For thousands of years the site of Shobac has been a summer camp for the Mi’kmaq people, who came to collect molluscs. In 1604 French explorer Samuel de Champlain came ashore here, when the place was occupied by an Acadian fishing and farming village. The village was eventually colonized by German, Swiss, and French protestants for agricultural purposes and was inhabited until the mid-20th century, when the community was abandoned. But the fishing port buildings remained until the 1970s. Between each wave of settlement, the trees gained a little more ground.
It was 1988 when Brian MacKay Lyons began to clear the land to recreate a farming village. But before the buildings and the animals could be added, the space had to be rethought in terms of the wind, the light, and the seasons. For the architect, “the house is the land.” "The Music of Spaces" is featured in Beside's latest issue, as well as on beside.media.
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@beside_magazine@shobacns@mackaylyonssweetapple
#shobac #architecture #architecturephotography #architecturelovers #architecturedesign #design
It’s out, the new BESIDE Issue about Relationships — a very special one for me. I’m collaborating with @beside_magazine and @beside_habitat since the beginning but seeing my photo on the cover of this 15th issue today is a dream comes true. I’m so grateful for their trust in my work over the years, especially for this issue all about collective evolution and shared strength. « A love song to the myriad relationships that make us more than the sum of our parts. »
I had a strong feeling @avtvmn and @dododza123 would be the perfect muses for this one, as their synergy glows throughout every part of their bodies. ✨
Ready to preorder on beside.media
« Connecting meaningfully with others and with the natural world is one of the richest parts of life, and also one of the most complex. For many, the uncertainty we feel about the future has propelled us to reconsider our priorities and deepen our connections with the beings—human or otherwise—whose lives interweave with our own. In this Fall/Winter edition of BESIDE, we’re looking at the beautiful perplexity of relationships, in all their weirdness, magic, and struggle.»
Photos taken at @theparcelles 🌾
A glimpse into my vision of the Maritimes and my deep love for my Gaspésian roots is now featured at @maisonsimons 🐚 An exclusive collection of my photographs, framed by @olekacanvas , is available in four sizes.
#canadianphotographer #womenphotographers #womenphotographer #maisonsimons #photographer #photography #maritimes @womenphotograph
Last November, Léonie Lévesque-Robert stepped away from her work as a makeup artist and farmer to spend a week at The Parcelles reconnecting with a more instinctive impulse to create — an exploration that brought her closer to the world of Art Brut.
A visual artist drawn to the textures and rhythms of the living world, Léonie spent her days observing the late-autumn landscape of Seaforth, sketching colours in her notebook, experimenting with papier-mâché, and walking to the ocean in the quiet light of November afternoons.
Immersed in near silence, broken only by waves and birds, the residency became a space to slow down and follow curiosity.
Read her full story on The Parcelles Journal— link in bio.
👩🏻🎨 Artist @lehonye
🧶 Canadian wool sweater by @miloanddexter
📸 Photos by @cath.be
#TheParcelles #ArtistResidency #SlowCreation #ArtAndNature #CreativeRetreat #Seaforth #NovaScotia
Today is Rare Disease Day.
A quiet reminder that behind every diagnosis is a life — full, complex, and infinitely valuable. Learning that my son has a one-in-a-million rare syndrome was a shock, and in many ways, it still is.
It reshaped something deep inside me. It opened my heart wider, not only for him, but for all the others. The unseen. The ones carrying quiet battles.
Not defined by statistics, but by resilience.
By small victories most will never see.
By love that learns new languages.
Rare does not mean invisible. Rare does not mean alone.
Last week, I attended my first Vascular Malformation Association webinar and listened to the deeply touching stories of individuals and families living with rare conditions like Juno’s. It gave me hope and the strength to keep advocating for a better life for my son.
Rare conditions can sometimes spark curiosity in others. What truly helps is when parents have already had conversations with their children about differences — all kinds.
Your “normal” is not everyone’s normal. And that’s a beautiful lesson to learn from a young age.
@rarediseasedayofficial
#rarediseaseday
#rarediseaseawarenes
#vascularmalformation
#prossyndrome
#patientvoice
A little glimpse into last year’s annual Surfside Studio Tour… just to tease what’s coming ✨
Not for long.
We’re so excited to share the new dates for the 2026 annual Surfside Studio Tour this Friday. 🌊
Stay tuned and share the video if you had fun last year!
Photos by @cath.be
Last November, Canadian painter @yann.l.art joined us in Seaforth for a residency shaped by pause, solitude, and transformation.
After years devoted to cultural mediation alongside his studio practice, Yann came to The Parcelles to reconnect with painting — allowing the coastal landscape to enter his work and slowly transform through his unmistakable gestural language.
Working across long, uninterrupted days, he translated the experience of place not as documentation, but as sensation, where memory, presence, and imagination converge on the surface.
We’re honoured to have hosted Yann and to share a glimpse of what took shape during his time here.
His full interview is now live on The Parcelles Journal.
🧶 Canadian Wool Sweater by @miloanddexter
📸 Photos by @cath.be
#theparcelles #artistresidency #yannlemieux #canadianartist #paintingpractice #contemporarypainting #artistcommunity #novascotia #artistresidencycanada
On a personal note…
Two years with our little gem🎈A sweet boy filled with gentleness (he even hugs rocks, you know), playful, determined, curious, social, (very) fond of food. He is deeply thirsty for life.
My son doesn’t know that he has to work harder to maintain a posture that comes naturally to another child his age, or that it will take him more time to learn how to walk. He doesn’t know that he has more medical appointments than his little friends. He doesn’t know that he has been through difficult health challenges, that at this same time last year, on his birthday, he was in a coma. He doesn’t know that he is a little different. He doesn’t know — and he is happy that way. He loves life. He is joyful, loving, resilient. He gets back up. He is brave. It’s gentle, despite everything.
I wish I could protect his innocence for my entire life. But I know that sooner or later, he will come to understand that his body works differently. I hope he will see it as a unique and precious way of experiencing life on Earth. I will be there to remind him of his oversized inner strength.
It is an emotional day for a mother who has lived a great deal in two years. My body holds memory, deeply marked by troubling events, but my heart is filled with healing love.
My little one is two years old, and I savor every moment of happiness with him. It’s an incredible age — discovering who you are, learning to express yourself, and living with an ever more colorful palette of emotions.
Honor to you, my bright little boy. I love you. ❤️
Last November, illustrator @carococo.illustrations joined us at The Parcelles for a week of creation by the Atlantic. Rooted on L’Isle-aux-Coudres, a small island in Quebec where generations of her family have lived before her, Carol-Anne’s practice is deeply connected to water, cycles, and slowness.
During her stay in Seaforth, she immersed herself in the coastal landscape—walking at dawn, gathering images and textures, and advancing a deeply personal project: an illustrated oracle deck titled Our Tides, exploring challenges, resilience, emotions, cycles, and connection.
Between ocean storms and quiet afternoons in the cabin, her time here became both a creative retreat and a moment of healing.
The body of work she created resonated so deeply with us that these oracle deck cards now has a home at the cabin, waiting to be discovered by future guests. 🌊✨
Read her full story on The Parcelles Journal— link in bio.
Photos by @cath.be
#TheParcelles #ArtistResidency #Illustration #CreativeRetreat #ArtAndNature #SlowCreation #Seaforth #NovaScotia
Last year, visual artist @catherineblanchet_ was selected for the annual @arteacentre × The Parcelles residency in Seaforth. During her time here, she slowed down her practice, exploring natural materials through drawing, walking the shoreline, and hands-on experimentation.
Catherine also participated in a natural textile dye workshop with local artist Alissa Kloet (@keephouse ) and Dartmouth based artist Maria Doering, blending collaborative learning with her own research.
Her residency was not only a pause for creation but also a moment of reflection: Catherine left with a heightened awareness of the fragility of the landscape and the impact of erosion, inspiring a more responsible, attentive approach in her work. 🌊🪨
Read her full story on The Parcelles Journal — link in bio.
Photos by @cath.be
#TheParcelles #ARTEAxTheParcelles #ArtistResidency #VisualArt #MaterialResearch #NaturalPigments #EnvironmentalAwareness #SlowArt #ArtInNature
Chasing winter swells has developed @nicomanos ’s eye for the landscape itself. When you spend your whole life chasing a single moment—where all the conditions line up for the perfect wave—you learn everything you can to attempt to read the sea and anticipate the best waves. 🌊
In this article by @cath.be , you won’t learn how to surf (that takes years). But you might just come away with a deeper understanding of how the sea moves—and why some choose to face it in freezing cold water.
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Les années passées à côtoyer la mer ont mené @nicomanos à poser un regard scientifique sur le paysage. Lorsqu’on consacre sa vie à attendre ce moment précis — celui où toutes les conditions s’alignent pour créer la vague parfaite — on apprend à lire la mer dans ses moindres mouvements. 🌊
Dans cet article signé @cath.be , vous n’apprendrez pas à surfer (ça, ne s’apprend pas du jour au lendemain!) Mais vous comprendrez peut-être un peu mieux comment la mer se comporte — et pourquoi certain·es choisissent de l’affronter, même par temps glacial.
