ARTiculate Spring/Summer 2021

COVID-19: The status of public events and activities listed are current as of publication, but COVID-19 protocols may change at any time. Please check government and event websites for the latest updates.

SOUTH COUNTRY HISTORY:

TRIANGLE WOMEN’S INSTITUTE

RURAL BLACK VOICES: SHAYNA JONES

WHITE OTTER CO: JAYMIE CAMPBELL

DRAMATIC COLLABORATION:

SHARON STEARNS & MIWA HIROE

CREATIVE INTRIGUE: KRISTY GORDON

BLUE HERON COLLECTIVE MONOPRINTS

New & Noteworthy: Book & CD Reviews

Kudos: Lou Lynn

In Passing: Twila Austin

WKRAC / CKCA are grateful to carry out our work upon the traditional and unceded territories of the Sinixt, Ktunaxa, Sylix, Lheidli T’enneh, and Secwepemc people.

Snapshots:

New Chapter for Schoolhouse

A little red building has been drawing people in Harrop and Procter for over a century. Once a one-room school, the Harrop Schoolhouse now showcases local artists and houses arts workshops. Upgrades to the grounds with support from the Trust’s Community Outdoor Revitalization Grants enhance the experience for people and vendors at a new weekend outdoor market.

Full

Meadow Creek Museum Invites Visitors into Pre-dam Home

Billy Clark Cabin, built in 1919, is one of the few remaining tangible pieces of pre-flood life in the Lardeau Valley. With help from the Trust’s Built Heritage Grants, the rehabilitated cabin now welcomes guests with modern services while maintaining its heritage likeness and value.

LOU LYNN AND TWILA

Kudos

AUSTIN

I’m grateful to be able to hand over the First Word to two artists who deserve special recognition, Lou Lynn and Twila Austin. Both women share an affinity for metal in their sculptural works, and a willingness to create and further artistic partnerships on a personal and community level.

Congratulations to Slocan Valley sculptor Lou Lynn, the 2021 recipient of the Saidye Bronfman Award. Administered and promoted by the Canada Council for the Arts as part of the Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts, the Saidye Bronfman Award is the highest distinction in Canadian fine craft artistry. Created in 1977 by the Bronfman family, the prize is awarded annually to an exceptional fine craft artist.

A peer committee selects the award winners, who will each receive a $25,000 prize and a bronze medallion in recognition of their work. Every year, the Canadian Museum of History acquires one of the award winner’s works. Video portraits featuring each of the artists have been created in their honour. Amy Bohigian of Watershed Productions in Nelson produced the video of Lynn: youtube.com/ watch?v=0n_QGndibao

Lynn works primarily in glass, metal and mixed media. Her sculptural pieces first take shape on paper and with wax moulds that are cast in bronze by an outside metalworks. She also utilizes the skills of a glassblower in Calgary to produce the glass pieces that she fits into her creations. “I see myself as a conductor,” she says. “The team approach was modelled a lot in the U.S. when I was studying glass there.”

Lynn has worked in fine craft for almost 40 years. An experienced teacher and workshop leader, she is widely regarded for the work she has done to assist artists to market their work. Lynn taught a professional practices course at Kootenay School of Art for many years and organized two Beyond Borders—Craft Marketing conferences, in Nelson and Fredericton, N.B. This is the fourth time she has been nominated for the Saidye Bronfman Award.

“The phone and email have been crazy since the award announcement,” says Lynn. “Right now, I just plan to savour it and see where it all goes.” loulynn.ca

In Passing

ARTiculate would like to extend condolences to the family of Twila Austin, who passed away in September 2020. Twila was passionate about her art. Along with husband Tony Austin, she worked in ceramics and wood as well as metal. The couple spent six years living in Japan in the 1990s, where they studied traditional Japanese arts. Their Kimberley workspace on the banks of “mystical Mark Creek” is called Dragon’s Rest Working Studios and includes a gallery, iron forge and wood-fired kiln.

Twila and Tony worked with schools and community organizations to develop artistic skills and to promote, design and create public art. They were married for 57 years. Kimberley artist Irma De Visser remembers Twila as “a warm-hearted, gentle soul with a spark in her eye.”

Margaret Tessman, editor

SPRING/SUMMER 2021

ISSUE #39

Editor: Margaret Tessman

Contributors:

Luanne Armstrong, Erin Knutson, Moe Lyons, Erin Maconachie, Barbara Curry Mulcahy, Caren Nagao, Mike Redfern, Margaret Tessman, Galadriel Watson.

Design: Guy Hobbs

Proofreader: Anne Champagne

Project Management: Laura White

Sales: Natasha Smith

ISSN #1709-2116

ARTiculate is produced in Nelson as a project of the West Kootenay Regional Arts Council: ph: 250-352-2421 or 1-800-850-2787 email: articmag@telus.net

The West Kootenay Regional Arts Council acknowledges the generous support of the following funders and corporate sponsors:

Reasonable care is taken to ensure that ARTiculate content is current and as accurate as possible at the time of publication, but no responsibility can be taken by ARTiculate or the West Kootenay Regional Arts Council for any errors or omissions contained herein, nor for any losses, damages or distress resulting from adherence to any information provided. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARTiculate the West Kootenay Regional Arts Council or funders and supporters.

Copyright: The contents of ARTiculate magazine are protected by copyright and may be used only for personal, non-commercial purposes. All other rights are reserved and commercial uses, including publication, broadcast or redistribution in any medium, are prohibited. Permission to copy must be sought from the copyright owner. Contributors retain the copyright of their original work. By submitting work to ARTiculate for publication, contributors are granting permission to ARTiculate for one-time use in the print and digital/online versions.

A glimpse into the remarkable stories of people and places in the Columbia Basin.

On the Cover: Shayna Jones.

Photo: Louis Bockner

KOOTENAY CHARACTERS COME TO LIFE ON VIDEO

by Margaret Tessman

Nicole Coenen and Ivy Miller discovered their mutual interest in video and storytelling quite by accident. Coenen moved to Rossland in August 2020 from London, Ontario, after having to close her video production company, North Cut Studio. Her neighbour Miller had been active in community television for years and was interested in getting back into telling stories.

Miller saw Coenen out with her camera one day and the women made a connection that was more than coincidental. “We discovered that we had the same camera, lenses and sound equipment,” says Coenen. She and Miller clicked and decided to collaborate on what has become Kootenay Characters, video profiles of West Kootenay artists and musicians. The first two videos have been posted on Facebook, with more to come.

“Coming from London, a city of 400,000, I wondered how many stories there were to be told in the Kootenays,” says Coenen. Lots, as it turns out. “There is a very collaborative, supportive arts network here. It’s been great to see such a strong creative community. I didn’t expect to be right back into telling stories.”

Miller volunteered for 15 years with Coast TV, a community station on the Sunshine Coast. She started buying video equipment so that she could record her own family’s stories, including interviewing her mother, who lived to age 101. “She lived through two pandemic moments,” says Miller. “Nineteen eighteen and two thousand twenty.”

Miller retired from teaching and moved to Rossland in 2017. She was getting ready to sell her video equipment when she met Coenen. “She landed next door. She’s a lovely little spark.” The pair like to work by capturing stories as they are unfolding. Miller takes care of the production end of things, while Coenen does the filming and manages social media.

As well as producing more artist profiles, Miller has plans for a video on native plants and seed sharing. “There is inspiration everywhere you look,” she says. facebook.com/KootenayCharacters/

OXYGEN ART CENTRE VIRTUAL RESIDENCY

Oxygen Art Centre in Nelson will feature Anna Daedalus and Kerry Davis as the gallery’s summer artists in residence. Daedalus and Davis are a multidisciplinary team and cofounders of Roll-Up Gallery, an artist-run, contemporary exhibition space in Portland, Oregon. Davis studied photography and filmmaking at Portland State University and Oregon College of Art and Craft. Daedalus earned her B.A. from Reed College. They began working together in 2011 as part of 13 Hats, a collective of artists and writers in Portland. The remote residency will focus on three interrelated land and waterscapes in Southwest Washington state: Grays River; its adjacent Sitka spruce swamps; and the managed and clear-cut forests in the surrounding hills. A continuation of their work with the Columbia River, Daedalus and Davis plan to utilize a variety of mediums and modalities to interact with and respond to the environment, including alternative photographic processes, drawings and rubbings, sculptural alterations of 2D works and video projections onto the natural environment. Throughout the month of August, the artists will document the work with digital photography to share with Oxygen via weekly updates. An artist talk and book in lieu of an exhibition are also planned.

“We are grateful for the opportunity the residency affords us to develop this work and deepen our intimacy with this place through our artistic practice,” write Daedalus and Davis. “More than capturing moments, we imagine the project as witnessing flowing time and meditating on impermanence, both in process and outcome.”

oxygenartcentre.org

SYMPHONY ON THE MOUNTAIN RETURNS TO KIMBERLEY

by Mike Redfern

The Symphony of the Kootenays will return to the Kimberley Alpine Resort this July to perform an outdoor concert, appropriately titled Symphony on the Mountain. Opening the concert will be performances by Kimberley Pipe Band and Kimberley Community Choir.

Staged on a plateau on the main ski run with views across to Fisher Peak and the Steeples, the concert will take place Saturday evening, July 10. Hundreds of concert goers are anticipated to attend, and early ticket sales have been brisk. During the afternoon guests can take the quad chairlift to the upper slopes of North Star Mountain to enjoy the panoramic view of the Rockies. Food service will be available at the concert site, which can be reached on foot from the carpark. Guests should bring lawn chairs or blankets for seating. The concert will be preceded Friday evening, July 9, by a gala banquet in Kootenay House at the top of the quad chairlift.

Tickets for the banquet sold out in 24 hours. This will be the second Symphony on the Mountain, the first having been performed in 2015. Despite an enthusiastic response, event organizers declined requests for another concert in 2016, the work involved having exhausted the volunteers. But the idea of a second Symphony on the Mountain simmered quietly in the minds of event organizer Jim Webster, Symphony board chair Ian Adams and conductor Jeff Faragher, and they decided to do it again in 2020. The coronavirus pandemic led to postponement to 2021. Should pandemic restrictions continue, Symphony on the Mountain may have to be further postponed. Says Webster, “It will be a memorable event for the audience and will give the musicians a chance to perform again following COVID restrictions. I think it will bring a sense of relief, something normal to enjoy with others again.”

Symphony on the Mountain, 2015.

Photo: Jim Webster

Untitled (detail), from Columbia River Shadows series, 2014. Archival digital reprint of gelatin silver photogram, 29x38 inches.

Photo courtesy Anna Daedalus and Kerry Davis

TRIANGLE WOMEN’S INSTITUTE LEGACY PROJECT

by Erin Knutson

The Triangle Women’s Institute (TWI) in the East Kootenay hamlet of Grasmere has faced the unknown, kept an adventurous spirit and thrown challenges to the sidelines during a pandemic to carry on with an expansive history project.

The project will transform the heart of the community, or as it’s better known to locals, Pioneer Hall, into a remarkable showcase honouring the history and accomplishments of the TWI in the community. With funding from the Columbia Basin Trust, institute members commissioned a local designer to create five large panels that depict South Country history themes.

Working in partnership with the Columbia Basin Institute of Regional History (CBIRH), the group researched and designed five 61-by-91-centimetre pictorial studies of “Education,” “Industry,” “Memories,” “4-H” and the history of the TWI.

Despite beginning the project as lockdowns commenced in March 2020, TWI members buckled down, masked up and proceeded with extensive consultation, development and group meetings to bring their vision to life.

The TWI stands for service to home and country while celebrating, uplifting and promoting women in the local and global community. No strangers to working in adversity, historically TWI members have rolled up their sleeves on many occasions, including contributing to the war effort during WWII. The organization continues to champion local government issues and has fought for women and children’s protection and rights, social justice, agricultural development, domestic sciences and improved health care.

Since its inception in 1937 the TWI has created a foundation for community engagement, education, outreach, development, special projects and a host of initiatives to improve lives in

Grasmere. The TWI was instrumental in developing a highway, the arrival of enhanced communications (phone service) and bringing electricity to the rural community that borders the U.S.

“Triangle” in the institute’s name originally reflected its membership, which reaches from Gold Creek to Flagstone to Waldo to Grasmere. The word also stands for inclusiveness, education and well-being. Part of a local and global movement, TWI is a branch of the BC Women’s Institute and the Federated Women’s Institutes of Canada. It is also affiliated with the Associated Country Women of the World.

The Federated Women’s Institutes of Canada was formed in 1897, founded by Adelaide Hoodless in Stoney Creek, Ontario. She began the society following her infant son’s tragic death attributed to contaminated milk, a preventable death according to Hoodless. Her tragedy sparked the movement to bring domestic science to the frontier.

The Women’s Institutes envisioned bringing friendship and togetherness to women in the countryside, and by 1913 they existed in every Canadian province, as well as in Great Britain. Isolation, poverty and lack of education posed serious threats to the early way of Canadian living. The group became a unified force in rural Canada, gathering to promote education, healthcare and the study of domestic sciences to improve pioneering families’ well-being.

The TWI, while devoting much of its time to the South Country, is part of a global network that works to provide safe drinking water with its Water for All fund, and teams with United Nations agencies to address climate change, women’s issues and global health. TWI installed a solar energy system in 2019 at its hall as part of its commitment to clean energy.

Among its many contributions, the TWI donates to the BC Children’s Hospital, hosts blood drives at Pioneer Hall, provides scholarships for students, sponsors the 4-H club, the local Salvation Army and the food bank. The organization hosts community events, including its annual Snowflake Tea and Gala and Canada Day celebrations. The TWI continues to inspire and educate members on health and safety, providing webinars on various topics of interest.

With its remarkable history and legacy of determined women, the TWI forged on throughout the pandemic to create its first series of panels true to its nature of traversing and bridging the gap between isolation, community development and yes, even socializing while adhering to social distancing requirements. The organization anticipates stretching the panels to a total of 20 upon completion.

“We are very proud of the Triangle Women’s Institute’s history and we are fortunate to have the Columbia Basin Institute of Regional History working with us and doing this project for us,” says TWI president Judy-Lou McDonald.

The first series of panels has been installed. Although the hall is only open at this time for limited use, the public response has been extremely positive. “There were great reviews on the completed panels,” says McDonald. “People were able to enjoy them during the provincial election at our hall, and we can hardly wait to continue with the project.”

The TWI is seeking additional funding to extend the work. Their vision is to see the Pioneer Hall contain a museum-quality

Heather (l.) and Judy-Lou McDonald inspect the “4-H” panel at Pioneer Hall.

Photos: The Columbia Basin Institute of Regional History and the Triangle Women’s Institute

exhibit of the South Country’s history that will be around for generations to come and for visitors to enjoy.

“We are excited to proceed and look forward to the next step, which begins with honouring our Tobacco Plains neighbours,” says McDonald.

The CBIRH has made its considerable historical resources

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ART

Artists + Art Lovers = Rocky Mountain Art

Featuring Columbia Valley and area artists

Columbia Valley artists: Sell your art by joining our online gallery today!

available for the panels, recognizing a positive force in the TWI. They continue to partner with the organization and are currently working on a new online multimedia exhibit celebrating the women of the TWI over the years.

“This is the kind of community project that is delightful to be a part of,” says CBIRH executive director Anna Majkowski.

THE BLUE HERON COLLECTIVE MONOPRINTS

How the pandemic brought artists together

by Barbara Curry Mulcahy

The Blue Heron Collective’s recent monoprint exhibit at the Torchlight Brewing Company in Nelson was a product of the pandemic. A happy product in this case, and one created by masked, socially distancing artists enjoying the thrill of art and community. “The Blue Heron Collective seemed to be on a pandemic journey—exposing newfound talent, interaction and happiness,” says Jean-Aubin Gardiner, midwife for the collective’s latest project.

The monoprint exhibit itself is edgy and dark. Work created in later sessions of the project includes colour, collage and some collaborative pieces but retains the primal power and exploration of the black and white earlier pieces.

The monoprint, with its production run of a single print— and sometimes a second ghost print—“allows for original and spontaneous impressions and sometimes spontaneous combustion,” says Gardiner. “The black and white process is a limitation and at the same time an opening.” The physicality of the process—getting the viscosity of the ink just right on the plate, removing the ink in places and squishing a leaf or other objects into the ink, laying the paper on and pulling it off—were all immediately engaging but required practice to gain technical skill.

The Blue Heron Collective first began exhibiting work in 2016. This group of artists all live at Anderson Gardens in Nelson. Thirty-three low-income seniors and people with disabilities live in the three-storey independent-living complex. Nelson being a hotbed of art, many of the Anderson Garden residents are artists. They formed the collective soon after the complex opened in 2012. Walls in public areas of the building showcase their talent.

Gardiner, a resident at Anderson Gardens, has been an art teacher for 35 years, 14 of them in France. The idea to hold a series of monoprint classes was hers. “I chose this format and technique to galvanize the artists into a printmaking process that they could embrace, and to dive into a new tradition,” she says. Her idea

Monoprints hanging to dry in the Anderson Gardens common room.

Photo courtesy Shonna Hayes

Gorman Lake by Sarah Ozadetz

Playing in Nepal Krys Sikora

On fire by Brenda Bernat

Peaceful by Denys Bardarson

Apple Blossom Picnic in Grasmere, ca. 1925.

101 Canyon Street Creston, BC

101 Canyon Street Creston, BC

101 Canyon Street Creston, BC

The Tilted Brick Gallery is a nonprofit gallery in the tradition of Canada’s unique Artist Run Centre model. It provides opportunities for professional contemporary artists to exhibit their work on their own terms, and to connect with a curious and always-changing local audience, while also participating in the broader context of Contemporary Art in Canada.

The Tilted Brick Gallery is a nonprofit gallery in the tradition of Canada’s unique Artist Run Centre model. It provides opportunities for professional contemporary artists to exhibit their work on their own terms, and to connect with a curious and always-changing local audience, while also participating in the broader context of Contemporary Art in Canada.

The Tilted Brick Gallery is a nonprofit gallery in the tradition of Canada’s unique Artist Run Centre model. It provides opportunities for professional contemporary artists to exhibit their work on their own terms, and to connect with a curious and always-changing local audience, while also participating in the broader context of Contemporary Art in Canada.

V sit us Saturdays from 10am to 2pm by appo ntment or onl ne at www t ltedbr ckga lery ca

was supported by Shonna Hayes, who recently retired as property manager at Anderson Gardens, and Yvette Janzen, assistant property manager. Both women administered the project. White LeBlanc Wealth Planners/Hollis Wealth “were wonderful,” Hayes says. The company covered the cost of art supplies, and blowing up and framing the prints for the exhibit. In addition to funding the project, three employees from the Nelson division assisted as volunteers at the six weekly sessions.

Seven residents and Hayes joined Gardiner in this project. They are Catharine Linley and Hope McRae, who had participated in a previous round, and five new collective members, all new to art: Theo Stad, Shelley Loewen, Tracey Wade, Joyce Moran and Isabel Dunnett. Their lack of experience was no obstacle for Gardiner. “I love creativity, and everyone can access that,” she says. There was teaching to do, however: the newcomers “didn’t have an artistic vocabulary but did catch up very quickly.”

“Initially, drawing skills were developed through simple markmaking and this transformed into using geometric glyphs and symbols,” says Gardiner. “The understanding of line, shape and tonal development grew. Black ink was moved on to the plate and first prints were achieved. Ghost prints, or second pulled prints, followed. These first rudimentary attempts, such as leaf prints, became playful pieces to test and to create new possibilities.”

Gardiner describes monoprinting as a “hands-on process that then grows as the manipulation of the brayer and ink unfold.” A brayer is a small hand roller used to apply the ink or paint. The simplicity of black on white “allowed for fluid movement between the individual artists and their newfound skills,” she says. “They had to be really experimental to get the techniques.” Once those were under control, they could “relax and get the conceptual.” Working in the depth of contrast, form and tone allowed both artist and art to become “intrinsically alive.”

Gardiner believes that “art enables the intellectual and psychological growth that is natural to all of us.” She says that the project’s theme of social justice had meaning for the group and “meaning is what we lack so often in society.” Homelessness, pandemic isolation, police brutality, Indigenous dispossession, peace, environmental degradation and human rights are all issues confronted in the group’s art.

Outsider Art, not a term that Gardiner prefers, though one that she occasionally employs out of necessity, is art created by people outside the mainstream. “Magic nipped into the air as the Outsider Artists collaborated, sharing information and fresh images. A surprising focus and force came into being in the group,” she says.

Gardiner found it exciting to see the artists gain confidence and come into their own. As a teacher she says she looks for the soul of the student and what they need to open to. Theo Stad says he found that creating causes “kind of a paradox. At the same time that it gets me out of my own head, it also helps me reconnect to myself.” Isabel Dunnett found that, “When I do art, it calms me.” And Catherine Linley says, “Abstract art comes from a physical, material being.”

Art being a form of communication, exhibiting it in the wider community is essential. “Framing and exhibiting lends a sense of completion,” Gardiner says. She appreciated that the Torchlight Brewing Company offered this Outsider Art “its placement in community and society as a whole.” And there was a heady kind of fun at the launch for the exhibit. “The opening was wellattended—with beers in hand!” says Gardiner.

With thanks to Jean-Aubin Gardiner for her generous contributions to the writing of this article.

'The Art of Dec

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'The Art Den

'The Art of Decay'

Dennis Char

April 30 to June 12, 20

April 30 to Jun

Dennis Charles

April 30 to June 12, 2021

'Stra Sarah Nordean a June

'Strange Ma

Sarah Nordean and Heat

'Strange Magnetism'

Sarah Nordean and Heather Close

June 18 to Jul

June 18 to July 31, 2021

'O Group August 6 to Septembe

August 6 to Se

'On Aging' Group Exhibition

August 6 to September 11, 2021

Phytograms. June 5

on, BC

Creston, BC

Dirt Residency g a summer eries primar ly r experienced rs / emerging ssionals

Residency

Empire of D rt Residency is hosting a summer workshop series primarily intended for experienced practitioners / emerg ng professionals

series and/or register, email empireofdirtresidency@gmail.com

To enquire about the series and/or register, email empireofdirtresidency@gmail.com

To

To enquire about the series and/or register, email empireofdirtresidency@gmail.com

Ramey Newell, www.rameynewell.com

Phytograms. June 5

Create phytograms on 16mm film and photographic paper utilizing the natural chemical properties of plants to create images on sensitized media.

Ramey Newell, www.rameynewell.com

Create phytograms on 16mm film and photographic paper utilizing the natural chemical properties of plants to create images on sensitized media.

Mixed Media Collaborative Collage Workshop. June 12

Sarah Nordean and Heather Close, www.sarahnordean.com, www.hclose.com

Mixed Media Collaborative Collage Workshop. June 12

This workshop will explore different mixed media drawing and painting techniques on paper to develop into imaginative and organic collages.

Sarah Nordean and Heather Close, www.sarahnordean.com, www.hclose.com

This workshop will explore different mixed media drawing and painting techniques on paper to develop into imaginative and organic collages.

The Mural Making Process. July 24

Cassie Suche, www.cassiesuche.com

The Mural Making Process. July 24

An artist talk on the mural making process coupled with a day of mural painting completes this day workshop.

An artist talk on the mural making process coupled with a day of mural painting completes this one day workshop.

Cassie Suche, www.cassiesuche.com

An artist talk on the mural making process coupled with a day of mural painting completes this one day workshop.

Imagine the Ecosystem: a mask-making workshop. September 11 Julya Hajnoczky, www.obscura-lucida.com

Imagine the Ecosystem: a mask-making workshop. September 11 Julya Hajnoczky, www.obscura-lucida.com

Imagine the Ecosystem: a mask-making workshop. September 11

Forest Bathing practices and quiet reflection will be the basis of constructing these masks. The masks may be left behind to offer some external attributes of humanness.

Forest Bathing practices and quiet reflection will be the basis of constructing these masks. The masks may be left behind to offer some external attributes of humanness.

Julya Hajnoczky, www.obscura-lucida.com

Forest Bathing practices and quiet reflection will be the basis of constructing these masks. The masks may be left behind to offer some external attributes of humanness.

Floral bundle dyeing, September 12

Floral bundle dyeing, September 12

Irene Rasetti, www.irenerasetti.com

Irene Rasetti, www.irenerasetti.com

Floral bundle dyeing, September 12

Learn about different fibers, how they interact with natural colour, how to treat your fabric to take on the dye, and how to alter and shift colours by using metals and modifiers.

Learn about different fibers, how they interact with natural colour, how to treat your fabric to take on the dye, and how to alter and shift colours by using metals and modifiers.

Irene Rasetti, www.irenerasetti.com

Learn about different fibers, how they interact with natural colour, how to treat your fabric to take on the dye, and how to alter and shift colours by using metals and modifiers.

Sensorial Walk, September 25

Sensorial Walk, September 25

Holly Schmidt, www.hollyschmidt.ca

Sensorial Walk, September 25

Holly Schmidt, www.hollyschmidt.ca

Holly will lead participants on a sensorial walk through the forest. Through a series of exercises, Schmidt invites participants to engage deeply with the forest community through their sense of hearing, taste, touch and smell.

Holly will lead participants on a sensorial walk through the forest. Through a series of exercises, Schmidt invites participants to engage deeply with the forest community through their sense of hearing, taste, touch and smell.

Holly Schmidt, www.hollyschmidt.ca

Holly will lead participants on a sensorial walk through the forest. Through a series of exercises, Schmidt invites participants to engage deeply with the forest community through their sense of hearing, taste, touch and smell.

Leaf Photos courtesy Blue Heron Collective

SHAYNA JONES

exhibited at Touchstones Nelson: Museum of Art and History. The project attempts to tell some of the stories that have largely been ignored in the museum’s collection.

“The magnitude of this need cannot be overstated,” says Touchstones executive director Astrid Heyerdahl. “Touchstones is of our community. The objects, the artifacts, the museum, the archives—they are the individual and collective chronicles of Nelson and area. All people, all stories. It is paramount that everyone is authentically heard and represented in their own words, in order to share the full history of Nelson. The Missing Voices project is one small step in sharing the diversity of our community while exposing our own colonial capitulations in order to carve a different path forward.”

Jones comes from a long line of orators, preachers and musicians, and discovered theatre at age 19. “I come by it honestly,” she says. “My work as a storyteller is a concrete way to connect to my ancestry. It comes from a deep place within me. It feels like a connection to my lineage.”

In her 20s, Jones was reintroduced to folktales when she rediscovered an old book of folklore given to her by her father.

“Old stories are gritty, full of hard lessons,” she says. “They offer a window into part of the psyche, part of the human soul, the wisdom of collective consciousness and humanity in general, that we need in this contemporary day and age.”

Jones performed the song “Where Are You Now” with local dancer and choreographer Slava Doval as part of the Nelson and District Arts Council’s Dance Showcase 2020.

A rural Black voice rises

by Erin Maconachie

Shayna Jones is an award-winning professional storyteller and performance artist based in Kaslo. She specializes in African and Afro-Diasporic folklore, and her work incorporates song, movement and rhythm.

Jones was born in Chicago and grew up in Vancouver. She was introduced to the Kootenays by her husband and felt “compelled by heart and soul” to raise their three children here.

Jones’ Black & Rural Project grew from her experience as a member of a very small visible minority in her small Kootenay town. “It stems out of my own lived experienced, especially in this hot political time,” Jones explains. “It forced me to reflect on my life and my skin.”

Jones felt isolated by news coverage of the Black Lives Matter movement around the globe in 2020. She refers to the way the Black perspective is typically portrayed in the media as “the Monolith.” She argues that it does not reflect her own experience or that of other Black people like her, who choose to live outside urban centres.

“I don’t see myself as reflected in the media,” said Jones. “How easy it is to cast a certain group with one story, one dominant idea of what would matter to them. There is a very narrow role for what the Black voice is right now.”

“To be Black doesn’t just mean to be in a city,” Jones continues. “I want to add more colour, more depth to ways Black people in this time are living their lives. I want to be a part of that: defying the Monolith.”

St

oGift Sho p

Jones noticed that people like herself who lead “quiet, rural lives” were rarely handed “the megaphone,” and that their stories were not being told. She wondered if other people experienced similar feelings of isolation. “Is it because I live in a rural location? What changes my perspective? It inspired me to investigate: are there others who are Black and live rurally and have a different perspective?”

Through the Black & Rural Project, Jones is connecting with other Black people living rurally across the country. Her goal is to weave their unique stories together with folktales, music, movement and rhythm to create a new performance piece that she can tour around B.C. and across Canada.

“My end goal is to showcase the experience of asking the question, ‘What it is to be Black and rural?’ I plan to create a one-woman show that brings these stories to life on stage.”

In September, Jones received funding from the BC Arts Council, and was named one of the first four Artists in Residence at Nelson’s Civic Theatre. This financial support allows her to spend a full year researching traditional Afro-centric folklore and exploring what it means to be Black and rural in Canada today.

“I’m very grateful for the funding,” she says. “It’s most nurturing for me as an artist.”

Jones has invited individuals to connect with her through Facebook and has researched communities and reached out to individuals across the country. She acknowledges that it can be challenging to connect with people who are “tucked away.” She prioritizes “finding these stories in an honourable way,” and working “at the pace of relationship—one story, one connection at a time.”

Jones is one of 15 locals featured in the Missing Voices project, a collection of video shorts produced by Watershed Productions and

“What stands out about Shayna is her soulful embodied expression,” says Doval. “Art plays an important role in communicating our lived experience as it has the power to touch on places and emotions that analytical words can’t reach. Culture is what gives us meaning and connection. Art, in the broadest sense, is culture. Culture is identity. Identity is connection. Who are we in connection to each other, to where we live? The way Shayna weaves her craft and includes others is inspiring and important work.”

Jones’ newest work, a touring show called Grandmama Speaks, explores Black motherhood and the role of the mother in Black culture.

“A lot of my material is directly related to my experience being a mother—the self-sacrifice and joys of raising kids,” she said. “My life as a mother, a reflective person, an artist, is all integrated. Everything I do—motherhood, artwork—starts from a place of heart.” wearestoryfolk.com

“I have spent most of my life feeling alone in my Blackness.”

Photo: Louis Bockner

Photo: Carlos Alcos

COVID-19: The status of public events and activities listed are current as of publication, but COVID-19 protocols may change at any time. Please check government and event websites for the latest updates.

ONGOING/ RECURRING

Exhibition

Young Visions 2021

April 22–May 29

Kootenay Gallery of Art, 120 Heritage Way, Castlegar 250-365-3337 kootenaygallery@telus.net kootenaygallery.com

Exhibition & Sale

The Art of Marc Grandbois & Janet Armstrong

May 14–29 & June 1–19

Studio Connexion Art Gallery, 203 Fifth Ave. NW, Nakusp 250-265-8888 studioconnexion@telus.net studioconnexiongallery.com

Art Event

Castlegar Sculpturewalk

May 15–Oct. 15, open all hours Downtown Castlegar, begins at Columbia Ave. and 7th St. info@castlegarsculpturewalk.com sculpturewalkcastlegar.com

Cultural Event

Creston Valley Farmers’ Market

9 am–1 pm every Saturday from May to Thanksgiving

Behind the Visitor Centre, Creston cvfarmersmarket@gmail.com crestonvalleyfarmersmarket.ca

Arts & Culture Event

Overburden: Geology, Extraction, and Metamorphosis in a Chaotic Age

June 2–July 10

Oxygen Art Centre, #3 320 Vernon St. (alley entrance), Nelson 250-352-6322 info@oxygenartcentre.org oxygenartcentre.org

Exhibition & Sale

The Art of Delree Dumont & Maureen Howard

June 22–July 10 & July 13–31

Studio Connexion Art Gallery, 203 Fifth Ave. NW, Nakusp

250-265-8888 studioconnexion@telus.net studioconnexiongallery.com

Theatre

Capitol Theatre Homegrown Season

See website for details

The Capitol Theatre, 421 Victoria St., Nelson 250-352-6363 boxoffice@capitoltheatre.ca capitoltheatre.ca

MAY

Performance

Beyond the Legal Limit

May 1, 2 pm & 7 pm

Langham Theatre, Kaslo 250-505-4351 pathenman00@gmail.com thelangham.ca

Studio Tour

Erica Konrad – “Everything Became Beautiful” works in progress

May 8, 10 am & 2 pm

The Narrows Art Retreat (travel by boat to Grohman Narrows)

250-505-9035

ericahopekonrad@gmail.com ericakonrad.com

Art Event

The Big Draw: Community Open Studio

May 1–29

Oxygen Art Centre, #3 320 Vernon St. (alley entrance), Nelson 250-352-6322

info@oxygenartcentre.org oxygenartcentre.org

Exhibition

The Art of Decay: Photography by Dennis Charles

May, see website for details

Tilted Brick Gallery, 101 Canyon Street, Creston

tiltedbrickgallery@gmail.com

tiltedbrickgallery.ca

JUNE

Exhibition

West Kootenay Camera Club Annual Photo Salon

June 4–June 11

Kootenay Gallery of Art, 120 Heritage Way, Castlegar

250-365-3337

kootenaygallery@telus.net

kootenaygallery.com

Theatre

Capitol Theatre Homegrown Season

June, see website for details

The Capitol Theatre, 421 Victoria St., Nelson 250-352-6363 boxoffice@capitoltheatre.ca capitoltheatre.ca

Studio Tour

Erica Konrad – “Everything Became Beautiful” works in progress

June 26, 10 am & 2 pm

The Narrows Art Retreat (travel by boat to Grohman Narrows)

250-505-9035

ericahopekonrad@gmail.com ericakonrad.com

JULY

Exhibition

Strange Magnetism: Mixed media drawings by Sarah Nordean & Heather Close

July, see website for details

Tilted Brick Gallery, 101 Canyon Street, Creston tiltedbrickgallery@gmail.com tiltedbrickgallery.ca

AUGUST

Art Event

Anna Daedelus + Kerry Davis (Remote Residency, Artist Talk)

Aug. 2–28

Oxygen Art Centre, #3 320 Vernon St. (alley entrance), Nelson 250-352-6322 info@oxygenartcentre.org oxygenartcentre.org

Exhibition & Sale

The Art of Denyse Marshall & Perry Haddock

Aug. 4–21 & Aug. 25–Sept. 11

Studio Connexion Art Gallery, 203 Fifth Ave. NW, Nakusp 250-265-8888 studioconnexion@telus.net studioconnexiongallery.com

Exhibition

Resiliency & Aging, Group Exhibition

Aug., see website for details

Tilted Brick Gallery, 101 Canyon Street, Creston tiltedbrickgallery@gmail.com tiltedbrickgallery.ca

SEPTEMBER

Theatre

Capitol Theatre Homegrown Season

Sept., see website for details

The Capitol Theatre, 421 Victoria St., Nelson 250-352-6363 boxoffice@capitoltheatre.ca capitoltheatre.ca

Find your Creativity…….Find Yourself.

Erica Konrad - works in progress Exhibition of “Everything Became Beautiful” May 8th 10am and 2pm, and June 26th, 10am and 2pm

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE PROGRAM - accepting applications for 2021 www.thenarrowsbc.com NELSON, B.C. 250.505.9035

Architecture Foundation of BC, 2014

Monthly changing art exhibitions in the gallery at Centre 64: 64 Deer Park Avenue, Kimberley BC, V1A 2J2 | Tuesday-Saturday 1-5 PM

Art exhibitions are also available in the online gallery and artwork for sale is available for purchase in our online shop

Please visit our website: kimberleyarts.com and click or tap

“In the Gallery” and/or “Shop”.

April 10 – June 6

Kristy Gordon “Planetary”

Kootenay Lake Historical Society

“A Passage in Time: The Chinese in Kaslo”

June 11 - August 8

Barbara Sutherland “Sounding Thread”

Phillip Pedini “7 Flowers, 7 Mountains”

August 13 - October 10

Robin DuPont “From This Place”

October 15 - December 12

Damian John “Indian Agency”

Robert Banks Foster “Reality is Clumpy”

Art Gallery • Theatre • Japanese Canadian Museum 447 A Avenue, Kaslo, B.C. www.thelangham.ca

*NEW* Soon to become available: Kimberley Arts at Centre 64’s Art Store • kimberleyarts/artstore

Online events: Please visit our website: kimberleyarts.com and click or tap “Events” • facebook.com/kimberley.arts • instagram.com/centre_64

info@kimberleyarts.com | 250-427-4919 www.kimberleyarts.com

Columbia Basin Culture Tour

Aug

For further information visit our website or

“One of the best buildings in BC”

Gabriela Escobar Ari Asinnajaq Randy Lee Cutler Darren Fleet Jim Holyoak Tsema Igharas

Keith Langergraber Sarah Nance

Tara Nicholson Carol Wallace

TRADITIONAL AND TUMULTUOUS

Kristy Gordon’s paintings explore struggle, strength and resilience

by Galadriel Watson

If life has seemed stale during the pandemic, an art exhibition at the Langham Cultural Centre in Kaslo will give viewers plenty of visual stimuli that awaken senses, arouse emotions and provoke thought.

At first glance, the detailed oil paintings by Nelson resident Kristy Gordon, often primarily pastel in colour, bring to mind Renaissance works like Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus. At second glance, viewers can see there’s a lot more going on than in a usual pretty picture. There is serenity and nature but also ugliness and violence. There are mythical creatures. Gender identity is blurred, and cultural privilege explored. Social systems crack while Mother Earth flourishes. Life can be brutal—and magical.

“The element of struggle ties into a lot of the upheaval that we’re going through in the world,” says Gordon. “But there’s usually a little bit of an element of hope, too, that maybe we’re transforming and restructuring things.”

It’s a message made even timelier during the pandemic. After seven years spent in larger cities, Gordon moved back to her hometown of Nelson in summer 2018, and about a year later received a grant from the Columbia Kootenay Cultural Alliance, funded by Columbia Basin Trust, to create this new body of work. So, while some of the paintings began before the pandemic, a lot of them were born during this difficult time.

Gordon describes her work like this: “There are moments of tenderness between people, highlighting human resilience and mutual cooperation as they attempt to contain an impending disaster.”

Viewers, however, shouldn’t expect to be able to figure out a specific “story” for each painting. “People like me to try to explain my paintings to them, but they more kind of capture a mood,” she says. “I like them to be ambiguous enough that people can read into them in different ways. I find that they speak on lots of different levels.”

Grounded in the Kootenays

Born in Vancouver, Gordon moved to Nelson as a baby. She recalls that she first sold a painting, as a teenager, at Nelson’s ArtWalk. “It was one of my first shows ever. It was great.” That painting has since been bequeathed to the collection of Touchstones Nelson: Museum of Art and History.

After high school, she obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Ontario College of Art and Design and a Master of Fine Arts from the New York Academy of Art. Her paintings have been exhibited internationally and earned numerous awards. They hang in more than 600 collections. And while her last home in New York City was exhilarating, it was too expensive and tiring. She had to teach so much, simply to pay the rent, that she didn’t have time to paint. Her return to Nelson has solved that. “I really have had a lot of time to

focus on this new body of work,” she says, adding that she finally feels like she’s found her “voice.” “It’s nice that, as artists, we can actually live where we want. It has worked out really well. I do feel lucky.”

She recently donated a painting to Touchstones as part of a fundraiser, continues to teach art (currently online) and is excited about the show at the Langham. “This will be the first time I’ve had a solo show in the region of my hometown.”

Room for spontaneity

Some locals may even recognize themselves in her paintings. That’s because she has friends pose for her—live or in photographs—to refer to as she creates her works.

While posing in her studio, these friends are also among the few people who might get a chance to peek at a painting before it’s finished. “I really need to protect my creative process and focus on what I want to paint,” she says, “and not get a whole lot of external feedback that could sway me.”

For while Gordon does do some preparatory drawings, she doesn’t meticulously plan each painting before the brushstrokes begin.

“I really can’t work that way,” she says. “I’ve discovered that my process is pretty intuitive. I sort of start somewhere and start with something, and then I follow any nudges and inclinations I get about what to add or to change, and so it develops over time and it reveals itself to me in that way.”

A larger painting—the biggest in the Langham show is 1.5 by 2.4 metres and the smallest 25 by 50 centimetres—could take three years, working on and off. “Sometimes I don’t know what to do to a painting and it hasn’t revealed itself to me, so it can sit for long time until I figure out what to do next.”

The end results are intricate, inventive and intriguing.

As health regulations allow, the Langham Cultural Centre in Kaslo is exhibiting Kristy Gordon’s new works from April 9 to June 6, 2021. Learn more at kristygordon.com and thelangham.ca.

Whisper, 51x61 cm, oil on canvas, 2021.

Planetary triptych, centre panel of 41x51 cm and side panels of 25x51 cm, oil on canvas, 2021. Photos courtesy Kristy Gordon

WHITE OTTER DESIGN CO

structures. “I didn’t even know such a thing existed,” she says. “I really felt called to do that work.” For seven years she worked 60 hours a week, six to seven days a week, travelling non-stop. She was well on her way to an outstanding career as an expert on managing the colonial system.

Eventually there was a big political shift in the community. She tried to adjust but realized she was exhausted, “not doing my best anymore.” “I was very burnt out,” she says, “and eventually diagnosed with complex PTSD.” Looking back, she says, “The time I spent there was the hardest years of my life and was also the greatest gift.”

She decided to quit, to do design work. “Just for six months, I told myself.” That was three years ago.

Over time, “I realized I could make an impact doing this, and I didn’t have to do it in such a structured way.” She saw what she was doing could be something more than personal, that she could be involved in traditional art revitalization. “I could be mentoring people, building capacity in community, instead of just being successful in the western colonial system.” She started building a parallel structure, mentoring young women. “I tell them, ‘You can be an artist and you can be a warrior.’ We can appreciate our teachings as a genuine art form, not just craft.” She believes in working within the whole system, involving tanning, fur harvesting and trading, while moving on a bigger scale. She emphasizes, “It is very important we maintain the integrity of our own styles.”

When asked if cultural appropriation is a problem, she replies, “Oh yeah, big time. It’s pretty much constant.” One problem is that social media guidelines don’t protect artists from marginalized communities. She says there have been numerous complaints, but she has “never seen Instagram or Facebook respond to any of these concerns.”

How does she continue to feel grounded in her culture while living in New Denver? She feels at home around water, and the lake is one of the main reasons she returned. She comes from a very close family and her parents live there. While her dad tells her stories, her mother, Heather, sews her fashion designs. “My dad tells me stories about my grannies. One of my grandmothers was an artist. We had an art gallery on our reserve and the women made quillwork boxes and dolls. They sold for two or three dollars. We totally undervalued our art forms. Realizing this is part of my journey, although of course I will never understand what they went through. Art enables me to reconnect with my ancestors. This is a way to take that back.” She brings all the parts of her life together, using the skills she learned as a community organizer to bring indigenous art to the market. “I’ve done government work. I’ve seen colonial policies. I understand how it all works, and I don’t see things in black and white. We have to hold space for both, not always either/or.”

You can check her work out on Facebook, online at whiteotterdesignco.com and on Instagram @whiteotterdesignco.

Learning from the past, moving into the future

by Moe Lyons

Jaymie Campbell lives and creates in the best of both worlds. Through her company, White Otter Design Co, she creates jewellery and high-fashion clothing, sourced in traditional practice yet uniquely her own. She takes her creations to social media, where they can be seen and appreciated everywhere.

She is a 21st-century phenomenon with roots going back farther than anyone can remember. Her work is detailed and distinctive. “I don’t own shapes,” she says. “But the designs I make are unique to me. I dream about shapes a lot. Some are evolutions of traditional patterns, some come from stories or patterns passed to me by my dad.” Her father, Lindsay, is quite the storyteller and his tales have done much to shape his daughter’s sense of self and cultural identity.

Her work is receiving international recognition. Recently she was featured in a New York Times article. Two years ago, her creations showed up on the red carpet at the Grammy awards. Corinne Rice of PowWows.com appeared wearing Campbell’s earrings and moccasins.

She recently displayed her work at Otahpiaaki Fashion Week at Mount Royal University. Currently she is preparing for another

major show. Not bad for a 32-year-old woman who was born in Jasper, Alberta, grew up in New Denver, and as a teenager moved with her family to Ontario and her father’s community, Curve Lake First Nation.

As the Times stated, Campbell has “perfected the art of the Instagram drop.” She is part of a burgeoning phenomenon: when she started an online profile, beadwork representation was less prolific, but lately there has been what she calls “a huge bloom of beadwork online.” White Otter has a website and Facebook account, and an Instagram page with almost 30,000 followers. These numbers don’t necessarily represent sales, as Campbell prefers not to do production work. She says every piece takes part of her soul, and she does all the work herself. It takes time.

Campbell, of Anishinaabe heritage, did not start out to become a beadwork artist and fashion designer. “I wanted to be a scientist,” she says. She is the kind of upscale young woman generally described as the hope for the future. She attended Lakehead University in Thunder Bay and graduated with degrees in Biology and Outdoor Recreation.

In her early 20s she landed a job with the Aseniwuche Winewak Nation in Grande Cache, in northern Alberta, specializing in consultation and helping to set up modern-day self-governance

The artist at rest in the Rockies near Canmore, Alberta.

Photo: Tenille Campbell, Sweetmoon Photography

Heirloom Aurora earrings, beaded with vintage beads circa early 1900s, home tan moose hide, feathers and 14-karat gold chain.

Photo: Jaymie Campbell

SHARON STEARNS & MIWA HIROE

Creative collaborators

by Margaret Tessman

Playwright, actress, teacher and Wishbone Theatre founder Sharon Stearns is a theatre veteran who thrives on collaboration. Her current partnership is a mentoring relationship with Miwa Hiroe, who has worked with Stearns since 2009.

Hiroe originally got into theatre through Stearns when she moved back to Valemount with her baby daughter. She was invited to be part of a fundraiser for violence against women support services, a reading of The Vagina Monologues.

“It was just luck that the two of us connected,” says Stearns.

“I asked Miwa, ‘Do you want to be in one of my plays?’”

The women’s professional relationship deepened when Stearns asked Hiroe to participate in a project she was working on with

a group of young women in a high school drama class through the ArtStarts in Schools program. “I co-wrote that script and Sharon gave me lots of freedom,” says Hiroe. “She’s also great at constructive feedback.”

Inspired by her sister, a midwife, Hiroe took on facilitating a women’s gathering where participants shared their birth stories. Stearns had an empty slot in the Wishbone production schedule and asked Miwa if she wanted to edit the stories and take them on stage. The collaboration became Womb with a View: Maternal Monologues, which played in Valemount and Squamish in 2019.

“Wishbone’s backing gave leverage to the production but I tried to stay out of Miwa’s way as a director,” says Stearns.

“Sharon had my back for the directing,” says Hiroe. “It’s been a pleasure to cultivate something without the intimidation factor of taking on the full labour.”

Now, Hiroe is at work on the script for her own play, i, Human, supported by the Trust through a Columbia Kootenay Cultural Alliance Arts Evolution grant. “Emphasis on the evolution,” says Stearns. Set in present-day during a pandemic, the play “bounces off some of the polarizing issues that came up last year,” says Hiroe. The main characters are a childless couple and an Artificial Intelligence robot gifted to the wife, and programmed to be a companion. As the robot learns, calculates and responds logically to situations, the wife is able to look at her life in a different context.

“He is an endless source of information and acts as a catalyst in the woman’s own development, and in her relationship,” says Hiroe.

Stearns is acting as dramaturge in the development of the play, a role that requires both insight and restraint. “Mentoring is learning how to ask the right questions and staying out of the way of the creative process,” says Stearns. “With Miwa, it is trying to service her playwriting needs.

“Collaboration can be really messy and a huge commitment— hair-pulling-out messy. Miwa jumped right in. There is a spark of creativity in Miwa,” says Stearns. “She has a quirky, curious mind. Some of the ideas she thought out were so different from my own.”

“Being creative is a place that gives me lots of satisfaction,” says Hiroe. “I wouldn’t have done it on my own. I like to think about things until I can put them out there neatly. Sharon encourages me to think about the motivation of my characters. I find the rewriting not discouraging but a process of laying building blocks. The process is to unwrite and reform.”

Hiroe should have a solid draft completed by summer and Stearns hopes that they can workshop the play, a creative boost for both women. “It’s going to be an exciting piece of theatre,” says Stearns.

“This collaboration is keeping the creative stuff going in a small way,” she says. “I feel like my creativity was frozen with the cancellation of two Wishbone productions last year, Last Good Valley on Earth and Falling out of Place.”

“The best thing about Sharon as mentor is when the things that you’re inclined to do might throw you off course, it’s good to have somebody to row you back in the right direction,” says Hiroe. “And it’s okay to be messy.”

Sharon Stearns (third from the left) and Miwa Hiroe (fifth from the left) on stage with the cast of Wishbone Theatre’s production of Hunter of Peace

Photo: Matthew Wheeler

SMALL PRESSES IN CANADA

Thriving through challenging times

by Luanne Armstrong

During the spring of 2020, many Canadian publishers held their breath as COVID crept upon us all and small, community-based businesses like bookstores, marginal at the best of times, were forced to close or mandate the number of people in their stores at any given time. Small publishers, who are mostly dependent on community bookstores to sell their books, worried while they waited for the returns to come back, books that hadn’t sold, and probably wouldn’t sell, because books in Canada have a short shelf life. But remarkably, in the fall, they found that book sales had actually risen across Canada, and so finally they could call authors, they could start publishing again and literature, and the small presses that are its lifeblood, are both still very much alive and thriving in Canada.

In my 40-year-long career as a writer, I have always worked with small presses and in general I have loved my experiences. Publishers are interesting people; they’re in the business because they love books and they love good writing, but they don’t always love writers. Well, they mostly do. With exceptions. But they are also involved in a difficult business where books are a product they have to sell. They are always behind: manuscripts come in the door that have to be read and assessed and the majority sent back; deadlines come all the time—editing, design, artwork, covers, catalogues, sales pitches, shipping books. Yikes. A really thriving small press publishes perhaps 10 or 12 books a year. They often receive several thousand manuscripts.

I have been part of the start-up of two small presses, I have edited for small presses, read manuscripts for them and published many, many books with them. Now I have a new book coming from Caitlin Press, and I am so very glad this small and vital press, which publishes books by women, books about Northern B.C., books about B.C. history, books by and about LGBTQ people, is doing well. The publisher, Vici Johnstone, won a well-deserved Publisher of the Year award in 2015 from the Association of Book Publishers of B.C. She goes at a ferocious pace, publishes great books and raises beautiful dogs in her (non-existent) spare time.

When I begin working as a mentor with a new writer, they usually have two pressing questions: how long does it take to write a book and how do I find a publisher? The second question I tell them to not think about until the book is actually written, edited, revised, edited again, proofread and ready to send.

It is an entirely separate process to learn to publish a book than it is to learn to write a book, with a lot of time, energy and tricks to it. It means hanging out in bookstores, reading books and book reviews just to see what is out there or what is currently topical, googling through all the submission requirements of various small presses and then actually emailing or mailing the book to an actual real publisher.

It also means understanding that rejection is never personal. Each publisher has a list of the type of books and the subject areas they are looking for. If yours doesn’t fit their requirements, it will come back, regardless of how brilliant and well-written it is. Small publishers are run by somewhat idiosyncratic and interesting people who have their own taste in books and their own idea about what will sell.

I love small presses and I will continue to work with them, but I do have one major problem, which is actually getting their books. I loathe and distrust Amazon, which ferociously markets books from big presses, and in general, ignores the work of vital small presses. I’ve never bought anything from Amazon and I never will. Instead, I order books from bookstores or directly from the publisher, I lurk in libraries a lot and right now, I am most desperately missing my trips to Vancouver where I usually spend a day or two or three in bookstores and libraries, browsing, making notes for books to order, buying books.

I am even cultivating this habit in the younger generation. In B.C., (before COVID) I took my granddaughter, the one who has decided to be a writer, to Vancouver, and we did the bookstore stroll together. She asked me, “Grandma, can I buy a book?”

I said, “Absolutely, of course.” She came back with four books and said, “Can I buy these books?”

I said, grandly, “Grandma will always buy you any books you want.” (Which I do.)

The next bookstore we went to, she asked the young bookseller, “Do you have the . . .” “I do,” he said gleefully. “Come with me.” Off they marched to the back of the bookstore.

I finally finished browsing. She came back with her stack of books and I put my stack on the counter and then, very happily, we charged off to the nearest bakery to gloat over our loot.

Publisher Vici Johnstone has steered Caitlin Press since 2008. Opposite: Some recent titles from Caitlin Press. Photo: Monica Miller

BEYOND THE LEGAL LIMIT: SURVIVING A COLLISION WITH A DRUNK DRIVER

Caitlin Press

February 2021

by Margaret Tessman

On a sunny day in June 2013, Pat Henman and her 19-yearold daughter Maia were driving home to Nelson from Calgary when their car was hit head-on by a drunk driver. Pat and Maia both sustained catastrophic, life-altering injuries, spent months in hospitals in Calgary, Kelowna and Nelson, and endured multiple surgeries. They didn’t realize at the time that recovering physically from the accident was only the beginning of their struggles.

“There was so much involved in dealing with the legal, health and insurance systems. We had no idea how to anticipate what we were going to go through,” says Pat. “We didn’t know how to handle legal stuff. We were still healing from our injuries.”

Pat has been a performer all her life, working as an actress, singer, theatre director and arts administrator. “During my healing, I realized I really missed the arts. My friend Kelly Rebar said, ‘You can always start writing.’” And Pat did, with a vengeance. “This story came out in one month. I would go into my studio with both arms in wrist braces and my husband would have to remind me to come back upstairs. I just had to get it

all down. Writing about trauma, there was so much to say. I just vomited it out and then asked myself, ‘What can I do with this?’”

She reached out to Almeda Glenn Miller, who had been her creative writing teacher when Pat’s children were teenagers. “She immediately said ‘Yes.’ I guess she had some trust in me,” says Pat. It took over three years of work to create a structure for the book and to complete a substantive edit with Nelson writer Anne DeGrace. The result is a gut-wrenching, no-holds-barred memoir of a family enduring a tragedy and finding their way forward.

“The story became about a victim of crime and working through the legal system. My goal became to provide information to help others who found themselves in the same situation through no fault of their own.” The final section of the book was written by Steve Sullivan, Director of Victim Services for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). The organization became a lifeline for Pat and her family as they ran up against the obstacles that exist in the justice system for victims of impaired driving. During her physical and emotional recovery, Pat says that her art kept taking over her brain. “I thought about performance rather than my legs,” she says. “At first it was a physical thing. I was eighty-nine pounds and couldn’t even stand up straight, couldn’t read, speak or memorize. You scare yourself—I thought I’d never be able to perform again.” Pat was able to regain mobility—Pilates was particularly helpful—and worked with a voice pathologist to rediscover a way to sing.

Her next challenge became promoting the book. Friend and playwright Kelly Rebar read the manuscript and said, “I can see this being on stage.”

“That freaked me out,” says Pat.

Once she got over her initial hesitation, Pat jumped in with both feet. “I thought, ‘What about music?’” With support from a Canada Council research and creation grant, Pat hired a local creative team, singer Sydney Black and musician Robyn Lamb. She brought other collaborators on board, including the Amy Ferguson Institute, a Nelson-based non-profit production company, and Konrad Pluta, Stage West Calgary musical director.

Described as “part storytelling, part concert,” the first presentations of Beyond the Legal Limit took place April 8 and 9 at the Capitol Theatre in Nelson, with subsequent performances in Kaslo and Trail. Pat says that she is playing the future by ear, but has “all kinds of dreams” for the piece, including a film version.

“It’s a story of grief, but also of hope and love,” she says. “I can’t say thank you enough to my community. It’s the reason I continue to do art.”

Photo: Jacey Kendall

‘Artists, Musicians, Writers... At Work’ showcases the talent of artists of all disciplines throughout the West Kootenay. Do you have a new piece of art to share, a book to launch or a CD release? Contact the West Kootenay Regional Arts Council at 250-352-2421, 1-800-850-2787 or email wkrac@telus.net for more information on how to be featured on this page!

CLAUDETTE RDV BURTON MARY’S SECRET

Self-published, 2020

Shining out of glittering church icons, stained glass windows and classical European paintings, Mother Mary’s mysterious smile, in some way, touches all who view her. Is it her blessings, as we have been told? Or could it be a sweet memory still lingering on her lips that she has secreted away?

This young adult novella playfully explores Mary’s possible childhood with her parents Anne and Eli in early Israel before her marriage to Joseph and the birth of Jesus. Mary is a spirited only child who often resists the proper social behaviour of those times and causes her mother some concern. As Mary matures, she becomes more and more drawn to the old ways of the Goddess, with Anne’s tacit support. However, finding a suitable groom for their beautiful and wilful daughter becomes the pressing challenge for Eli and history.

“The question of which stories thrive through generations in families and tribes, and which ones get secreted away or adapted, has always fascinated me,” says author Claudette Burton. “When hiking in Andorra, the ancient Roman churches that I discovered were often graced with old frescoes depicting images of Bible stories that I had never seen the likes of before. They fascinated and inspired me to write Mary’s Secret, which arose from the delightful discord between the old images of Our Lady of Andorra and a modern version on a museum shopping bag.”

Mary’s Secret is for sale at Eurythmy in Kaslo, Otter Books in Nelson, Raven’s Nest in New Denver and the Ymir General Store.

Everything Became Beautiful

Erica Konrad 250-505-9035

www.ericakonrad.com

LILA GRAY NOT WHAT I WAS PROMISED

Review by Erin Maconachie

The last time I stood in a crowd enjoying live music was February 15, 2020—one month before the world shut down—at Lila Gray’s intimate performance at Nelson’s Front Room.

The 17-year-old singer-songwriter from Nelson made good use of her time in quarantine: her debut album, Not What I Was Promised, dropped January 15.

“I filled my entire lockdown with music,” explained Lila. “I was writing at least one song a day. It was comforting to have something I could return to.”

The new record builds on 2019’s four-song EP Artificial Chemistry. Lila continued to explore and be influenced by a variety of musical genres. While making the album, she revisited the music of her childhood and listened to a lot of reggae.

Lila’s heartfelt lyrics describe what it’s like to be a contemporary teenager and explore how it feels to be alone and to navigate friendships and other relationships. The up-and-coming musician graduates from high school this spring. “I want to travel. I want to take time to experience things I haven’t experienced before, and channel that into my music,” said Lila. “Music will always be part of my life, the main driving force of whatever career I choose.”

“I miss live shows for sure. I miss the collective energy, experiencing something together,” she continued. “I want to perform. I want to tour through B.C. and make up for lost time.”

Not What I Was Promised is available on all streaming platforms and CDs can be ordered through Lila’s website, lilamusicdesign.wixsite.com/lilagray.

Lila’s performance of “Nevermind” with local dancer/ choreographer Noa Dagan is available on YouTube, part of Nelson and District Arts Council’s 2020 Dance Showcase.

ANGIE ABDOU THIS ONE WILD LIFE: A MOTHER-DAUGHTER WILDERNESS MEMOIR

ECW Press, April 2021

“Writing this book taught me the value of a simple life, the restorative powers of nature, the serenity to be found in a simple walk of the woods, and the great happiness of spending as much time as possible with my immediate family. I had no idea how useful these lessons would be once March 2020 rolled around.” – Angie Abdou Disillusioned with overly competitive organized sports and concerned about her lively daughter’s growing shyness, author Angie Abdou sets herself a challenge: to hike a peak a week over the summer holidays with Katie. They will bond in nature and discover the glories of outdoor activity. What could go wrong? Well, among other things, it turns out that Angie loves hiking but Katie doesn’t. Hilarious, poignant and deeply felt, This One Wild Life explores parenting and marriage in a summer of unexpected outcomes and growth for both mother and daughter.

Angie Abdou is the author of five novels and a memoir of hockey parenting, Home Ice. Her first novel, The Bone Cage, was a CBC Canada Reads finalist and was awarded the 2011–12 MacEwan Book of the Year. Angie is Associate Professor of Creative Writing at Athabasca University. She lives in Fernie with her family and two beloved but unruly dogs.

May 2021

Betty Stupple and Sally Titasey are best friends, “sisters of sorts” and roots ‘n’ soul duo Oh Pray Tell. Their first album, Origin, was released in May with support from the Trust, through the Columbia Kootenay Cultural Alliance.

“We have been best friends for almost 20 years and have community all over the country through our other touring music projects; Sally’s business in Winlaw, the Valley Kitchen; and Betty’s festival she co-founded to raise awareness and funds for Indigenous cultural resurgence projects, Koksilah Music Festival.”

They write: “The first time we sang together, our harmonies seemed to merge into one voice, larger than the sum of its parts . . . And so we keep singing, in honour of the ancestors, the children and this good earth.

“Harmony, stomps and claps. This is our humble offering.”

The themes of the album include re-indigenization, social justice issues, accessing deep satisfaction and pleasure through music and play, and deconstructing white supremacy and patriarchy through art, conversation and action.

Oh Pray Tell released their album predominantly through a newspaper they put together with contributions from friends and colleagues, information about the band and album and a download code. facebook.com/ohpraytell/

Supporting arts development since 1980!

THERE ARE DINOSAURS IN THE PARK!

Doug Jamieson’s last two musical theatre works (Jorinda in 2015 and Fastlane to Paradise in 2019) were staged at the Capitol Theatre in Nelson, with no concerns about physical distancing. As COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc on the performing arts world, theatre producers have had to find creative solutions to limit audience numbers and reduce costs.

Jamieson’s next musical theatre work, sketched out in 2008, had a working title Donuts of Mass Destruction (DMD). Set at the end of the Cretaceous period, 65 million years ago, all of the characters are dinosaurs.

Jamieson and the other directors of Kootenay Musical Theatre Society have secured core funding for the project from the BC Arts Council. Current plans are to stage the work outdoors in a park, employing several small stages. The scenes of There Are Dinosaurs in the Park! as it’s now titled, will run simultaneously at the different stages. The audience (in small groups of less than 20) will move from stage to stage, scene to scene, similar to a

visit to a gallery exhibition.

The audio of the play will be available to the audience through a cell phone, their own headphones or ear buds. This pandemic precaution will avoid the confusion of sound from a nearby stage.

The music for There Are Dinosaurs in the Park! is—not surprisingly—retro.

Jamieson has been working with Myra Rasmussen, a Nelsonbased artist, on production design.

As well as the use of multiple stages, multiple forms of puppetry and theatre will be used to tell the tale. For example, one scene could be done with shadow puppets manipulated by a single puppeteer; at another stage, the scene could be acted by a performer in costume, accompanied by smaller puppets; a third stage could feature giant puppets; a fourth stage could be presented digitally, like a Zoom meeting, using a large monitor. The prime objective of the project will be to entertain and delight the audience, while at the same time bringing attention to the climate crisis. The dinosaurs in There Are Dinosaurs in the Park! are surprisingly contemporary. They experience corrupt elections, mob violence, existential angst, environmental travesties, true love that goes beyond a particular genus and the challenges of raising a family in a dangerous world.

Jamieson and company hope to stage the musical during evenings in late August. Here is a link to a short video to whet your appetite: youtube.com/watch?v=pFimgWNtbU&feature=youtu.be

INDIGENOUS PEOPLE’S DAY

Golden celebrates, COVID-style

by Caren Nagao

When we applied to the Trust for a Columbia Kootenay Cultural Alliance grant to celebrate Indigenous People’s Day with our community, Métis Nation Columbia River Society (MNCRS) in Golden had no idea that we would be in the middle of a pandemic.

National Indigenous People’s Day is a very important celebration in Canada. It originated in 1996 after six years of dedicated work by various leaders such as Oji-Cree Chief Elijah Harper and Governor General Roméo LeBlanc. They were determined to use it as a means of overcoming racism and poor relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. June 21 was chosen due to the Indigenous spiritual significance of summer solstice, a day that signifies renewal and growth. The day provides an opportunity to recognize, honour and celebrate the rich culture, heritage and contributions of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples—an important celebration indeed. As we watched case numbers of COVID-19 on the rise, it soon became clear that we would need to alter plans. We decided to delay the celebration and honour Louis Riel Day and Métis Culture Week from November 16 to 23. Our assumption was that time and following distancing protocols would allow us to gather and hold activities during that week. This day is equally important to the Métis across Canada in that it honours Louis Riel, known as the founder of Manitoba. He worked tirelessly for the rights of the Métis and was hanged on November 16, 1885, for leading a call to arms for this cause in the North-West Resistance. In recent years, his important contribution to Canada, the Métis and French Canadians has been recognized. We were excited to plan for this weeklong festival as a way to dispel myths and inspire pride in our citizens.

However, as we all know, the pandemic continued with a second wave and our resilience was tested once again. We had planned a gathering for the entire community to commemorate the event and celebrate by raising Métis flags with singing and jigging. Elders were ready to teach lessons at each school. We also partnered with our local theatre to provide showings of a relevant movie, complete with popcorn and a beverage. As the days passed, the lives of more and more people were affected by COVID-19. Financial hardships due to job loss, imposed protocols and child care made it a difficult time. These necessitated our energy and time to be prioritized. Our Nation was helping to support as we could, including those with issues around mental health, housing and other vulnerabilities. We were able to secure funding from the Columbia Basin Trust and other sources to provide relief.

In the end, we managed to video and post a physically distanced ceremony in our Spirit Square with our mayor, Métis board, a member of a local First Nation, our MLA, a youth representative and an elder. We also managed to work with Stuart Angus from Kicking Horse Movies, who provided the town of Golden with Red Snow, a movie that demonstrates the beautiful connection of Indigenous people to the land. We purchased theatre gift cards for local families and youth.

MNCRS placed an article in the Golden Star, providing information about local Métis history and contributions, the culture, the organization of the Métis Nation and current endeavours of our chartered community. We

have also been posting cultural teachings on our Métis Nation Columbia River Facebook page, often with our puppets, Kokum (grandmother) and Moshum (grandfather) teaching our Michif language.

June 21, 2021 is fast approaching. With the vaccine in sight, we are hopeful but our eyes have been opened to the reality of the longevity of the pandemic. Instead of assuming that we will be able to gather physically, we are already considering a virtual celebration for National Indigenous People’s day. We held a provincial AGM for our Métis Nation via Zoom, and have become efficient at online meetings. The resilience that we have developed would make our ancestors proud. We will look to our cousins, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, for ideas to promote Truth and Reconciliation through celebration and the arts.

Some ideas for an online festival include fiddling performances, storytelling, a moose calling competition and cultural workshops about the fiddle, recipes, finger weaving, musical spoons and Michif. If we can gather outdoors, there are even more opportunities. We hope to partner with the Ktunaxa and Secwepemc Nations as the rightful keepers of this land. We are all adjusting our lives to make room for this pandemic. We are grateful for the benefit of various grants and other supports, and our hearts go out to businesses, service providers, individuals and families who have suffered. May we work as one to overcome.

I am grateful to live, work and play on the unceded territory of the Ktunaxa and Secwepemc Nations and wish to honour them as they deem appropriate.

Caren Nagao belongs to Métis Nation Columbia River Society, a chartered community of MNBC. She is a descendant of the Boucher and Klyne families of Batoche. Although she could pass as non-Indigenous, Caren regularly participates in traditional cultural activities such as jigging, animal tanning and fiddling as a means of being a visible mentor for the children and youth she works with. She hopes to encourage them to have pride in their heritage.

The West Kootenay Regional Arts Council gratefully acknowledges support for ARTiculate from its generous donors.

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