Click here to enlarge image

Sarah Beck is painting glaze on one of her whimsical sculpted puffins and chatting with us at the same time. "I'm a fiddler as well as a potter," she tells us. She turns to her husband, Paul Cranford, who's sitting next to her, working on his computer. "Why don't you play something for them?" she suggests.

And that's how my husband and I find ourselves enjoying an impromptu ceilidh [pronounced kay-lee], a Scottish fiddling party.

We're crafting the roads of Canada — talking to craftspeople, learning about their crafts, their life and the communities of which they're a part.

Talking about crafts inevitably leads to talking about place. We learn what provided the inspiration for the artistic creations, about the locally available materials and about the economy that supports the craftsperson's work. Often the conversation ranges far beyond that and gives us surprising glimpses into ways of life that we'd known nothing about.

Click here to enlarge image

Nova Scotia

Sarah and Paul live in the Scottish area of Cape Breton, an island on the northeastern tip of Nova Scotia. "I'm part Scottish, but I'm also French, Irish and English," says Paul. "That just another way of saying I'm Canadian!"

He then reveals that he spends alternate months as a keeper on the last manned lighthouse in the Maritimes, Grand Manan Island in the Bay of Fundy. The island, he tells us, is part of a border dispute between the U.S. and Canada that has been going on since 1830. There are big stakes — fishing rights and potentially offshore oil rights. Who knew?

We buy a raku puffin, as much for the story as for the sculpture, and head down the road to visit with Gordon Kennedy. Gordon makes wall hangings of salmon, trout and lobster, and also impressive landscape pieces out of various metals. Here the talk ranges from his work to fishing (he knows the best salmon river around), to the economy (kids can't afford houses around here anymore) and finally to the berry-eating bear he found in his garden this morning.

It's conversations like this, plus, of course, the opportunity to see (and purchase!) top quality crafts, that make crafting such a pleasure. My husband and I coined the word twenty years ago, and it's since become our favorite way to travel.

Finding Anne Morrell Robinson is a bit more of an adventure than we'd anticipated. Anne lives eight miles down a dirt road, and we get lost twice trying to find her home. (Note: cell phones don't work in much of Cape Breton.)

Anne makes museum-quality quilts, many of which depict the history and culture of Nova Scotia. We put on white gloves so as not to dirty the fabric. The first one, made as a fundraiser for the nature conservancy, is all about plants and animals. The next one shows people — Indians, English, French, African — who settled the island. And yet another focuses on the occupations of local residents, from fisherman to farmer to village businessman. We look at the quilts and feel as if we?ve had a mini-history lesson.

Nova Scotia makes crafting easy. The province puts out various pamphlets highlighting galleries and art studios, and Cape Breton has a well-defined Artisan Trail featuring more than 30 artists and a variety of galleries. For a quick overview of the Cape Breton art scene, stop at the Cape Breton Centre for Craft and Design in Sydney, where the work of many of the artists is on display.

Click here to enlarge image

New Brunswick

It's not until we reach New Brunswick that we learn about économusées — a network of craft businesses that represent a variety of art trades. To become part of the network, a business must meet three criteria: it must reflect Canadian culture by showcasing traditional trades, it must educate people by explaining the history and techniques of the craft, and it must be economically sustainable by selling related products.

Today the network is concentrated in Atlantic Canada and Quebec; it is poised to expand to Ontario and eventually will encompass tradesfolks in other provinces as well.

We stop at London-Wul Fibre Arts to talk with owner Heidi Wulfraat. Heidi is that rare person who is both artist and scientist; she came to fiber arts after working in the agricultural sciences. Now she raises sheep, goats and angora rabbits on a small farm. We can see the animals from the shop, which is a bustling hive of activity. Several women are spinning, some are weaving, and a group of tourists are looking at the woolly warm items that Heidi has for sale.

Click here to enlarge image

Quebec

To find La Forge a Pique-Assaut, we leave Quebec City proper, cross the bridge to the Île d'Orléans and drive through an area that's mostly rural. That's where Leonard Arseneau and his mentor, Guy Bell, practice the ancient trade of blacksmithing.

Arseneau is delighted when he learns that my husband is a dentist. "In the old days, blacksmiths were the village dentists," he says, brandishing a large pair of pliers. (A quick google search later tells us that while some smithies undoubtedly yanked rotten teeth, most simply used their smithing skills to make instruments for professional "tooth pullers.")

As is so often the case, Arseneau continues to work as he explains his craft. "Nothing has changed in this business in 1,000 years," he says. "It's still all about a hammer, an anvil and fire."

While Areneau and Bell specialize in large, commissioned pieces such as staircase banisters and gates, their smaller pieces are truly extraordinary. Smithing, it seems, has gone high class; the upstairs shop features everything from candleholders and wind vanes to vases, chandeliers and sculptures.

A few miles away, we make another stop, this time to explore the art of winemaking. La Liquoristeri is the house-turned-agri-business of Bernard Monna, a fourth-generation specialist in fine liqueurs, specifically fine liqueurs made from the oh-so-good-for-you black currant.

The small berries grow wild in Quebec, but Monna, a self-styled berry expert, imported his own strain. "Maybe this was in my genes," he says, explaining why, after a stint as a sculptor and painter, he decided to return to the family business.

Click here to enlarge image

He takes us outside to the fields. The day is misty, but there?s a weather vane atop the building (crafted by Monna), and the surroundings feed my fantasy of being in rural France. To top it off — pardon the pun — Monna is wearing a beret!

The conversation ranges from family to farming to running a small business. The company now produces four types of black current wine — Crème de Cassis, Fruite, the Maderise, the Capiteaux and the Capiteaux which, says Anne, can be used to spice up a glass of white wine. She pours me a small glass. Ummm, this is good. Crafting has unexpected benefits!

Sans crafting, the drive from Quebec City to Montreal takes about three hours. But économusées dot the countryside; and dedicated crafters can learn about making stained glass, extracting essential oils, creating hats and brewing beer, to name just a few.

We're regaled with stories about the various crafts but also about the people, and by the time we reach Montreal, we're feeling fairly good about ourselves. We can not only stammer our way through a few pleasantries in French, but we've heard enough personal stories to feel that we have a handle on the history of the province — how the French moved west, how they established a foothold at the place where the St. Lawrence River empties into the Great Lakes, how the English gained control of what was New France, and how the city of Montreal became a mecca for immigrants from all countries until today it's a mega-metropolis, home to more than 80 ethnic groups.

Click here to enlarge image

Jules Saint-Michel, for example, came from Hungary. Born in 1933, he left Eastern Europe after the 1956 revolution and, after a stop in France, moved to Montreal. Now he has a small shop on a non-descript street in Montreal (a 20-minute walk from the old part of the city) where he repairs and makes violins. He has an awe-inspiring display of stringed instruments, including examples of some of the very earliest bow instruments to a reproduction of a Stradivarius.

Jules isn't in the shop on the day we visit, but his daughter, Lili, entertains us with tales and information. Jules, she tells us, became so good that when the Canadian government issued a series of stamps honoring the traditional trades, they used a photograph of Jules? hands to illustrate the art of woodworking. I'm impressed; I don't know many people who've been depicted on a postage stamp.

Now Jules is passing on his knowledge to his grandson, Olivier, age 25. Like others of his generation, he?s making sure that the crafts of Canada remain in good hands.

Rules of Crafting
Allow plenty of time. Studios and économusées are often in out-of-the-way places and can be hard to find.

Call first. Many craftspeople work from their homes and keep irregular hours.

Be considerate. The artisans have opened their studios and businesses to visitors because they genuinely like talking to people and explaining their craft. Yet, talking takes up time that could be spent producing, so don't overstay your welcome.

Beware: crafting can get expensive! You'll want to purchase something from the craftsperson — partly because you've taken their time, but mostly because the craft will come with memories and a story of the person who made it. Bring your holiday shopping list.

Planning your trip
Ecomuseums: www.economusees.com

Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
Sarah Beck: www.wildfirepottery.ca
Paul Cranford: www.cranfordpub.com
Anne Morrell Robinson: www.kingrossquilts.com

New Brunswick
London-Wul Fibre Arts: www.thewoolworks.com

Quebec City
La Forge a Pique-Assaut: www.forge-pique-assaut.com
Cassis Monna & Filles: www.cassismonna.com

Montreal
Jules Saint-Michel, Luthier; www.luthiersaintmichel.com