The Grebel Gallery, located on the fourth floor in the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement, has been radiantly warm these past few months with artist Margruite Krahn’s artwork illuminating the walls. After Margruite first uncovered a hand painted floor when she was renovating her own home, she was inspired to embark on a journey of restoring and then replicating floors in Mennonite house barns. Not only were these historic floor patterns vividly stunning, but they held significant meaning because of the stories behind them.
As an artistic outlet for feminine self-expression, Mennonite women from the turn of the 20th century used to paint floors using hand-made stencils out of everyday objects such as potatoes or cereal boxes to create a pattern. The beauty the floor represents goes beyond simple creativity; it invites a conversation on socioeconomic and cultural influences. They built and beautified the floors of their homes, challenging conventional ideologies and stereotypical constraints.
Margruite Krahn lives in Neubergthal in southern Manitoba. Neubergthal is the best-preserved single-street Mennonite village in North America, and a National Historic site of Canada, located on Treaty 1 territory. Her discovery has led her to all parts of the country, moving the exhibit from galleries in Saskatchewan to galleries in Ontario. Margruite returned to Waterloo last week to take down the “Resurfacing: Mennonite Floor Patterns” exhibit as it moves to its next destination.
Margruite bid farewell to Waterloo Region by hosting a hands-on traditional printmaking workshop. Guests got to craft beautiful pieces of art using similar techniques Mennonite women around the 1870s-1910s used to paint their floors. Hosted at the Brubacher House, an 1850s Pennsylvania German Farmhouse located at the University of Waterloo, participants could immerse themselves into the relaxing yet empowering event.
When asked to describe the experience in one word, Susan Bauman, a staff member at Conrad Grebel College University and participant of the workshop, used the word cathartic. She explained that “It was cathartic in a sense of the process – to take time to be creative, getting to do it in community, having conversations with people, and seeing creativity without it needing to be perfect is freeing.”
Others who attended the workshop felt similarly. One participant mentioned, “The imperfections are part of the design.” Another stated, “It started as an accident, then it became art.” The combination of having a beautiful space to be in with people who have similar interests and an experienced workshop leader such as Margruite is what made the experience so special for everyone who participated.
Reflecting on her own heritage and creative journey, Susan emphasized the importance of adding beauty during hard times: “Taking the time to be creative in the midst of busyness and political turmoil is a healthy thing that reminds you that there is more to life than the struggles.” Pondering on what she said, she also pointed out, “I think that’s true for the women who did this [in the past] too.”
For those who visited the exhibit during the past few months, attending the workshop was a full circle moment from admiring the floor art to being able to replicate the patterns themselves. It was a lovely and bittersweet time to take a moment and simply reflect on the traditions and creativity behind floor art as Margruite heads back to Neubergthal.
