art of the Peace | Issue #16

SPRING 2011

ISSUE 16

A PUBLICATION FOR THE VISUAL ARTIST

The Two Marys LOOK CLOSER LIGHTS, ACTION, REVENGE

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THREE ST. ISIDORE ARTISTS

EATING THE ELEPHANT

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THE CENTRE FOR

CREATIVE ARTS

Up Coming Exhibitions

A Touch of Newfoundland April 1 - 29 Reception: 7pm on April 1 Natalie Green and Irvin Leopold: Walk on the Wild Side May 6 - 27 Reception: 7pm on May 6 N. Green

CFCA Skateboard Show and Auction June 3 - 24 Reception: 7pm on June 3 T. Sangra

Kiren Niki Sangra July 4 - 29 Reception: 7pm on July 8 K. N. Sangra

BLUE August 5 - 26 Reception: 7pm on August 5 K. N. Sangra

C. Popik

Prairie Ranger Photography and Nick Gaines Presents : East vs West Photography Competition September 2 - 30 Reception: 7pm on September 2 Peace Watercolor Society October 7 - 28 Reception: 7pm on October 7

S. Sandboe

At the Centre

Classes for all ages and levels: -Children’s Classes -Drawing -Glass -Fibre -Painting -Photography -Pottery -Workshops -Visual Arts Monthly Gallery Exhibitions Gift Shop Featuring Local Artists Birthday Parties School and Group bookings Drop In Studio Use

Calls for Entries Please contact the Centre for details and submission forms.

BLUE This show celebrates the color blue.

We will be accepting entries until July 15, 2011 to be juried for inclusion in the August show.

All mediums are welcome Wearable Arts Show This awesome show will take place during Alberta Arts Days at the end of September 2011. We are looking for artists to create art pieces that can be modeled on the runway.

Finished pieces will be juried for inclusion August 19. If you are interested contact the Centre ASAP. CFCA Gift Shop We are looking for high quality art and craft items created by Peace Area artists for our gift shop.

9904-101 Avenue, Grande Prairie 780-814-6080 info@creativecentre.ca

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in this issue: 4.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

4.

CONTRIBUTORS

5.

ART OUT THERE

7.

ASSEMBLAGE

8.

LIGHTS, ACTION, REVENGE

10.

THREE ST. ISADORE ARTISTS

12.

ARTCETERA

14.

THE TWO MARYS

20.

EATING THE ELEPHANT

22.

CULTURE CONNECT

EDITOR: Eileen Coristine DESIGN, LAYOUT & ADVERTISING: imageDESIGN PUBLISHER: Art of the Peace Visual Arts Association, Box 25227, Wapiti Road P.O. Grande Prairie, AB T8W 0G2 Phone: (780) 532-2573 (Jim Stokes) E-mail: art@artofthepeace.ca PRINTING: McCallum Printing Group COVER: Una Voce, a collaborative work by The Two Marys.

Art of the Peace Visual Arts Association acknowledges the financial assistance of:

Reproduction in whole or in part is strictly prohibited.

Art of the Peace makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information it publishes, but cannot be held responsible for any consequences arising from errors or omissions.

3:36 PM

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THE REEL SHORTS YOUTH FILMAKING CHALLENGE

QUIET COMMUNITY WITH TIME TO CREATE

THE ART OF MAKING MULTIPLE ORIGINALS

LOOK CLOSER

HOW TO BUILD AN INTERACTIVE ARTS SCENE

PEACE COUNTRY CULTURAL INDUSTRIES COALITION GATHERING

23.

ART BOOKS IN REVIEW

24.

MANIFESTING ART THROUGH IMMANENCE

©All rights reserved Art of the Peace 2011

BEAVERLODGE AREA CULTURAL SOCIETY

A SPOTLIGHT ON THE ARTIST’S PROCESS

26.

GALLERY OF ARTISTS

28.

EXHIBITIONS & OPPORTUNITIES

30.

SABINE SCHNEIDER

4/8/2011 11:40:14 AM

This spring Art of the Peace celebrates collaboration and the belief that a creation can be greater than the sum of its parts.

met before spent an evening painting together on the same canvas in front of a live audience. That’s brave and it’s exciting to watch.

Our spring cover features a collaborative work of art by Mary Mottishaw and Mary Parslow. They’ve depicted themselves as the halves of one whole, known as the Two Marys. Together they are reviving printmaking and inspiring each other’s artistic growth.

In this rugged region, we need each other and so arts and crafts clubs and organizations flourish in our communities.

In order to showcase these groups and their activities we now feature a regular column by Susan Thompson called Assemblage.

Through the Youth Filmmaker Challenge, fledgling filmmakers learn how to work together, how to do every job required and how to make the results of their individual efforts into a cohesive whole. Is this, as Terry Scerbak of the Reel Shorts Film Festival describes, the most collaborative art form of all?

Artist’s Statement COLLABORATION RULES

BY EILEEN CORISTINE

Have you seen Dan Arberry’s new blog on our website? Dan’s mission is to promote shows; he’s been presenting his art and knows the rewards of getting the word out to other artists. If you let him know he will do his best to attend your show. Dan really wants you to be a success.

Without the collaboration of artists, curators, writers and publishers we wouldn’t be able to produce the magazine you are reading.

We make Art of the Peace a beautiful thing – with you.

Collaboration takes trust. In order for us to come together, we have to know that what we have to offer will be valued and that the other participants will do their best. At Immanence, a group of artists who had never

Contributors EILEEN CORISTINE

KIM FJORDBOTTEN

Since 1992, I have resided north of Fairview. Shortly after moving here, and while working as a free-lance journalist, I discovered that photography just didn’t capture everything I wanted and began to create my own visual art. Paper, clay, paint, found objects and the written word are my main materials and mixing them all together is my fun, fun, fun.

is an artist and the president of The Paint Spot, an art materials store where in-house artists love to share their product knowledge and experience to create an environment full of inspiration, technical advice and unique materials.

MARGARET PRICE

WENDY STEFANSSON has earned degrees in English Lit and Education, as well as a diploma in Visual Arts. She is by turns (or all at the same time) an artist, a writer, a teacher and a mom. She was editor of Art of the Peace magazine from ‘06 to ‘08.

art of the peace

photo by Paul Pivert

SUSAN THOMPSON

has worked as a freelance journalist since 2001 and has written for numerous newspapers and magazines in Canada. When not writing articles, she devotes her time to working on a fantasy novel titled “The Back Door to Hell.” Susan lives south of Peace River with her artistblacksmith husband and two children.

wrote her first book at the age of five. While certainly not destined for Pulitzer status, Margaret’s Book of Butterflies laid the groundwork for a career in journalism. With degrees in Anthropology and Art History from Vanderbilt University, she has been published in several American and Canadian publications.

JODY FARRELL

has spent 25 years writing for newspapers and magazines across Canada. A sometimes teacher, artist and contractor in the oil and gas industry, she raised her three daughters to find and follow their passion in life. Hers revolves around finding a way to live on English Bay in Vancouver.

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During February 2011, the Grande Prairie Regional College Visual Arts students held their annual show at the Beaverlodge Area Cultural Centre. This year marked the sixth such show.

A wide variety of pieces ranging through painting, sculpture, drawing, digital design and photography displayed the talents and skills of students in the first and second years of the program.

The Department of Fine Arts at GPRC offers two-year diplomas in Studio Art, Digital Design, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) University Transfer program.

Students are provided with a balance of hands-on studio and lecturebased courses and many go on to work as teachers, graphic designers, illustrators, gallery technicians, gallery administrators and self-employed professional artists. The show, which runs throughout every February, provides the students an opportunity to exhibit their works off campus and to a greater audience.

The Thompson with their winning entry

GPRC STUDENT SHOW

NORTHERN LIGHTS SHOW The Northern Lights Artist Association holds two annual shows. Pictured below is Malvina James showing her paintings at the group’s fall show held last October at David Thompson Hall near Hines Creek.

SNOW SCULPTURE WINNER Peace country sculptors Doug and Susan Thompson used original and antique blacksmithing tools to fashion their prize winning-entry at St. Isidore’s Festival Snow Sculpting Competition 2011. The sculpture depicting a blacksmith at his forge was the winner in the Professional Category and was inspired by the festival’s theme – Once Upon a Time in St. Isidore.

Northern Lights members include framers, photographers, woodcarvers, metal-sculptors and many painters (including Barry Warne featured in Three St. Isidore Artists). The members meet regularly to help and inspire each other, some traveling to Hines Creek from as far away as Silver Valley.

Included in the sculpture were the blacksmith, a snow hammer, anvil and forge with snow coal, fire and smoke.

“We have a show every October at David Thompson and one in April at Eureka River Hall,” says Jessie Wolski, painter and long time member of the group. Eureka River Hall is in the country, northwest of Hines Creek.

“Obviously it was close to Doug’s heart since he loves blacksmithing and is a smith himself,” says Susan.

“Doug is a steel sculptor as well as a snow sculptor.”

Malvina James

Hannah Feist, Untitled

art out there...

The annual festival, which takes place every February northeast of Peace River, attracts carvers from across Canada. The have previously won the People’s Choice Award. art of the peace

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Book cover

CHANGE OF DIRECTION AT DAWSON CREEK Director/Curator Ellen Corea has resigned from her position at Dawson Creek Art Gallery after 18 years.

Just three years after its original conception the new Demmitt Hall is scheduled to open this spring. Located just off Highway 43, near the B.C. border, the building was designed by Michael Roarke of Quiet Box Design Studio, Beaverlodge.

“I joined the gallery as curator in 1993, very excited to be given the dream job of all dream jobs,” says Ellen. “Able to spend my days in this beautiful and inspiring building and given the opportunity to surround myself with artists and creativity.”

Demmitt resident, Peter von Tiesenhausen, explains that the community values “sustainability, craftsmanship and green. We want to develop community and focus on culture.”

Although she will miss the place, Ellen feels it will be in good hands. Alana Hall, whom Ellen describes as having a dedication and proficiency that is inspirational will be the new director.

Curator and Community Relations Director will be Melissa Holoboff. Ellen says she admires Melissa’s enthusiasm, drive and wonderfully positive attitude.

Featuring a straw bale construction method, a timber-built bridge entrance and massive wall of west facing windows, the Demmitt Hall truly does seem to define the “very edge of the boreal forest”. An ironic gift from the local woods came in the form of pine beetle damaged trees that were felled and used in the hall construction.

To fundraise for the project, the Demmitt Cultural Society began the Borderline Cultural Series and presented concerts by notable performers such as James Keelaghan, Bill Bourne and Valdy. Another third of the total expenses was covered by donations of funds, materials and volunteer labour.

June 11 marks the planned opening of the hall with a concert by Maria in the Shower. art of the peace

He’s done it again. Photographer and graphic artist Donald A. Pettit has produced (written, photographed, designed and published) another beautiful coffee table book about the Peace Country. Following on his success with The Peace: an exploration in photographs and The Peace: a history in photographs, Pettit has recently released Power Shift: The hope and drama of monumental wind power.

This is not an art book; in fact it’s as likely to appeal to an engineer as to an art aficionado. But it is a success story. Power Shift is a photo essay about the planning and building of the Bear Mountain Wind Park 15 km southwest of Dawson Creek. The wind park is a project in which Pettit has been instrumental, having been involved from its inception in 2001 as a founding member of the Peace Energy Cooperative.

To his tremendous credit, and to the credit of the many others involved in the project, Bear Mountain Wind Park opened in October 2009 and has been powering the city ever since. According to Pettit: “At ... peak output, it produces enough pollution-free electricity to run 35,000 North American homes, or every household, business, factory, street light and cell phone in British Columbia’s South Peace region....”

Ellen has been an enthusiast and energetic supporter of Art of the Peace, volunteering as secretary and treasurer. She has promoted our organization by providing exhibition opportunities and organizing the Dawson Creek Symposiums. We wish Ellen all the best in her new home in Lacombe, Alberta.

L - R: Alana, Ellen and Melissa

Photo by Gavin Hayes

DEMMITT HALL

POWER SHIFT

Consistent with Pettit’s environmental stance, “POWER SHIFT was written, designed and laid out using at least 70 per cent photovoltaic power.” And it is printed on Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper with vegetable inks. Clearly Pettit is an artist who uses his skills in service to the earth.

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assemblage

BY SUSAN THOMPSON

BEAVERLODGE AREA CULTURAL SOCIETY The image of the solitary artist toiling away in obscurity on some hidden masterpiece is a well-known cliché.

Yet the truth is, artists also thrive in community. The very fact that the artist’s path can be a lonely one is an argument for time spent with other artists, both to learn and grow by sharing skills, and also simply to find the support and acceptance that may be hard for creative types to find elsewhere. This is why there have been so many famous groups of artists throughout history, from the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood to the Group of Seven.

CUMMINGS LAKE TRAIL AT ITS PEAK Cummings Lake Trail begins at Fairview and for eleven kilometers it winds through the town’s reservoir system, golf course and walking or cycling trails. Fairview photographer, Terry Lund has just published a book capturing the trail in its most beautiful season – autumn.

Arts and culture groups can develop not only artistic communities, but also the larger communities they serve, by creating vitality, forward movement and connection where before there was none. Here in the Peace we are fortunate to have many different arts groups thriving in all kinds of communities large and small. It seemed about time to begin showcasing who these groups are and what they do, so we’ve decided to devote space in every issue of this magazine in order to do just that.

Autumn in Full Bloom – Cummings Lake Trail in the Fall is a magical tour of the popular trail and a dedication to the folks who keep the trail safe and pleasant. All of the photographs were taken over a three evening span during 2009. Later each of the dramatic images was matched with a quote accenting the bittersweet gift that is autumn.

The Beaverlodge Area Cultural Society is a group we first mentioned in our last issue’s story about Doris MacFarlane and seemed a great place to begin. The society was started back in the late 70s by a group of interested locals who simply wanted to learn something about art.

“It all started with the artist Euphemia McNaught; going to Euphemia’s on Tuesday nights and painting and taking classes with her,” explains vice-chair, workshop coordinator and Beaverlodge Cultural Centre arts coordinator Darlene Dautel.

The group now meets only once a month, but still brings in people to do artistic demonstrations and instruction. Besides developing many local artists, the Beaverlodge Area Cultural Society has also become wellknown for its hugely popular annual miniature show, showcasing works 16 square inches or less. “It’s a great show. We hang probably 300 works,” says Dautel. This year’s show has been moved to September and artists from across the Peace are welcome to participate.

“My main goal for creating this book is to promote fresh air and exercise and hope that it encourages everyone to walk, jog, run, hike, bike or ski at your own pace on this awesome trail that is literally in our backyard,” says Terry. To obtain a copy of the book contact him at twlund@ telus.net.

Cover of Terry Lund’s book

“It just takes two or three people to be committed to a time frame and encourage others to come along,” says Dautel, encouraging words to remember for any art group old or new.

The benefits of being part of a group like the Beaverlodge Area Cultural Society are many, as chair Toni Schuler points out. “The biggest thing about the group is you get to know people who do art, you get information on what’s going on in the area, and you get your name out and people can contact you through the organization.”

If you represent a group that is helping bring together artists in your area, you can contact Art of the Peace and ask to be featured here and on our website. art of the peace

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Lights, Action, Revenge

Over five hundred regional students viewed films at the Reel Shorts Film Festival 2010. Some of the films they saw had been produced that week by kids from St. Joseph’s Catholic High School in Grande Prairie, Hines Creek Composite School, Hythe Regional School, Beaverlodge High School and Valleyview.

Hines Creek’s Justin Knoepfli, star of Ninja Revenge has been to two Reel Shorts Youth Filmmaking Challenges and is hoping to attend again. His role in the 2010 film has also inspired him to consider attending a stunt school in Washington next year. The funny thing is that Justin captured the lead role in the movie because he was the guy who fit into the costume.

For the past six years his teacher, Sherri MacDowall has been bringing groups of students to the Youth Filmmaking Challenge to introduce them to the “most collaborative art form in the world,” as Reel Shorts is described.

“Sherri has been bringing her students to the festival since 2007,” says festival founder, Terry Scerbak, “She’s also been a key factor in developing the Youth Filmmaking Challenge workshops. Sherri always wanted more hands-on opportunities for her students.”

To help provide them with those kinds of opportunities during the rest of the school year, the Hines Creek students have a high school credit course dedicated to filmmaking and state of the art camera, sound and editing equipment. This year Sherri has eight students in her class, and will be able to bring up to eight more along to enter the challenge.

FIRST FRAME

Justin Knoepfli in Ninja Revenge

art of the peace

Last year, in order to finance their trip to the festival, the kids produced a commercial and presented it to the County of Clear Hills Council. Council members were so impressed that they provided the necessary funds.

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THE REEL SHORTS YOUTH FILMAKING CHALLENGE

The Youth Filmmaking Challenge workshops are led by Vancouver filmmaker Scott Belyea (formerly of Grande Prairie), Scooter Corckle from Vancouver and Michael Bouree from Grande Prairie. These film professionals guide the production and provide the students with on location training.

Australian actress and filmmaker Alyssa McClelland visited six classes following last year’s festival to provide more support for student films. Not only was she impressed by the students’ films, she was also surprised by the level of discussions about what a life in the arts might be like. “If you pursue a life in the art you may not be rich in money,” she told the students, “but you will be rich in experiences.”

Through their filmmaking class the Hines Creek students have some technical experience, but once they are at the workshop they have an intense and consuming task to complete in a very short time. After a three hour orientation with the workshop leaders production begins.

“The students have to pitch their ideas to the producers and then once the subject is chosen they spend the next two and a half days filming,” Sherri explains.

“First we looked at all the places and costumes and props available for us at Muskoseepi Park,’ Justin says. “Then we came up with ideas about what we could do there.” Since there is no formal script and the scenes are filmed out of sequence, the film evolves as it is shot.

BY EILEEN CORISTINE

date. Although there is a brief synopsis: a young man must learn the ancient ways of combat to avenge his fallen sister, the title really tells it all.

After two days of intensive filming the students returned home. Ninja Revenge was edited and sent on to them later. Although the Challenge films are shown at the end of the Reel Shorts Festival, the Hines Creek kids have never stayed for that viewing. Instead, Sherri holds a “Premier” and invites the school community. There is a red carpet and “champagne” and the stars, directors and film and sound crews get to see what they’ve collectively created.

“Attending the festival blew my expectations,” Justin says.

“It’s given me a great respect for all the people who make films.” Ninja Revenge can be viewed online at www.youtube.com/watch?v=AS7gurfCEfk. The fifth Grande Prairie Live Theatre Reel Shorts Film Festival will be held May 4-8, 2011.

“The festival celebrates short films and the filmmakers who make them by screening gems of storytelling brilliance from around the world, across Canada, and here in the Peace Region,” says Terry Scerbak. “We entertain audiences, and inspire, teach, and showcase Peace Region filmmakers, thus helping to develop a filmmaking community in the Peace Region.”

For more information on the festival see www.reelshorts.ca.

Ninja Revenge, at eight minutes, is the Hines Creek students’ longest (and according to Sherri, their best) film to art of the peace

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The Francophone hamlet of St. Isidore is nestled among the pines just northeast of the town of Peace River. Despite its tiny size and sleepy country demeanor, at the centre of St. Isidore lies a vibrant and distinctive arts and cultural community that draws attention and visitors from across Canada.

One of the most distinctive features of the community is the St. Isidore Carnaval. The annual winter festival features various cultural activities and live music, as well as a popular snow sculpting competition that allows professional and amateur sculptors alike to turn blank white blocks of snow into stunning pieces of art. Snow sculptures are also used to decorate the entire venue, always in keeping with that year’s theme.

Three St. Isidore Artists QUIET COMMUNITY WITH TIME TO CREATE

BY SUSAN THOMPSON

Every year, local artist Laval Bergeron creates everything from African animals to full-sized trains out of snow for the event, demonstrating his creativity and mastery of this sensitive medium. As a result Bergeron and partner Rénald Lavoie, recently featured in Art of the Peace for his soapstone carvings, have themselves become known across Canada, going on to compete in Quebec at the much larger Carnaval there as well as competing in or judging the snow sculpting competitions in St. Isidore.

However, Bergeron doesn’t sculpt for money or fame.

Instead, he prefers to volunteer his time, and sculpt snow simply for the love of it. “I like that I don’t get paid, that I can volunteer,” he says. Bergeron also enjoys the temporary nature of the work, which vanishes as soon as the weather warms, or more tragically, when works are vandalized by overenthusiastic party-goers or teens. “I like it because you can’t sell it and you don’t have to worry about it. It’s going to disappear in no time,” he says. The only way Bergeron’s work can then be remembered is in art of the peace

LEFT

Laval Bergeron completes a train snow sculpture.

CENTRE

Sandbanks Barry Warne

RIGHT

Marie Lavoie at her loom.

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pictures, or in the memories of those who enjoy it while it lasts. “It’s in our minds,” says Bergeron.

the Peace River Library. For these artists, art is a community service, a contribution to the greater human good.

While Bergeron delights in creating art that is meant to be transient, painter Barry Warne views his art as an act of conservation. Self-taught artist Warne prefers to paint the nature he loves, particularly trees, “I think just nature itself, we take it so much for granted and we abuse it so badly, that I think people need to kind of look at it and wonder what they’re doing.”

Community is also a huge part of what drives one of St. Isidore’s other most famous tourist attractions besides Carnaval itself, the weaver’s hall in the cultural centre. Marie Lavoie has been weaving for 36 years and has no plans to stop. “I learned from the others and I took courses. Most of the seniors were raised into it. It was part of their daily tasks.

At the time there were large families, and sometimes the grandparents and aunts lived with them. They would weave during the wintertime. It was their way of recycling what they couldn’t use any more for other things.”

The gentle landscapes Warne prefers to paint are drawn from elements he’s found across the country, some local it’s true, but others far-flung. A native of England who spent time serving with the Armed Forces in Edmonton, Warne chose to settle near St. Isidore with his family as a sort of trial and never left. Although a true Anglophone and thus not part of the local Francophone culture, he appreciates the quiet pace of country life there, which leaves ample time to create. “It’s the solitude of it, to be able to express your own feelings of things. Whether they turn out good or bad, whatever. It’s just being able to do it.”

While Warne doesn’t view his work as political or as a harsh criticism on society, at the same time he abhors the waste and the constant push for expansion that characterizes so much of the modern day life and economy, seeking to express an opposing viewpoint in his work. “Small is beautiful sometimes,” he says, appearing almost to state a personal motto.

This need to celebrate the things we take for granted drives Warne far more than any personal ambition. Thus, like Bergeron, Warne tends to donate his time and artistic efforts, such as a recent show where he donated the proceeds to Alzheimer’s research, and another in support of

There are about five regular weavers, but sometimes more when others come to learn. The weavers create everything from simple tea towels to rugs or custom pieces, using mainly cotton and polyester. It is their heritage and craftsmanship that elevates their work to an art, attracting demand for their pieces at local sales and from tourists who come to visit based mainly on word of mouth. Local schools also bring children to the hall on field trips, and the weavers are always a central part of Carnaval.

Besides the traditional Francophone heritage of their work, the fellowship between the women is part of what keeps them coming back to the looms. “I am enjoying my companions, “ says Lavoie. “We’ve been working together since the very beginning.” While Lavoie says many of the things the weavers do are simple and standard due to public demand, “It depends what you’re working on. Some things are creative,” she says. “We are free to do whatever we want.

If we’re not doing any big projects, or if the loom is empty, I can try something new.”

art of the peace

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artcetera THE ART OF MAKING MULTIPLE ORIGINALS

BY KIM FJORDBOTTEN

There has been a revival in the popularity of printmaking over the last 30 years, in part because new techniques are being discovered, and because new, less toxic materials are available. Printmaking has many practical applications as well as unique aesthetic appeal for artists. This art process is an economical way to reproduce an image. Printmaking often attracts artists with strong graphic and illustrative skills who are looking for ways to create multiple images. Most artists feel the techniques themselves add a new dimension to the original work of art, transforming a mere drawing into something more sublime through the various processes of serial reproduction. Let’s focus on just a couple of the new photo transfer methods for relief printing.

Speedball’s Speedy Carve is a bright pink linoleum block. It offers the easiest surface for photo transfer methods. Just photocopy a drawing or print a digital image onto regular paper, then transfer the image onto the block by ironing with a regular household iron. The toner of the image will be transferred (and reversed) on to the block making it ready to carve. In a relief printing process, a block is carved with special lino cutters to create hollows. Ink is rolled over the surface with a rubber roller called a brayer. Only the raised

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areas get inked; the carved-out areas are not touched by the roller. Paper is placed on the surface and put under pressure so the high areas transfer ink and the low areas emboss the paper. The paper is then ‘pulled’ off the plate to reveal the transferred image.

Another relief printing method is Solarplate. Developed in the 70’s, the metal plates come pre-coated with a photosensitive coating on one side. A transparent film with a drawn, inked, or printed image is place on the plate, then both are exposed to sunlight for a pre-determined length of time. The ultraviolet light shines through the clear areas of the transparency to harden the image onto the plate surface. The dark areas of the transparency block the light so these areas remain soft and wash out with water. The Solarplate technique requires little in the way of startup materials and no acids nor chemicals are used for exposure. It’s a simple and safe approach to printmaking. All one needs is sunlight, water, paper, ink, and a solarplate!

Sounds intriguing right? A little experimentation and you’ll be hooked. Printmaking is an art that’s limited only by the artist’s patience with experimentation and serendipity.

ALBERTA COMMUNITY ART CLUBS ASSOCIATION Our goals are to foster and maintain instruction in Art and to develop an interest in the knowledge of Arts and Culture in communities throughout Alberta.

11 - Spring 20 one Shows Z 3 r u o f o 5 -1 Join us at 1 to n, M ay 13 st in g in H in ar e ho n, Ju ne 4- 5 • A rt C lu b s 3- 9 an d O ye ne Ju k, ar us t 7 P d ne 19 - A ug • S he rw oo ed D ee r Ju R to on go • Th e b es t

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JOURNEY 2012 Works by

Jim Stokes & Carmen Haakstad

TREX

The Alberta Foundation for the Arts Travelling Exhibition Program

For the 2010/2011 Travelling Season the Prairie Art Gallery presents four new Exhibitions:

75 Million Adrian Stimson, Saskatoon Small Bison #10 - Running into the Future.

Conte and Charcoal on Paper Courtesy of the artist

January 2012 Prairie Art Gallery

ERIC CAMERON: A CONCEPTUAL APPROACH Eric Cameron, Calgary Gregory’s Wine Gum Acrylic Gesso on Wine Gum Courtesy of the artist

CAPTURING MOMENTUM Egon Bork Speed Skate Colour Photograph Courtesy of the AFA Collection

100 DRESSES FOR ALBERTA Nicole Bauberger, Whitehorse Grande Prairie Grouping #1 Bees Wax Encaustic on Panel Courtesy of the artist

eas

ten years of great id

expose

The Alberta Foundation for the Arts (AFA) has supported a provincial travelling exhibition program since 1981.

The mandate of the AFA Travelling Exhibition Program is to provide every Albertan with the opportunity to enjoy visual art exhibitions in their community.

Three regional galleries and one arts organization coordinate the program for the AFA: THE PRAIRIE ART GALLERY | THE ALBERTA SOCIETY OF ARTISTS ART GALLERY OF ALBERTA | ESPLANADE ARTS & HERITAGE CENTRE

Fine Art Reproductions & Art Cards for Artists who want Quality & Quantity.

For a complete list of exhibitions visit

> Canvas, Fine Art & Photo Paper

Located in the Montrose Cultural Centre

> Giclee Quality Prints Printing from $7/sq.ft.

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The Two

Marys

LOOK CLOSER

BY MARGARET PRICE

The two printmakers heading up the art form’s growing movement in Dawson Creek could not be more different.

Mary Mottishaw, the thoughtful introvert, speaks calmly and deliberately, taking an almost bullet-list approach to her conversation with me, chewing over each word, savoring the taste. Mary Parslow, the excitable extrovert, winds around from point to point, tenuously, ardently, alighting briefly like a bird to a limb and just as quickly fluttering off again.

Conversation 1, a collaborative work by The Two Marys

art of the peace

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MARY MOTTISHAW, organized and disciplined in her trade, carefully plans each piece, starting with an idea and working methodically from research, gathering materials, reviewing notes and drawings in her journal, poring over her own writing for inspiration from years past.

Perhaps more intellectual and symbolic in her approach, Mottishaw’s work is informed by ideas, and behind each piece is an unequivocal cognitive process. Her space is arranged so that everything is just where she wants it, where she needs it. And it is this consciousness of space that is fused into her work, as she often works with mapping concepts and spatial and relational elements, knowing just where to put one or two special things. “I’m influenced by the sense of space and the change in our landscape,” she says.

There’s a subtlety to her work, generally more temperate in hue, her focused prints imbued with layer upon layer of soft color and palpable significance, Take, for example, the piece Beloved Valley, a delicate, painterly monoprint of the Peace River Valley, constructed with a transparent glaze of yellow, red and blue ink. “I wanted to do something very iconic and easily recognizable,” Mottishaw says. “The challenge was to use only those three colors and create as many colors as I could with the darks and lights and still have it be representative of what I wanted it to be.” Beloved Valley is a touching ode to the context that surrounds us, full of reverence for the land, and a gentle appreciation for the things we see every day.

Another landscape-inspired piece is Columbine, one print in her series of Peace River area wildflowers. In Columbine, a linoblock print, Mottishaw again takes the commonplace and abstracts it to impart meaning. Soft washes of watercolors drench the canvas behind the stark black of the outline of the carved away image, a bit of blue for the sky, a bit of green from the foliage, and hints of red and yellow for the flower.

Inspired by Pat is arguably Mottishaw’s most symbolic work to date. A mixed media piece incorporating elements of printmaking, Inspired by Pat is a remembrance piece of the artist’s friend, who passed away recently. And like all of Mottishaw’s work, it was carefully planned. “I wanted to do a piece to commemorate Pat, so I started by writing down all the things we’ve done together, things that I knew she liked, what colors she liked, who were her friends, on and on, and then I built those elements up layer upon layer upon layer.” The result is a serene homage to a loved one, every element possessing a deliberate place and meaning. Look closer. A photograph of a group of friends, four faces smiling from beneath the translucent blues and greens, shades of Pat’s favorite colors. Music notes run throughout the piece.

A dancing goddess figurine celebrates life and happiness.

Every element planned. Everything in its right space.

TOP LEFT Beloved Valley BOTTOM LEFT Inspired by Pat RIGHT Columbine

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MARY PARSLOW plans her pieces too, but it is almost as if she cannot plan until her hands are in the middle of it. To her, printmaking is a kinesthetic process. She has to get the materials out, see the colors, smell the ink, pick up the implements, and then get going. “It’s almost ‘ready, fire, aim’ instead of ‘ready, aim, fire’,” she says. “I have a sense of where I’m going, but it’s more of a visceral process to me than a cognitive process. I just have to jump off the cliff first, and the parachute will come out and I’ll land.”

Comparatively, her work is characterized by distortion, expression, and bold, almost violent colours. She works in metaphors, choosing not to give viewers everything handed to them on a plate, instead favoring an element of mystery, leaving the observer alone with nothing but his or her thoughts. Look closer. Things are not always as they seem, nor would we want them to be.

Much of Parslow’s work exists in the realm of the spirit, a realm not unknown to the artist, who, subsequent to teaching for 20 years, completed theological training and entered into the priesthood for five years. “I think I had a calling to be a teacher; I know I had a calling to be a priest; and I feel the calling to be an artist even more strongly than those other two callings,” she says. “It seems to be at a totally consuming level, in a way that I haven’t felt before. I couldn’t stop doing it if I tried.”

In what’s become somewhat of a signature piece for her, Parslow, like many Canadian artists, draws inspiration from the earth and its people. Wild Peace, a reduction linocut, is a metaphorical landscape displaying her love of bold colour and tendency towards primitive, almost violent artistic movement. The Peace River flows over the face of the earth in a highly stylized personification of the land and its windswept trees and rocks. Parslow translates the wildness of the Peace into ink and paper, taming the elements.

art of the peace

For Parslow, art is often an emotional release. “There’s a lot in the subconscious that you don’t know is there until suddenly it’s on the paper in front of you,” she says. Take, for instance, the piece Camouflage, one print in a series of chine-collé monoprints of life drawings of the female form. In an attempt to soften the edges of an otherwise starkly primitive figure, Parslow’s art began to unveil itself to her in an unexpected way. “The figure was almost hiding underneath the chine-collé.”

Events in Parslow’s personal life have had a profound impact on the way she creates art, providing inspiration for some of her pieces, and printmaking has become a muchneeded catharsis. “I think some of this is grief work. It’s been very theraputic for me.” The piece Interior Fantasy is one such emotionally-charged work. Another chine-collé monoprint, the piece is a highly emotive, highly personal treatise on illness and changing body image. “[Interior Fantasy] has a lot to do with interior thinking about the body, and life, and how life passes and you change,” she says. “How two different personalities deal with two different issues.” The central figure, with its commanding presence on the page, serves as a steadfast bastion of strength and comfort to the two smaller figures, one quietly retreating into herself, the other defiantly challenging the viewer. Three figures wordlessly sharing one innate interior monologue, at once both intimate and transparent. “You are the hands doing the job,” she says. Parslow’s sense of self in the context of the world of people defines her work.

LEFT Wild Peace CENTER Camouflage RIGHT Interior Fantasy

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LEFT Mary Mottishaw and Mary Parslow RIGHT Una Voce

DESPITE THESE DIFFERENCES, the Two Marys, as they are lovingly and collectively known, are after the same thing: a growing awareness of printmaking as an art form and the joys of art as a whole in the Peace region, and beyond. “I try to educate people not to think of art as a frill, but as a whole cognitive and emotional process,” Parslow says.

“To me it’s a way of living, it’s a way of being in the world, and we want to encourage that.”

Over the past few years, the artists have strengthened their bond, both personally and professionally. The Two Marys met while students in the Northern Lights College Visual Arts program, working side by side on various projects.

Sharing a love of printmaking, the two became sounding boards for one another, experimenting with different techniques, providing suggestions and mutual encouragement. ”Lunch break” workshops with fellow students not familiar with printmaking became the norm. And that’s how teaching together began, so it seems.

emotion. Look closer. Two halves, no matter how different, make a whole, and, while one surely may be able to exist without the other, it would be an existence markedly unprofound. Una Voce responds with a single visual voice to proclaim the importance of the unifying power of art. It is a silent tribute to kindred, albeit distinct, spirits. “It’s quite exciting,” says Parslow. “To get two people who are so different on one piece of artwork is something. Our differences really are complementary to each other.”

We are all creative beings. Like all communities that come together,” says Parslow, we thrive upon the mutual encouragement, wisdom and growth that comes from collaboration. Creativity is universal, and collaboration is as natural a process as breathing. “We have a need to be with others who share our way of being in the world and benefit from the differences that each individual brings to the ongoing conversation,” she says. Art cuts into that universality, expounds upon the common medium that binds us all, and layers meaning into our existence.

Collaboration became the obvious next step, and the Two Marys just completed their second collaborative work. Entitled Una Voce, the linocut print is a wonderful culmination of their two disparate styles, existing in perfect harmony on one piece of paper. “I think it’s a good example of how we work,” says Mottishaw. “We’re on the same page, but we express our art differently.” On the left, we see Mottishaw’s spatial awareness, with topographic map contour lines delineating her space, and five deliberately-placed circles dotting the landscape of her face. On the right, we see Parslow’s gentle reverence for the human form and consciousness of the changing body, each cut violently expressive and full of art of the peace

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Shortly after meeting as students enrolled in Northern Lights College’s Visual Arts program, The Two Marys, Mary Mottishaw and Mary Parslow, inadvertently began their teaching careers together. “Some of the other students who were not taking printmaking became interested in what we were doing and during lunch breaks we showed them what we were learning,” says Parslow.

Participants in these workshops walk away with the fundamental elements of relief printmaking, learning the thought process, how to use the tools, how to handle the ink, how to cut the block, how to apply ink with a brayer, and how to make and condition a print. “Once you’ve learned relief printmaking, you’ve learned quite a lot that would take you into monoprinting, chine collé, collograph, collage, and etching,” says Parslow. A recent workshop even had a waiting list, prompting the Two Marys to pursue other means of providing instruction. “We’re looking at perhaps opening up our studios and having interested people come and do printmaking with us,” says Mottishaw.

The Two Marys

After joining the Ground Zero Printmakers Society in Victoria, B.C. and attending several workshops led by acclaimed printmaker Victoria Edgarr, the artists yearned to share their newfound skills and techniques with others, returning to the Peace region with fresh ideas, a renewed creative energy and a plan to educate people on the beauty and history of printmaking.

START AT THE MIDDLE

So far, response has been positive, and the Two Marys have been

BY MARGARET PRICE completely inspired by the sincerity and enthusiThe Two Marys were inasm of strangers. “We’re strumental in the foundvery grateful for the ening of the Flying Colours couragement we’ve had in the whole Peace region,” says Artists’ Association in Fort St. John, and it was there that Parslow, who strives to remove the element of fear from they first began to experience the instructional side of printart and encourage others to take the plunge and just be making. In 2009, the Two Marys regularly served as artists the artist that exists within each of us. “I think printmaking in residence at the Picture It gallery in Dawson Creek, taking could make a comeback in the Peace region and be a way advantage of teaching opportunities there and increasing for artists to get into art again, or for the first time, because awareness of printmaking as an art form. people are not so scared of printmaking as they would be of picking up a paintbrush with oils and painting on a white Since then, the Two Marys have been offering travelling canvas,” says Parslow. “It’s like drawing on the first page of workshops to different art communities in the region, eager your journal; some people are scared of doing that, but I say to go wherever the printmaking muse takes them, wherever open the book and start at the middle.” there exists a willing eye and a desire to learn and grow.

Stops have included Beaverlodge, Fairview and Grande Prairie, in addition to regular appearances in Dawson Creek.

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e.com

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Member of the Federation of Canadian Artists & the Peace Watercolor Society

join us june 23 - july 5, 2011 Picture Perfect

sir winston churchill square & downtown edmonton, alberta

Grande Prairie

Unique Gallery Grande Prairie

celebrating 26 years as the largest FREE

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Peace Country themes and wilderness vistas For other information and images see www.beaverlodgegallery.com art of the peace

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Eating the Elephant: HOW TO BUILD AN INTERACTIVE ARTS SCENE

BY JODY FARRELL

For Dan Arberry, what began as a passing statement following his first exhibition in years, has emerged into something of a personal mission. He’s determined to establish a viable, interactive arts scene in the Peace Region, and, if recent turnouts at arts events offer any indication, his own proactive contribution to that end appears to be working.

In May 2010, Dan blogged about his exhibition, Once Upon a Still Life, which had just opened at the Unique Gallery in Grande Prairie. A blog is one of those wonders of online communication; a collection of personal entries posted on a computer site for others to read and, when inspired, offer comment. Arberry wrote: “My first showing in approximately 5-6 years. In the beginning I didn’t know what to expect. I have been living in Grande Prairie under the rocks and in the shadows for all these years and was scared to see the reception that I would receive. Since last November, when I started producing again, I have slowly submerged myself into the Grande art of the peace

Prairie Art Scene. And some might laugh when I say “art scene”, but the truth is...there is. Perhaps it just isn’t getting the exposure that it deserves. But, I also think that this group of skilled and modest artists sit back and watch...”

People agreed; the show was indeed a success. Arberry himself knew that his own online presence, along with a concerted effort to gather and forward timely announcements of his opening to as many Grande Prairie and Peace region residents as possible, was at least partly responsible for the large number of visitors that night. But he was also awed at the vitality of the crowd. People were hungry for art and eager for discourse. “So many elements of the night made it a success,” Arberry blogged. “The people. The laughs. The creative conversations. Emerging talent coming out. And the support that I felt throughout the evening.”

Arberry continued to document his feelings and insights on his own webpage, but also made a serious effort to let others know of other upcoming art shows and events. His goal

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LEFT Finding Balance Exhibition by Dan Arberry, Fall 2010.

RIGHT Dan Arberry reviews the Prairie Ranger Photography exhibition, TheThe Red Carpet

was to build as big and as visible an arts community as possible. He began, he explains, the process of “eating the elephant.”

“It’s not something you can do all at once,’’ Arberry elaborates on the metaphor that aptly illustrates his long-term plan to effectively expand both attendance at the actual shows, and an ongoing, widespread discussion about exhibitions and art. “It requires little bites,” he adds, noting that anything large and lasting usually does.

Early information regarding exhibitions had always appeared on the Art of the Peace website and in its newletters, but the society’s board members, including Arberry, were forever tackling the problem of less-than-optimal communication and participation of artists and art lovers throughout the region.

Arberry began gathering his own list of email addresses of anyone remotely linked to the arts in and around the Peace Region, and many from further afield. As months passed, he continued to announce, attend, and blog about exhibitions. He saw a marked increase in attendance. From 20 to 30 participants, exhibitions grew to 60 people or more on opening night. And these included a newer, younger crowd that arts groups had not reached in any sustainable manner before now.

July’s official re-opening of Grande Prairie’s Centre for Creative Arts was a big success, with hundreds of all ages attending the all-day outdoor activities, entertainment and ribbon cutting, and indoor exhibitions, including a live (clothed) model drawing class. The fine summer weather and the opening coinciding with Grande Prairie’s annual Street Per-

formers Festival may have helped matters, but the interest was strong.

Another big surprise was the standing room only attendance at last September’s Wearable Art Show and exhibition at the Centre for Creative Arts. That entire Arts Days weekend, which featured a variety of activities throughout Alberta, was locally deemed a colossal success. The province-backed festival had funding for posters and ads, but lots of information circulated for free online. Alberta Culture and Community officials were thrilled at the public attendance and participation in and around Grande Prairie.

Recent discussions with fellow Art of the Peace board members resulted in Arberry’s creation of a more general arts blog on both the magazine’s website, and its Art of the Peace Facebook page, another online tool that allows for more visible and immediate interaction among followers.

“I try to write about and go to as many exhibitions as possible. I also invite anyone out there to go, and to share their impressions. Some people are scared to walk into an art exhibition. It can be intimidating. I tell them I’ll go with them.”

Small bites like these are how Arberry approaches the elephant-sized task of establishing a larger-than-ever-imagined arts scene in the Peace.

Visit Art of the Peace’s online blog at artofthepeace.ca, and become a friend of Art of the Peace on Facebook.

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Over the past year PCCIC has expanded from a small group of volunteers to a network of Peace Country artists and performers. At their quarterly meeting held February 3, fifty-five members from throughout the Peace Region met to enjoy a cultural connection and get to know others who value creativity and culture.

“We provided members with an opportunity to learn from each other, to be informed of regional resources, to get exposure for their art and cultural work, to be entertained and to network,” explains PCCIC chairperson Ada Lovmo.

An opportunity to learn was provided by Rachel Watson, from Manning. Rachel presented the members with information about Etsy, an e-commerce website that Wikipedia compares to an on-line craft fair. Items at the fair can include anything handmade, art and craft supplies and vintage items (over 20 years old).

PCCIC began as an initiative of the Peace Regional Development Alliance (PREDA) meant to support cultural growth and industry in the Peace Region. In order to achieve this aim the group had identified their main challenges: Directing a diverse cultural industry, increasing awareness of culture as business, marketing, addressing the perception of the Peace Region as a cultural wasteland, and retaining cultural talent in the Peace Region.

After one year on the regional scene, PCCIC is now facing more challenges. Early in 2011, it was announced that Alberta

Culture Connect PEACE COUNTRY CULTURAL INDUSTRIES COALITION GATHERING

BY EILEEN CORISTINE

A tai chi demonstration and live performance of his antibullying song “Bully Proof Vest” by Peace River musician and songwriter Jeff McCann enabled him to expose what he would like to promote within the region.

Fire dancer Susan ThompLEFT Miriam Mahnic from Alberta Community Development presented information on networking son entertained with an LED CENTER Fire dancer Susan Thompson entertained with an LED version of her exotic art. version of her exotic art.

RIGHT Artists and preformers connect and create.

Miriam Mahnic from Alberta Photos by Larisa Kochmar Community Development presented information on Finance and Enterprise, the provincial funder of PREDA would networking, and the evening itself enabled those in attenbe making substantial budget cuts. dance to get to know each other and seek out others with particular interests, skills and resources.

Nicole Nelles, PCCIP project manager for PREDA, explains the impact these cuts could have on the coalition. “In the curCrystal Bassnett did double duty as she informed and enterrent environment it may not be as easy to see that our action tained the crowd about the upcoming Year of the Rabbit and plan and objectives are completed,” she says. “The role of how it will provide opportunities for creativity and economic project manager may change to advisor.” prosperity. Rabbit years are thought to be very auspicious for artists.

PCCIC has recently applied for status as registered society with the view of eventually being able to apply for and manage Grande Prairie artist, Marian Shilka enjoyed the last quarterly funds autonomously. Each year the position of chairperson will meeting. “The Culture Connect event had good energy, it alternate between a representative from north or south of the was interesting, educational and entertaining in a relaxed atPeace River. Membership in PCCIP is free and more informamosphere, with ample opportunity for sharing and networktion on the coalition can be found on their Facebook page. ing” she says. art of the peace

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art books in review

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A Toronto-based world-encompassing photographer, he has crafted an art practice out of showing us what we normally can’t or don’t see: rail cuts scarring mountainsides, tailings ponds staining the land in surreal colours, quarries like the inverted architecture of upside-down cities. He shows us landfills – places he describes as urban mines – and the rusty carapaces of massive tanker ships being dismantled by bare-handed men. His work is a cumulative self-portrait of the human race as seen through the consequences of our actions. It is, in his words (from the talk he gave at the Art Gallery of Alberta, 18 September 2010): “a 30-year contemplation of who we are as a species and how we are affecting the planet.”

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For his most recent book, Burtynsky has turned his lens on the subject of oil. Quoting Peter Maass, author of Crude World: The Violent Twilight of Oil, Burtynsky says that oil is: “extracted, refined, shipped, and poured into your gas tank with few people seeing it.... It is invisible most of the time, but, like gravity, it influences everything we do.”

In Oil, Burtynsky makes this “invisible” substance visible.

From the oil fields where pump jacks hypodermically extract the raw crude, to refineries like modern cathedrals. From the highways and parking lots of car culture, to the graveyards of planes, tires, cars and ships. Burtynsky shows us the alpha and the omega, the beginnings and the ends of oil.

As with all Burtynsky books, Oil is beautifully crafted and produced. In the end, it’s the seductive beauty of his art that makes it possible to look again and again at the complex and difficult realities it shows us. art of the peace

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Music, art, and dance came together in Grande Prairie on March 19 for Immanence, a mini-festival-style celebration of creativity held at the Creative Arts Centre.

Planning events that combine inspirational settings with the collaborative creation of local culture, while still making sure to include the fun overall atmosphere of a party, is the main collective goal of Eargasm organizer Dan Boulos and Waking State Creations organizers Marcia Tofer and Jay Beggs.

The trio started planning Immanence together in January of this year.

“The word, to me, defines the overall feeling you have when listening to a beautifully crafted DJ set, watching a dancer when her love of movement ‘immanates’ out to her audience, or when a piece of art shows you more than simply an aesthetically pleasing image. It’s about the ‘larger than its sums’ qualities that are exposed when art is created with intention.”

Manifesting Art Through Immanence A SPOTLIGHT ON THE ARTISTIS PROCESS

BY SUSAN THOMPSON

“Our events are a vehicle for expression, a venue for possibly defining our culture for an evening, with the added bonus of inspiring individuals in their daily lives,” said Waking State’s Marcia Tofer.

The Centre for Creative Arts was the ideal multi-room space to combine all of the different elements of Immanence, and Tofer said the staff were very supportive of the event.

“Immanence is actually a single part of a larger vision that we’re creating for this year of events. I’ve been inspired by other events in Vancouver (held by Perception Group) and San Francisco (Anon Salon/Opel Productions) to create events that begin to, or offer the opportunity to, define our culture.”

The day began with a four hour dance workshop led by Bollywood and hip hop fusion dancer Shrina Patel from Edmonton. Patel later performed as part of the group of dancers that kicked off the night’s festivities. Local breakdancer Mike Huang from Grande Prairie, hoop dance afficianado Amanda Syryda, and belly dancer Sisu from Peace River also performed.

“Art, music, dance are the definition, to me, of ‘culture’.” The series will culminate in August with the two night outdoor festival-style event Nature of Sound, now in its third consecutive year.

Organizers used the concept of “Immanence” to provide a focal point and basis of inspiration for the kick-off event’s night of cultural activities.

“Immanence, as defined by Wikipedia, refers to philosophical and metaphysical theories of divine presence, in which the divine is seen to be manifested in the material world,” Tofer explained. art of the peace

Various DJs provided the music, with DJ Jay Michael headlining, and DJs Chuck B, Jayfresh, Botanikle, 2Lucid, Illementree, Sunshyne, LoewenBhold, Kusuwa and Haze performed their own sets throughout the night.

Photography also played an important part in the event, with Immanence captured on film by local professional photographer Janell Rufiange, and Sean Trostem’s (Prairie Ranger Photography) Red Project on display and open to guests in the Centre’s gallery.

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However, the artistic focal point of the night was a collaborative art project exploring the idea of Immanence. What began as a grouping of several blank canvases gradually evolved into a complete painting as different artists worked on it throughout the event, keeping a spotlight on artistic process rather than simply showing a completed painting, as in a usual gallery show.

“The painting project was really interesting in the aspect that most of the artist didn’t know each other previously and had just met in the lobby before the door opened. I was the only connecting Winter on the Wapiti, November Evening Pencil drawing 15”x20”, 2011

Robert Guest Call the Prairie Art Gallery for information

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LEFT Rob Papke CENTER DJ Jay Beggs RIGHT Amanda Syryda Photos by Janell Rufiange

element between them and the only direction given was to explore the meaning of the word Immanence,” said Tofer, who collaborated with Leslie Duggan on the technical setup of the painting.

The 150 guests at the sold-out event have since given nothing but positive feedback about the live painting.

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“People enjoyed traveling from space to space, returning to the live painting room and seeing the progress. It’s really wonderful to have a tangible memory of the collaboration between the artists, performers and the music.”

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Tofer says she hopes the completed painting will be displayed at the Centre for Creative Arts, and the project will also be used at the next Nature of Sound event.

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The next Immanence-style event is already being planned for May 28th, with DJ Mr. Rogers from California headlining, and the group will be looking for even more volunteers to make that event another sold-out success.

250-785-9099 9422 – 100 Street Fort St. John, BC V1J 3X5 art of the peace

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a gallery of artists SHOWCASING A SELECTION OF PEACE REGION ART

WWW.ARTOFTHEPEACE.CA

Barb

GREENTREE 780-532-6658 barbgreentree@telus.net

My artwork captures the ruggedness of the Wild Kakwa and Peace Country in acrylic, watercolour and oil mediums.

Nan Swanston 780-532-6745 nswanston@gmail.com Grande Prairie

Member of the Grande Prairie Guild of Artists & the Federation of Canadian Artists art of the peace

Suzanne Sandboe

ASA, PWS

780-568-4124 | www.suzannesandboe.com

Carrie Klukas Upcoming Exhibition “Just Breathe” Dawson Creek Art Gallery Opening Reception Friday, September 16th

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Mary Mottishaw 250-782-3776

Mary Parslow 250-782-1783

Slip into the excitement of a new medium and become a printmaker with a facilitated workshop or open studio session with the Two Marys.

Dan Wourms

oil | ceramic | acrylic | watercolour 780.518.6790 | d.wourms@telus.net

www.artistsnorthcanada.com

Vicki Hotte

780-933-6030 www.vickihotte.com

Poppies - Artists Proof

Unique rural art from the Peace Region available at the Beaverlodge Cultural Centre & Unique Gallery

Eileen Coristine 780-494-3410 | ecoristine@hotmail.com

Candice Meyer Chainmaille and Freeform Jewellery

Debbie Courvoisier

Sagmeister Photography

780-876-4737 | deboss@telusplanet.net

Marian Jacoba Shilka

Painting the inner landscape 780-532-7562 | mshilka@telusplanet.net | Grande Prairie

780-836-2692 candice@breakingpointjewellery.ca www.breakingpointjewellery.ca

Marj Taylor 780-532-0355 ma_taylor@eastlink.ca 9506 77 Avenue, Grande Prairie, Alberta T8V 4T3

art of the peace

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Call to Artists: Art of the Peace Members Show & Sale October 14th – November 5th Deadline for submissions: October 7th delivered to the Dawson Creek Art Gallery.

Must be a member of Art of the Peace, memberships and submission details available online at artofthepeace.ca Cost: $20 for first piece, $10 for second piece.

Beaverlodge, AB BEAVERLODGE CULTURAL CENTRE EXHIBITS & EVENTS 18th Annual Quilt Show & Sale April 3rd – 28th Paint in the Soup Show & Sale Vicki Hotte, Karen McFarlane & Marilyn Snell May 1st – 26th

Open Studio Weaving All Levels Tuesdays, 10am – 3pm Starting September 21st Open Studio Pottery All Levels Wednesdays, 7 – 9pm Starting October 6, 2010 Programs in pottery, stained glass, batik, weaving, acrylic, oil and watercolour painting. Call 780-354-3600 for more info or visit BeaverlodgeGallery.com.

OPPORTUNITIES Gallery exhibition and gift shop sales opportunities are available.

Call 780-354-3600 for info.

MCNAUGHT HOMESTEAD OPPORTUNITIES The Schoolhouse Studio is available for retreats, classroom, gallery or meetings. For info call 780-512-6316 or visit McNaughtHomestead-Heritage.com

Exhibitions+ Opportunities CHECK OUT WWW.ARTOFTHEPEACE.CA FOR MORE DETAILS, LOCATIONS AND HOURS Mila Lansdowne Show & Sale July 3rd – 28th

Dawson Creek, BC

Marian Jacoba Shilka Show & Sale July 31st – August 25th

DAWSON CREEK ART GALLERY

Brian Harder Show & Sale August 28th – September 22nd

EXHIBITS & EVENTS Annual Art Auction May 6th

Beaverlodge Art Society Miniature Show & Sale September 25th – October 20 Clara Foshaug Show & Sale October 23rd – November 17th PROGRAMS Opening the Door to Colour & Light Beginner Level Watercolour with Marian Jacoba Shilka April 30th, 10am – 5pm (please bring a lunch) Cost: $60/student (includes some supplies) Fused Glass Mother’s Day Gift Beginner level instructed by Wendy Olson-Lepchuk May 7th, 1 – 3pm Cost: $25/student (all supplies included)

Mixed Media Students from the Visual Arts programs in School District #59 April 18th – May 14th Federation of Canadian Artists Peace River Chapter May 16th – June 6th In the Summertime Members of the South Peace Art Society June 13th – August 13th Life’s Mosaic Donna Ony, Darcy Jackson, Jane Kelly and Wendy Butters August 15th – September 10th Just Breathe Carrie Klukas September 13th – October 8th Art of the Peace Exhibit Art of the Peace Member Artists October 11th – November 5th

art of the peace

OPPORTUNITIES Opportunities for exhibition. More info at DCArtGallery.ca.

Fairview, AB Alberta 55+ Games July 21st – 24th Entries include Fibre Arts, Painting, Graphics, Photography, Native Arts, Decorative Arts, Mixed Media. Artists must qualify at the zone level.

Zone 8 Playoffs - Grande Prairie Golden Age Centre, 10am June 7th.

For information contact Mary Hemingway at 780 523 3251 or mhemmingway@hotmail.com.

FAIRVIEW FINE ARTS CENTRE EXHIBITS & EVENTS Heather McNair Spring Show April Creations Inc. May 13th Artists at School Show May A Conceptual Approach Eric Cameron June Members’ Summer Show & Sale July ‘Wisdom of the Ages’ Janet Enfield August Ag Society Quilt & Fibre Show September PROGRAMS Phone the Centre at 780-8352697, email finearts@telus.net or visit FairviewFinearts.com

Fort St. John, BC FORT ST. JOHN COMMUNITY ARTS COUNCIL EXHIBITS & EVENTS Art In The Park Local Artists’ Show and Sale and Children’s Art Activities July 1st, 11am – 4pm Centennial Park North Peace Cultural Centre Art Auction April 30th Northern Travels - A Trucker’s View Award winning photographer Steve Milner April 8th – May 1st Pieces of the Heart Fort St. John Quilters May 6th – 31st

Student Art Show North Peace Secondary Students Kid’s Fun for All Art Exhibit June 3rd – 17th PROGRAMS For more information on Fort St. John opportunities, call 250-7872781 or visit FSJArts.org

NORTH PEACE CULTURAL CENTRE EXHIBITS & EVENTS Art Auction April 30th

Grande Cache, AB GRANDE CACHE TOURISM & INTERPRETIVE CENTRE EXHIBITS & EVENTS Exhibiting the Palette Pals Art Club and local art year round.

Check out GrandeCache.ca for more info.

Grande Prairie, AB Alberta Arts Days September 30th – October 2nd Kick-off on Friday with a Wearable Art Show at the Centre for Creative Arts. All types of art, drama, performing and literary arts.

Watch for details at albertaartsdaysgp.ca or call the Centre for Creative Arts at 780-814-6080.

CENTRE FOR CREATIVE ARTS EXHIBITS & EVENTS A Touch of Newfoundland Janet Enfield April Walk on the Wild Side Natalie Green May CFCA Skateboard Show and Auction Natalie Green June Kiren Niki Sangra July BLUE CFCA Juried Show August East vs. West September The Peace Watercolor Society October PROGRAMS The Centre has classes for everyone! Check out our website, CreativeCentre.ca or call 780814-6080.

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OPPORTUNITIES We are currently looking for instructors to teach a variety of classes.

GRANDE PRAIRIE MUSEUM EXHIBITS & EVENTS 50th Anniversary Exhibit Rodacker/Campbell Gallery PROGRAMS Tours and school programming available phone 780-532-5482.

GRANDE PRAIRIE REGIONAL COLLEGE EXHIBITS & EVENTS Exhibits throughout the year in the Glass Gallery.

PROGRAMS The Fine Arts Department at GPRC offers courses in Music, Art and Drama with a focus on student learning and success.

We offer a range of programs in both traditional and new medias.

Call Joanne at 780-539-2443 for more information about any of our programs.

This Summer!

We are offering a variety of summer camps in July and August.

Rock It! And Girls Rock! For the young budding musician MADness – a pinch of Music, Art and Drama A week of Glee!

Call Fay at 780-539-2444 for more information about these summer camps.

HERITAGE DISCOVERY CENTRE EXHIBITS & EVENTS Along the Edson Trail Kin Gallery May 4th – September 30th

PICTURE PERFECT EVENTS Capture the Beauty of the Peace Showing until April 23rd Gala Awards evening April 27th, 7–9pm

PRAIRIE ART GALLERY

The Prairie Art Gallery is expanding. Construction is currently underway to connect to our current location in the Montrose Cultural Centre.

EXHIBITS & EVENTS Art Insight Tours Free one hour tour of a behindthe-scenes look into the gallery’s mission to preserve, inspire and explore. To book a tour time call 780-357-7486.

Peacework Selections from The Prairie Art Gallery Permanent Collection March 11th – April 30th

QEII HOSPITAL, THE COURTYARD GALLERY

Mila Lansdowne

Silk-Art Creations

EXHIBITS & EVENTS GALLERY Recent Works Toni Schuler March & April

• Workshops & Retreats • Silk scarves & Art Cards • Supplies & DIY kits

Recent Works Marjorie Taylor May & June AFA Traveling Exhibition Prairie Art Gallery July & August SHOWCASES Wendy Olson-Lepchuk April, May & June

Ph.250-242-3389

OPPORTUNITIES FOR ARTISTS Any artist or artisan wishing to have an exhibition at the QEII Hospital – please contact Carrie Klukas at 780-830-4855.

Gift Shop

UNIQUE GALLERY OPPORTUNITIES Opportunities for exhibitions. Call Dan at 780-538-2790.

High Prairie AB HIGH PRAIRIE & DISTRICT MUSEUM EXHIBITS & EVENTS Four Strong Winds Exhibit featuring four family members April Half-Breed Mythology Kootenai Brown May Built To Last July This Village August

www.ArtForHappiness.com e-mail:mila@persona.ca

Tumbler Ridge, BC

780-835-2697

watercolours, local pottery, knitwear, Calvin Cornish prints, dichroic glass, jewellery, quilted and hand woven items

www.fairviewfinearts.com

s

Spring Course • pottery/glazing • oil painting • spinning • watercolour • jewellery • paper arts • quilting • batik • genealogy • encaustics

Monthly Gallery Exhibits • Artists at School Show • Members Summer Show • Heather McNair Spring Show • Wisdom of the Ages • Creations, Inc. May 13 • Eric Cameron - A Conceptual Approach • Quilt and Fibre Show

NEW!

Dinosaur School Programs for Kindergarten and Grades 1 and 7

Call Laura today at

780-532-2362 to book or learn more.

OPPORTUNITIES If you are interested in showing your work at the High Prairie & District Musuem please call 780523-2601.

Peace River, AB PEACE RIVER MUSEUM EXHIBITS & EVENTS Chop Suey on the Prairies: A Reflection on Chinese Restaurants in Alberta Royal Alberta Museum Travelling Exhibit March – May 30th

A long time ago, museums began as...

Cabinets of CURIOSITIES

Explore our collections through this intriguing new exhibit!

Cabinets of Curiosities March – December Artists of the Peace Art wall rotates on a monthly basis

Peace River Museum, Archives and Mackenzie Centre 780-624-4261 | 10302- 99 Street, Peace River, Alberta T8S 1K1 www.peacerivermuseum.com | museum@peaceriver.net art of the peace

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Sabine Schneider I am always surprised by the images that find form through me. The joy of discovering newness feels like dreaming – or perhaps it’s more like daydreaming. I receive these images as gifts. As I communicate with them, feelings and knowledge move and crystallize. The process is both intuitive and physical. I listen with sensitivity and awareness, taking the images into my body and then giving them form through hands and heart.

Our contemporary Western culture places little value on ritual and ceremony, myth and magic. The supremacy of science makes it difficult to explore and retain our sense of the mystery of life. And yet this is what profoundly interests me. In the materials I choose and the processes I use, I aspire to honour the existential and communal nature of our lives.

I believe that art making reflects the human capacity to shape self and world. Poeises is the act of placing one’s authentic truth in an artwork. Creativity is a basic expression that lives in our heart and breathes through our entire existence. Working with what we find and shaping it into some kind of truth lies at the heart of culture.

The images I created for my Exiles series reflect the physicality and mystery of my work. These haunting figures stand silently.

In their dignity and stillness, they remind us that there is much that we cannot know unless we are prepared to listen with profound respect and with the intention to be transformed by what we hear.

The Exiles, Cotton Fabric, each figure approx. 67” X 26” X 35”

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Networking

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Learning

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Exhibiting

2011 PAINTING THE BIG PICTURE” Art Symposium > Outstanding Speakers Dawson Creek, BC

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October 14-16

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Great Art Networking Creative Workshops

MEMBER SHOW AND SALE Dawson Creek Art Gallery Opening Reception October 14

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All work shown until November 5 A selection of 20 works will be juried to travel in 2012

MEMBERSHIP - We’'ve Made it Easy! > Registration

and Membership details available online at:

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THE PRAIRIE ART GALLERY

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