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DE LA PROVIDENCE Soeur Marie-Jeanne
- Born
- Valleyfield, QC, 1869
- Died
- Montreal, QC, 1943
- Biography synopsis
- Born Amanda Delisle, Soeur Marie-Jeanne joined les Soeurs de la Providence at the age of twenty. Her early religious career was entirely devoted to caring for the elderly and the poor which took her to several different convents throughout Quebec. In 1922, severe health problems confined her to the Order's mother house in Montreal where Soeur Marie-Jeanne began the production of handicrafts, especially weaving. In 1924, she learned the traditional art of fleche from Madame Napoleon Lord (Elisabeth Mireault) when the artisan visited the convent. The meeting was organized by Edouard-Zotique Massicotte, archivist and fervent folklorist, with the aim of preserving the art of finger-woven sashes which was a dying craft. One year later, Soeur Marie-Jeanne participated in the annual exhibit of the Canadian Handicrafts Guild, winning a prize for one of her ceinture flechee. As a result of her dedication to the craft, she became close friends with Massicotte with whom she maintained a correspondence. When Soeur Marie-Jeanne died in 1943, a heartfelt letter from Massicotte accompanied her death notice in the convent's records.
- Media used
- Finger Weaving: Ceinture flechee
- Memberships
- Soeurs de la Providence, 1889
- File & Archive locations
- Canadian Women Artists History Initiative Documentation Centre, QC
- Archives Providence, Montreal, QC
- BIBLIOGRAPHY
Writings about- "Handicraft Skill and Beauty: Annual Display in Montreal by Canadian Handicraft Guild." ? Oct. 1925
- "Le Canadian Handicrafts Guild: interessante exposition de travaux domestiques." La Presse (Montreal) 20 Oct. 1925
- Barbeau, Marius. Assomption Sash. Ottawa, ON: National Museum of Canada, 1937
- Barbeau, Marius. Ceinture fléchée. Montreal: Les Éditions l'Étincelle, 1973
- Barbeau, Marius. "Nos Ceintures fleches." La Revue populaire 33.11 (Nov 1940): 52 & 70
- Bouchard, Georges. "L'art rustique au foyer canadien." Revue du Québec industriel 4.3 (1939): 13-15
- Julien, Marie-Lise. "Metiers d'art: a remarquer et a valoriser." L'Artefact 5.5 (mars-avril 1997): 16-22
- L'Association des artisans de ceinture flechee de Lanaudiere. Histoire et origines de la ceinture flechee traditionelle dite de L'Assomption. Sillery, QC: Les Editions du Septentrion, 1994
- L'Association des artisans de ceinture flechee de Lanaudiere. "Elisabeth Mireault artisane de ceinture flechee." Journal L'Action 25 Feb. 1988: B2
- Leduc, Maurice. "Fleches de toutes laines." Le Maclean (Montreal) (Dec. 1973): 30-32 & 38-40
- Massicotte, Édouard-Zotique. "La ceinture fléchée, chef-d'oeuvre de l'industrie domestique au Canada." Mémoires de la Société Royale du Canada 18.3 (mai 1924): 1-13
