is all about feelings – those of the artist and those of the viewer. We hope to wow you and also to engage you. We will be showing at the MAC on Main Gallery in April and May of 2025.”

Contact Cherie

To contact Cherie, you can email her at cheriedaly17@gmail.com or call her at 647 455 1789.

Cherie’s Upcoming Exhibits:

To see Cherie’s work in person, be sure to visit her at these upcoming shows:

Nov 1 – Dec 23 A Holiday Art Market Colborne St. Gallery, Fenelon Falls
Dec 2 – Jan 19 Into the Now, Station Gallery, Whitby
Dec 4 – 22 The Holiday Show, Gerrard Art Space, Toronto
Dec 4 – Jan 5 2025 Holiday Smalls Show, Leslie Grove Gallery, Toronto
Dec 6 – 21 Collective Expressions Paula White Diamond Gallery, 48 Ontario Street, Kitchener Opening is Dec 6 evening
Dec 7 – 10 am – 3 pm Studio 106 – Holiday Open House at 100 Sunrise Ave., Toronto
Britton Gallery, 169 Manitoba St., Bracebridge

Cherie’s Recommended Galleries in Muskoka:

If you’re looking to explore more of Muskoka’s art scene, Cherie recommends visiting these galleries:

MAC on Main, Bracebridge
Britton Gallery, Bracebridge
Art Annex, Bracebridge
Arts at the Albion, Gravenhurst
Huntsville Art Society, Partners Hall, Algonquin Theatre, and the Public Library, Huntsville
Ryan Fine Art Gallery, Port Carling
Red Canoe Gallery, Bala

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