Cowichan Artisans Spring Tour

Spring is in the air! After a pandemic Winter it’s wonderful to have longer days with green returning and that urge to be outside. After a year of being shut down due to Covid-19 the Cowichan Artisans are so excited to have our annual Open Studio Spring Tour this April 23, 24, 25th from 10 to 5 each day. Come visit and support amazing artists galleries throughout the Cowichan Valley. With Covid precautions in effect you will feel comfortable being out enjoying Spring in this beautiful valley visiting galleries amazed with the quality of art done by these talented artists.

At the southern end of the valley in the Cobble Hill area you can visit the award-winning painter Bev Robertson, Karen Trickett of Coventry Woodwork and Mixed Metal Mimi Jewelry artist Mimi Roy. Driving a bit north of Cowichan Bay you’ll find 2 painters: Jennifer Lawson and Catherine Fraser studios on and just off beautiful Khenipsen Road.

Next, just off Allenby Road you will be treated to Live Edge Design’s custom West Coast furniture. As you go into Duncan then up the hill towards the hospital you will encounter the delightful paintings of Laurel Hibbert in her studio that you cross over a bridge to visit. Woodturning artist Ken Broadland of Heartwood Studio is nearby and you have to cross a bridge to go to his log cabin gallery too.

Heading West from Duncan along the Cowichan River’s West Riverbottom Rd you will find metal sculptor Travis Rankin’s new gallery (he’s moved from this downtown Duncan gallery). Two doors West you’ll find Cathi Jefferson’s clay studio and if we’re lucky the large fawn lily patch right on the river will be in full bloom.

Take a trek down Maple Bay Rd and you’ll be delighted to discover fibre artist Nancy Wesley and collage artist Wilma Millette. A drive to Ladysmith will be well rewarded with the studio of ceramic artist Mary Fox.

All studios will require masks to be worn with hand sanitizer at the entrance and, depending on size, galleries will have a limited capacity. Covered outside tented areas with pieces on display will be happening at artist’s galleries as well. With the pandemic, our most important consideration is to keep everyone safe and comfortable.

Changes may occur, please be sure to check in to our website: cowichanartisans.com for the most up to date information. We’re sure looking forward to seeing you April 23, 24, and 25th.

Looking for a happy ending?

Well, the Chemainus Valley Cultural Arts Society, and Cowichan Valley Voice Magazine have come up with a showcase they hope will result in celebratory exclamation marks jotted into writers’ calendars.

And that readers will be sitting on the edge of their seats, too, waiting for the next instalments of Valley Voices, a monthly selection of fiction, poetry and creative non-fiction by local and island writers, to be published in the most widely read arts & cultural magazine in the region.

“We’re excited by this opportunity to expand the CVCAS’s mandate of bringing the community together through the arts,” said Craig Spence, a member of the Arts Society’s recently formed Writers’ Forum.

The Forum’s objective is to provide opportunities and encourage writers at every stage of development to share their work with each other and the community. “Valley Voices will be a key element in that project,” he said.

Every month a new story or poems will be selected from submitted works for publication in the series. “This is another example of Valley Voice Magazine’s support of the arts in the region,” Spence said. Authors and poets who want to submit works to Valley Voices can follow links from cvcas.ca/ literature to the Valley Voices’ web page, where they will find rules, guidelines and a submission form.

With writers’ permission, some unpublished submissions will be posted to the Valley Voices’ online collection and will be eligible for publication in future Valley Voice Magazine issues. Posted submissions can be revised and resubmitted by authors.

New chapter opening for Valley writers

“Valley Voices is not a contest,” Spence explained. “No rejection slips will be issued. Works that are not published or posted, will be considered ‘in progress’ and can be resubmitted.”

Published writers will also benefit by having a professional video reading of their work recorded, then posted to the Valley Voices collection, and promoted on the CVCAS website and social media channels.

“The overarching goal of the Writers’ Forum is to connect Island writers to each other and to audiences,” Spence said. “Every channel or activity that can help us do that, will be looked into.” Other ideas that have been launched or are being considered for encouraging literature in the region and on the Island include:

The CVCAS Writers’

Circle, which has already been established and meeting for several months. Names will be taken via the contact information below and added to a waiting list for people who want to join the group, which meets every second Thursday evening.

The Books Unbound

Literary Festival, which will emphasize mixed, new and digital media modes for creating and sharing literature. This is a long-range vision, intended to augment printed books with other interactive publishing modes.

An Arts Web, where CVCAS members can post their own works and promote services they offer that help other members develop their skills talents. For writers, things like editorial services, writing workshops, digital and web skills coaching, might be in the mix.

Anyone excited about achieving the Writers’ Forum vision with the Chemainus Valley Cultural Arts Society is invited to make contact via literature@cvcas.ca.