Visual Arts in the
Cape Breton Economy

Artist ~ Leo MacNeil

Wood and rock are the materials Leo MacNeil uses in his sculpting. He has lived in Cape Breton all his life and although he did take a painting course during high school, his interest in sculpting is something that he developed on his own. Leo learned sculpting skills through private training, however, the work he does with wood and the knowledge of rock are both aspects he learned himself. He does not feel there is sufficient training available in Cape Breton in this field for persons who may be interested in the art of sculpting.

Leo has been fortunate since he has always had lots of work, perhaps more work then at times he can handle. All of his income comes from the work that he does and most of what he does has been through commissioned projects. Leo has done extensive work in Churches and did all of the 18th century restoration at Louisbourg. He has some work shown on site at his shop, but seldom exposes his work in addition to this. Two of Leo's children are involved as a result of his work and have created jobs because of the sculpting he has done. Leo obtains the majority of his supplies from Cape Breton. Some of the rare wood products he uses are not found in this area, thus, they come from Toronto.

In terms of fine art courses, Leo believes it would be very beneficial to have courses of this nature taught in schools. He feels training children in our society at a young age is the best way to encourage the arts. A major change he has observed over the years is the communication in the arts. Now there is more of a networking and people are informed on the news in the industry and whom is doing what. This is an aspect that Leo feels is important to the state of the arts in Cape Breton.