art of the Peace | Issue #4 by imageDESIGN

contents 4

art out there . . . C.H.I.C.K.S. Of The North

Jewellery As Art

The Business Of Art

Why Do You Keep Doing That?

The Universe In A Blade Of Grass

Iconography: Jim Stokes:

Artist Profiles:

Three Peace River Artists

19 22 23

artists directory education & opportunities where it’s all at Light Drawings:

Stories Of Light

Editor: Jody Farrell Editorial Commitee: Trenton Perrott, Karen Longmate, Dale Syrota Design, Layout & Advertising: Image Design Contributors: Jody Farrell, Susan Thompson, Sarah Alford Publisher: Art of the Peace Visual Arts Assoc., c/o The Prairie Art Gallery, 10209 99 St., Grande Prairie, AB, T8V 2H3; Ph: (780) 532-8111; art@artofthepeace.ca Printing: Menzies Printers Cover painting ‘Fields and Sky’, Jim Stokes. Inset, video still, ‘Jim Stokes’ DVD, by Steve Burger

©All rights reserved Art of the Peace 2005 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.

Art of the Peace Visual Arts Association acknowledges the financial assistance of: City of Grande Prairie Arts Development Fund

Peace Region Economic Development Association

A Matter of Perspective Artists who work intuitively say they’re merely putting an obsessive thought or idea into the physical world. Those who’ve had little formal education and schooled types alike often appear surprised that an audience “gets it.” That the audience may actually find relevance other than what the artist intended is sometimes overwhelming. And that we might find salvation in the artist’s perspective is, well, bordering on the uncomfortable. We’ve said it before in these pages: The world is ready to listen to the artist. That voice that for so long has appeared out of sync with the fast-paced reality we’ve produced is one of the few we’ll look to for answers in the years to come. Why? Because the artist has spent time exploring what the rest of the world has not: The universe within. Scientists too, are beginning to take a second look at theories they’ve applied to the exterior world, and recognize their massive potential when applied to the individual. Physicists in the newly-released film ‘What the Bleep Do We Know’ address possibilities the artist deals with daily. What with the current state of world politics, the economy, and terrorism on our very roads as well as abroad, the notion that by merely changing our perspective, we might create a new reality, is sounding better all the time. It’s perhaps presumptuous to assume artists intend anything. But, wittingly or otherwise, they offer a different perspective. And they appear to be hitting on something that even scientists are suggesting might save us. Jody Farrell, Editor art of the peace 3

art out there . . . Series, Seriously! es, it’s official. August 1st to 5th, 2005, the Grande Prairie Regional College will host a series of artist workshops based on the popular week-long ones that happen annually in Red Deer. Landscape artist Dale Kirschenman, bronze caster Paul Leathers, fabric artist Lyn Pflueger, are just a few of the instructors offering courses. To register, pick up a form at either the GPRC Fine Arts Department or The Prairie Art Gallery. Series information can be accessed online at http:extension.rdc.ab.ca, or by calling toll free, 1-888-8862787.

‘Maligne Lake,’ Dale Syrota

National Recognition rande Prairie watercolour artist Dale Syrota has been accepted into the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour. Selection requires that a portfolio be submitted and juried. One of Syrota’s works was chosen for the national society’s Permanent Collection, and she will participate in its national exhibitions.

What’s Tim Doing Now? n the Spring 2004 issue of Art of the Peace we featured Tim Heimdal’s artwork, including his spectacular murals. He is currently painting a series of murals at the Grande Prairie Museum as part of its expansion and renovation. The new look of the museum will be unveiled on May 1, 2005, but here, (left), is a little preview.

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Also that week, you’re invited to participate in a Plein Air non-instructional painting program. So far, the plan is to gather daily at a to-be-determined Beaverlodge area location, with Edmonton landscape artist Sophia Podryhula-Shaw for self-directed painting or sketching. The cost is $175 for those who require GPRC

accommodations, but only $25 for those who are coming from the area. For more details, contact Sophia at 780-462-2555, or pick up a Series brochure as listed above.

Dale Kirschenman, ‘Fields #2,’ acrylic.

Road Trip he Prairie Art Gallery is hitting the road to Peace River to meet its artists. The plan is to take a busload of interested arts enthusiasts through Fairview and Peace River. So far, the day-long tour is scheduled for June 11, 2005. Please contact Jennie Biltek at The Prairie Art Gallery at (780) 532-8111 for more information and to register.

Mural Site heck out the website for updates on the collaborative mural project that is part of the Alberta C e n t e n n i a l Celebration. Artists Phil Alain and Lewis Lavoie, along with many Peace Area artists are featured in the 336-painting mural. Visit the mural, to be unveiled in Ottawa on May 7th, at www.muralmosaic.com.

McNaught Celebration

Artists, Everywhere…

reparations for the Third Annual Euphemia McNaught Visual Arts Celebration are well underway. This year, because of summer construction, The Prairie Gallery arts festival will happen alongside The Street Performers Festival on 100 Avenue. We’re looking for artists to weigh in here with their talent, and invite them to create a visual presence throughout the city and downtown! Several projects are underway to illustrate this year’s theme for the July 22-24 weekend arts party.

P The ‘White on White’ exhibition (clockwise from above right); Doug Wills’ art history powerpoint; silver gelatin photograph by Brenda Mansfield all added to the production of ‘Art’, the play.

‘ART’ The Play Celebration he Yasmina Reza play ‘Art’, which celebrated The Prairie Art Gallery’s 30th Anniversary, drew rave reviews during its stint at Second Street Theatre in Grande Prairie. The production owed its success in part, to not only the 30 local artists with its ‘White on White’ exhibition (some of the proceeds from the silent art auction went toward The Prairie Gallery’s education program), but to Steve Burger’s wonderful opening credit video; Tim Heimdal’s editorial cartoons of actors and crew; and Doug Wills’ incredibly funny, and SHORT powerpoint pre-play feature ‘A Very Brief History of Art’.

ebruary, 2005, marked a particularly gruelling month for artists everywhere, as fundraisers drew largely on their talent. There was HIV North Society’s production of Vagina Monologues, with its

‘Orgasm’, Wendy Stephansson

TREX Exhibition

AOTP Symposium

obert Guest, (featured in ‘Iconography’ page 12), has been a godsend to aspiring artists throughout the Peace Region. Recently, he led his hometown group, The Grande Cache Wa t e r c o l o u r Society, through the rigours of preparing for a curated exhibition. Alberta Foundation for the Arts Travelling Exhibition (TREX) will circulate selected works of these artists throughout the region and province over the next two years in its exhibition ‘Out on the Mountain, Deep in the Woods’. TREX is a provincially-sponsored program that sends original art and education packages into rural communities. For more information about this travelling exhibition and other TREX opportunities, contact Sue at The Prairie Art Gallery, at 780-532-8111.

he Art of the Peace symposium last October was as successful as ever. Artists Lyndal Osborne, Peter von Tiesenhausen, and Jack

accompanying exhibition of female genitalia as paintings, photographs, and mixed media works… Another couple of evenings in Grande Prairie and

October 2004 AOTP symposium

Burman spoke of their work to a sell-out audience of 75 at The Prairie Art Gallery. Art of the Peace became an official society, which will allow for grant applications to further its mandate to connect and develop Peace Region artists. Plans are underway for the Third Annual Art of the Peace Symposium, to be held October, 2005, in Dawson Creek. For more information, contact Ellen at The Dawson Creek Art Gallery, at 250-782-2601.

Our slogan is ‘Come Sit With Art,’ a theme that ties into The Prairie Gallery’s summer exhibitions, ‘FurnArture’, and ‘Play By Design’. We’re looking for one-of-a-kind ‘Chair’ designs to be built and put out in the community in the month prior to the festival. We’ve scheduled workbees to get together and build massive chairs, and invite you to create your own invention. Maybe you’ve got an idea for the chair that belongs in the library, the city hall, or the local pawn shop! We’ve also got chairs ready-made for those of you just wanting to decorate. Call Jennie at The Prairie Art Gallery, at (780) 532-8111 for more information.

Matt Regan paints to jazz music

Falher had artists painting to jazz music to raise funds for this area’s Francophone centre… And a fundraiser for rural health centres in Nepal raised $29,000 from its auction of paintings by area artists…

Your Comments Please

hat do you think of the Art of the Peace magazine and website? Please let us know online at www.artofthepeace.ca on the ‘Comments’ page.

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C.H.I.C.K.S. of the North by Sarah Alford he C.H.I.C.K.S. of the North’, reports one member, "is like an AA group that meets at the pub over martinis. Except that it's art not alcohol, and we don't ever want to quit."

‘T

It was the Prairie North Creative Residency 2004, at the

‘Cross’ Tina Martel

Grande Prairie Regional College, that provided incubation for ‘C.H.I.C.K.S.’ The GPRC residency attracts artists nationwide and is a rarefied environment, full of ideas, discussions, and time. Two weeks in the studio are interrupted only by catered meals, discussions, slide shows, critiques and an essential field trip to the Rolla pub. When Prairie North wrapped up last May, and the planes were boarded, local artists Sarah Alford, Donna Barrett, Lena Gilje, Ruth

Heijne, Tina Martel, Cathy Stafford, Barbara Swail, and Fay Yakemchuk didn't want it to end. They decided to keep meeting every few months in order to provide each other with constructive critiques and solid support. ‘C.H.I.C.K.S.’ was hatched. The work in their upcoming exhibition (September 9th to October 16th at the Prairie Art Gallery) addresses the balance one must strike between one's life as an artist and the work one must do outside that life to sustain the former. Their work includes painting, sculpture, photography, and installation. Each of these artists is highly accomplished and some have exhibited nationally and internationally. However, between the eight of them, they hold eleven extra jobs. While they may not reveal how they do it in this exhibition, they will show you some profound reflections on the relationships and environments that both sustain and compromise their art practice, often simultaneously. As for why they call themselves ‘C.H.I.C.K.S. of the North’, that same artist with the martini analogy offers this insight: "Well, we've never really delved into why we call ourselves C.H.I.C.K.S, and I can only speak for myself, but, really, if we took ourselves as seriously as we take our art practice, we'd be insufferable! So, we're the C.H.I.C.K.S!" art of the Peace 7

JEWELLERY as art Joyce Lee

by Sarah Alford

Three Peace Region artists share their love of metal. oyce Lee, is a self-described collector, dreamer and designer living on a 160-acre ranch north of Dawson Creek; a world she describes as "filled with the potential for design." Lee considers her pieces as part of a cycle in which the illuminated world is uncovered and shared.

"Stones are captured energy, created by the earth over millions of years, brought to light so that I may use my hands and wire to support and embrace them. A stone may be cold as you pick it up, but as you hold it against your skin and give it your heat, it then holds and returns it".

Heather Forbes

Lee sees beauty everywhere, and jewellery is her vehicle for honouring, and participating in, beauty's pleasure. "Beauty is beauty, whether on a gallery wall, in a song, in the sky, or in a finished creation gleaming in my hand." For Heather Forbes, the process of making jewellery is much like the process of living a valiant life. "My favourite pieces began as 'mistakes;' they didn't turn out as I had planned. When that happens, you allow yourself to experiment and play with what you have. You and the piece evolve; you learn how to work together. It can never be replicated."

NeKo

Her introduction to jewellery was a workshop led by Edmonton artist Karen Cantine. "I was just Scottish enough that when the workshop was over, I had to go back and make something with the scrap silver." Forbes' jewellery bench now sits behind the counter of her store, Forbes and Friends, in Grande Prairie. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a room in the back for the very messy jewellery procedures. "Silver is actually a dirty metal to work with," she smiles, "but when you fine tune itâ&#x20AC;Ś buffing, finishingâ&#x20AC;Ś it becomes a sensual, magical experience. It's a transformation."

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NeKo discovered jewellery-making while attending the Alberta College of Art in the 1970s. He had intended to study painting, but found himself lured by the technical challenges posed by the newly-formed jewellery program. Since then, the Grande Prairie resident has made jewellery that expresses his generosity and refined sense of design with delicacy, humour, and virtuosity. Sadly, NeKo recently developed an allergy to metal. After all that filing, sanding, piercing and torching, the metal has begun to bite back. While this is quite a blow to both NeKo and the jewellery community, he welcomes it as an opportunity. NeKo's work displays such discipline and creativity, it is certain that he will succeed in whatever he chooses to do next, be it landscaping, stained glass, or his first love, watercolour. "Leap," says NeKo, "and the net will appear."

the artbox Tools for Jewellery by Sarah Alford ewellers that work with metal have a dizzying array of tools that include chemicals, torches, big greasy machines with spinning wheels, and saw frames with blades as thick as a hair. Jewellers work with pickle, flux and liver of sulphur. They burn out, stretch, sink, rouge, vulcanize, and invest. Just what are these jewellers doing? In most cases, they are rearranging the molecules of metal, either by heating it with a torch, annealing; subtracting the metal by filing, sawing, or piercing; joining it together by soldering, fusing, setting or riveting; or hammering the metal, to create marks or to push the

metal into shapes like bowls or blades. For that, a jeweller needs a small torch, a warm acid bath for cleaning surface oxidation and flux (the pickle), a jeweller's saw frame, blades, files, drill bits, emery papers, hammers, stakes, solder, a flexible shaft, a polishing motor; and each of these needs a myriad of blades, heads, gas, acids, buffs, and polishing compounds. However, it is possible to supply an inexpensive, safe workshop with everything one needs to begin cutting, soldering, and finishing. An excellent resource for practical tips and suppliers is Charles Lewton-Brain's book ‘Cheap Thrills In The Toolshop,’ and the educational website www.ganoksin.com. I also recommend Tim McCreight's ‘The Complete Metalsmith,’ a handbook of basic techniques. As well, keep in mind that the word 'jewellery' has never been a synonym for metal. The most wonderful, modern jewellery, now in museums, has been made from such materials as paper, monofilament, laminated flower petals, painted tin, and recycled stop signs. Jewellery is an intimate and powerful canvas for social and personal commentary. Your tools are endless. Sarah Alford studied jewellery at Nova Scotia School of Art and Design. She recently had an exhibition entitled “Haute Glue,” at The Prairie Art Gallery, in which she turned that evermaligned-but-essential artist tool, hot glue, into such luminous adornments as crowns, brooches, and medieval tapestry. Alford lives in Demmitt, Alberta.

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The BUSINESS of Art by Trenton Perrott he Art of the Peace regional visual arts initiative got its start in January of 2003 when a number of like-minded "art" people from Grande Prairie gathered to "talk shop." The agenda focused on business-related topics such as art sales, marketing, promotion, professional development, networking, and education. By summer 2003, a plan was launched to publish a regional visual arts magazine and bring together artists in the form of a symposium. In October of 2003, over 70 regional artists attended a weekend event where the Art of the Peace magazine was christened. Canadian painters Ted Godwin, Tessa Nunn and Tina Martel entertained, enlightened and educated participants about the ‘real’ world of art as they saw it.

Also presenting that weekend was Nicole McMullan, from the Peace Region Economic Development Alliance (PREDA). As a major sponsor of the regional symposium, entitled ‘Painting the Big Picture’, PREDA’s goals were outlined, as was its interest in marketing regional products under a new promotional initiative called ‘Branding the Peace’. McMullan spoke of a unique base of artists in the Peace Region that would benefit from both recognition and effective promotion and development. Artists Peter von Tiesenhausen and Brian Jungen have proven that the Peace Country can produce national and international caliber professionals. With other accomplished artists such as Jim art of the Peace 10

Stokes and Robert Guest paving the way for new and young artists, the potential is great. Under a regional marketing plan, there is great interest in defining and packaging the key selling points of the Peace Country. Cultural industries more often than not are considered to be ‘cultural’ and not ‘economic’. Whether it's attracting professionals or business to the region, it is well understood that quality of life is one of the most important factors in convincing individuals to relocate. Next to healthcare and education, arts and culture go hand in hand with sport and recreation toward building the important factor of quality of life in economic development terms. In current marketing terms, "branding" is the name of the game. With the financial and consultative support of the regional Branding the Peace initiative and the Peace Region Economic Development Alliance, the Art of the Peace Visual Arts Society is developing a special brand for Peace Country artists. Through the publication of the magazine, websites, symposiums and other development and marketing activities, Peace Country artists will continue to grow and prosper while contributing to our community and economy. The Art of the Peace Visual Arts Association appreciates the financial support of PREDA in the production of the magazine, website and annual symposium. Visit PREDA online at www.peacecountrycanada.com

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Iconography:

Why Do You Keep Doing That? by Jody Farrell

ico·nog·ra·phy n. the imagery or symbolism of an artist or body of art

Vicki Hotte’s cow paintings stemmed from her desire to continue her art once she’d returned to her Beaverlodge area ranch from a University of Victoria arts program. “We raised cows, so I’m used to them. I know the way they look in any position, the shape they take. I recognize them as a whole, and as individuals.” Her first images dealt with these sensitivities to the animals. They were automatic sketches, not planned. Gradually, she explains, her cows took on the meaning of the continuum of life. ”They’re so…cowlike. Placid. Fat. So “there”. I imagine that even 10,000 years ago, they looked the same lying down as they do today. They have been around so long they’ve become part of the earth.”

Vicki Hotte, (above right), ‘7 Bulls, Leaving,’ acrylic and ink. Jocelyn Morgan, (below), spiral bracelet and earrings.

Hotte began adding washes to the background for a little “atmosphere.” These were purposely nebulous: they were neither pasture nor fixed location, but rather a sense of air movement or dust. Later, the cows adopted something of a Biblical reference. One of the Hottes’ herds was skinny by nature, and got Vicki thinking about the Pharaoh’s dream of

thin cows that came out of the river and ate the fat ones. She developed water-like background washes, which eventually doubled as skies. “The sky became the universe, with the cow as part of that universe.” The recent sale of the farm and move into Grande Prairie has Hotte working the cow image as more of a pattern, or motif. A memory. She’s done cows in clay, and lately, has begun carving a cow design out of plexi-

glass. The plastic medium’s transparent nature gives a dreamlike, skylike quality to the animal. “They’re a personal symbol; my mark,” Hotte explains.

Robert Guest’s recent exhibition at The Prairie Art Gallery entitled ‘Symbols in the Landscape,’ featured Inukshuk-style markers the artist encountered while working in isolated lookout towers for Alberta Forest Service. His landscapes, done first as watercolours or drawings, not photoart of the peace 12

graphs, capture the incredible detail of the changing weather and surfaces of mountain ranges few of us will ever see. He is fascinated with symbols he finds in nature, including full moons, Indian tipis, and forest fires. These too, frequently appear in his work. “Most people relate to objects on a symbolic level,” Guest says. “To me, symbols in the natural world stand for ideas and suggest stories or adven-

ture apart from the literal. They add to the mystery. His painting ‘Third Marker Along Adams Ridge,’ shows a structure made to look like a traditional Native Inukshuk, located within three miles of the North border of Wilmore Wilderness Park, near Grande Cache. Guest figures markers like this one were probably built after 1950 to direct the traveller across a ridge. It can get foggy in these higher peaks, and people get lost or disoriented. Hunters and hikers follow the markers whose sequence eventually brings them to a road.

Unfortunately, that third marker was toppled sometime last spring by what Guest figures must have been lightning. Its precariously high domain left it open to such forces of nature. The large pile of rubble that remains pays homage to impermanence and change.

A person facing hardships so intense as to feel on the verge of implosion might envision a spiral of bodily energy drawing itself inward and down. But it

and all that green foam.” Fiorini suspects that these misty water wonderlands, along with shipmates’ tales of spotting the elusive “polar bear

“I was sculpting bears, using different glazes, trying always to make them bigger. In order to make them as big as I’d like, I had to make them solid. They were too heavy though. Not right.” Somehow, the resulting clunkiness no longer gave that fluid quality that, for Fiorini, is the essence of the bear.

“They talk,” Guest says of the Inukshuks. “The wind wound through (third marker), sifting a musical sound. In hot weather, mosquitoes gathered behind it, making a loud hum. They didn’t bite though. Maybe they’re just partying.” “The marker directs your attention upward. It also casts an odd shadow. Like a person. A companion in what is otherwise a world of rock and fog.”

It’s hard for Grande Prairie jewellery artist Jocelyn Morgan to pinpoint exactly when she began incorporating the spiral into her work. It was definitely there in her days at Emily Carr College in Vancouver in the 1980s. “But I’d travelled a lot too, and was always drawn to symbolism,” she recalls. Morgan, whose father is a consultant for oil companies, spent early years abroad. Repeated patterns she encountered in Africa, the Middle East, and later, Ireland, influenced her creative style. The spiral, in particular, found its way into Morgan’s world, its layers of meaning winding themselves into her everyday habits. She credits “working” the spiral for getting her through some very tough times. “That idea of a swirl that starts in the middle and moves outward can be seen as doing two things. It can represent an inward and downward, or upward and open, flow of energy,” Morgan explains.

character in author Philip Pullman’s novel ‘The Golden Compass’ influenced Fiorini’s decision to take up welding.

Robert Guest, ‘Third Marker Along Adams Ridge’. Below right, Paula Fiorini’s raku polar bear.

can, with conscious effort, be worked in the opposite direction. Morgan finds that, worked inwardly, the spiral gets smaller, invisible, perhaps finite, where, worked outwardly, it would appear to have no end. The possibilities in directing that energy outward would be limitless. Years of consciously working the spiral is not only visible in her art, but has transformed Morgan into a soughtafter yoga practitioner. “I love the more whimsical spiral, too,” Morgan says of her chosen icon. “The whirling dervish; the fern we find in nature; the swirl in the ocean, and its shells. I love all of those images.”

Paula Fiorini’s obsession with bears began with, of all things, her travels on board ships. The ceramic artist, now living in Whitelaw, near Fairview, spent many childhood years sailing between Montreal and South Hampton with her travel-bug parents. “I came to know a lot of the crew. You would stand on deck and look at the wash,

on the iceberg,” infused her with a lifelong passion for the animal. “I see so much fluidity, humanity in the bear,” she explains. “People ascribe things to them, like left-handedness. Their form, their whole being, speaks to people.”

‘The Golden Compass’ bear wore armour. Fiorini identified strongly with this character, and began toying with the notion of incorporating metal protection into her bears. The armour parts of her works would be welded together; the visible “bear” parts would be raku ceramics. The combination would meet her desire to increase its scale, while both keeping the animal fluid-looking and giving it that added durability should something shift in the atmosphere.

Her ceramic raku bears allowed for a hollow inside, a feature Fiorini finds as important as the sculpture’s visible exterior. “I’m fascinated by that universe within.” Fiorini also holds the creator accountable for a work’s permanence or durability. “If you’re going to make things, you have to take responsibility for them. If the world shifts, they have to have what it takes to survive.”

Fiorini is still getting proficient at welding. And the big armoured bear? It presents the kind of challenge that keeps her awake at night. She’s sketching plans and thinking it all through. “It’s all in my head, baby,” says a determined Fiorini.

This sense of duty for one’s creations, along with a certain art of the Peace 13

JIM STOKES “The Universe in a Blade of Grass" by Jody Farrell Jim Stokes is excited. He’s motoring around his garageturned-studio, extolling the genius of a recently acquired remote for his dust collector. It allows him to work away on one of his numerous do-it-

"People are overjoyed when they see his work . . . I think Jim's paintings open people to their own emotional response to the prairies." yourself projects, and, instead of constantly having to cross the floor to flick the switch that clears the air, he uses the remote, and continues on, drilling, or sawing, or sanding his work. And move along he does. He apologizes for what he calls a mess, but it’s clear there’s a method happening here amidst the racks and racks of half-finished canvasses, homemade printing presses and framing supports. “It’s out of necessity,” Stokes says with a wave to the wooden Landscape monotype by Jim Stokes

lengths, some bought, some found or recycled. “I’m not by nature a good framer.” I’ve no doubt that by this word, necessity, Stokes is referring, in part, to the grating reality that art doesn’t pay. Not well, at least. And that’s not because he isn’t well-known. He’s represented in Waterton, Calgary, and Edmonton, where, according to Marianne Scott, owner of Scott Gallery, Stokes’ recent solo show “left people clamouring for more.” Stokes is also among those brave few for whom art is a daily job. He’s finding it a little easier these days, as his parallel role of stay-at-home-Dad has graduated from toilet training into taxi duty. But he keeps such a clipping pace, what with his painting, printmaking, framing, photographing, and ever-evolving knowledge of computers, one gets the notion that his term “necessity” also infers an overabundant need to keep busy. My surprise at such energy in an artist catches me offguard. Stokes’ work reads relaxed, while his personality is anything but. I begin to realize that Jim Stokes, the person, is substantially different than the solitary, reflective type I

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imagined back in 1991 when I first moved to Grande Prairie and encountered his landscapes. The marks Jim Stokes makes on canvas eminate a quiet sense of clarity. The wide-cut expanses of prairie he’s renown for are so fresh, so clearly meditative, it’s easy to imagine they’ve been created by some lotusseated painter whose state of enlightenment produces magnificent horizons, each substantially different in the subtlest way. These works speak to the prairie in all of us; that unobstructed world of possibility. The open, airy, endless sky; the ground, tilled, or dressed in flouncy scrub, and the ribbon of road, all evoke something only prairie people know. Jim Stokes, the person, required a shift. I reconciled this wired bundle of energy with his peaceful panoramic prairies and came up with a new vision of the artist painting wildly, either in his studio, or out on location, the enlightened yogi coursing through his veins as he channels pure prairie essence onto a canvas. “People are overjoyed when they see his work,” Scott says. “I think Jim’s paintings open people to their own emotional response to the prairies.” Stokes’ work stays fresh by leaving something to that imagination, she says. “He doesn’t dot all his i’s or cross all his t’s.” Stokes wasn’t always as enamoured of his prairie roots. The Peace region native, like many

young people, had to travel far and wide to discover that even the beautiful and fast-paced cities of Europe and New York can breed loneliness and despair.

a dignity and splendour that garnered its choice as poster image for The Prairie Art Gallery’s 2003 House and Garden Tour, a much-coveted honour for Peace region artists.

“I came home to the everyday things, and found a sense of peace and well-being,” he says now. “I try to communicate that notion of place we all look for.” As he’s saying this, he picks up his little Jack Russell-Bichon dog, whose needs never go unattended to for long. Stokes stops frequently to fetch the toy she’s lost under the couch, or throw her a new one once she’s bored. This reverence for all living things comes through in his smaller prints of that common plant, the Indian paintbrush, whose presence along roadways, for many, represents the ragged and weedy. Stokes invests this prairie flower with

Stokes’ gratitude for community support, and his own tireless support for community, also takes energy and passion not available to most. Few artists get half as much accomplished while whittling away in solitude; fewer still, while visiting schools, hosting personal tours of their workspace, mentoring artists and sharing knowledge and computer skills with technology buffs.

Jim Stokes Selected Exhibitions 2004 - Courtyard Gallery, Grande Prairie 2004 - Scott Gallery, Edmonton 2003 - Muse Gallery, Grande Prairie 2002 - Prairie Art Gallery, Grande Prairie 2001 - La Clarte Dieu, Quebec City 1998 - Unique Gallery, Grande Prairie 1996 - West End Gallery, Edmonton 1995 - Wallace Galleries, Calgary 1993 - Unique Gallery, Grande Prairie 1993 - Fine Arts Centre, Fairview 1992 - Wallace Galleries, Calgary 1990 - Unique Gallery, Grande Prairie 1988 - Prairie Art Gallery, Grande Prairie 1986 - Picture Perfect, Grande Prairie 1979 - Prairie Art Gallery, Grande Prairie

I wonder aloud if he’s consciously working toward an end, or if he’s just following his passion for interpreting the land. Stokes allows that he plans to include people in his work, because, he says, humanity is that “most important” element. His comment that “you don’t get good at things overnight,” offers up another link between Jim Stokes the person, and Jim Stokes the artist. A merging of the placid, methodical, painstaking creator who turns out quality work, and the ever-active, multi-tasker, who appears to be present to meet others’ needs, is indeed possible, but requires relentless wonder and reverence for the world. And a whole lot of time. There’s lots on his plate, but he’s not about to put it out there until he’s processed it entirely. Asked to explain his intention in his landscapes, Stokes recalls 19th century American poet Walt Whitman, whose work addressed what Jim calls “the universe within the blade of grass.” His art, he says, seeks to reveal something of that seed of universality in the particular. And when you’re bent on examining the world from that perspective, it’s going to take some time.

Top to bottom, Jim Stokes at work in his studio; ‘Cloud Sketch,’ acrylic on canvas; ‘Paintbrush’, monotype; Stokes with ‘Overview,’ acrylic on canvas; below, ‘Winter Light’, acrylic on canvas.

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Menzies

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artist profiles: Three Artists from Peace River by Susan Thompson and Jody Farrell

Vivian St. Andre: Paris In Your Own Backyard ivian St. Andre’s art reflects a love of learning. Recent works were created using a hand-held electric engraving tool to carve and etch into metal shards from damaged automobile bodies. She’s studied the science of sugar to make a collection of toothbrush ‘lollipops’ for another piece. For an exhibition during the Winter Games, she created a ‘waterfall’ installation using silicone on 58 pieces of 28 foot long fishing line. Still another piece used different types of styrofoam.

"I find installation art is very thought provoking," St. Andre muses. "To me any kind of reaction is excellent…You can't push the boundaries and expect to please everybody." St. Andre is most occupied these days with exploring and painting the large burn in the forest around Slave Lake. Her work almost always involves a large amount of research. "I love mythology, I love anything on Greek history, any art history, I love science. Art is not only the drawing or the painting, it's the other aspects of learning. I relate it to going to Paris, the City of Lights. There Vivian St. Andre and ‘Cinderella Story,’ acrylic. is so much art, poetry, and science there. I think art is like a little “city Below, Wendy Stefansson, ‘All Talking At Once,’ acrylic on canvas, 2002. of lights”, because in order to be an artist you have to be very wellrounded.” For St. Andre, the city of lights is accessible from everywhere. “You don't have to look very far for art ideas or inspiration. It's right around you. You always think you need to go to Italy. I think we have more opportunities than we think out here."

Wendy Stefansson: Motherhood and Other Metaphors eace River artist Wendy Stefansson says that motherhood has changed her outlook on art dramatically. Where she once dealt with grand and universal concepts such as permanence and impermanence, her work now is more grounded in her own experiences. "I think women's art is often a lot more intimate than men's art. Men tend to make art for the world and women make art from their lives-from their bodies or their experience or their children. I think it tends to be more personal," she says. Her own work often expresses a visceral, physical awareness of otherwise abstract ideas such as time and fertility through metaphors such as eggs end nests.

Stefansson’s most recent installation at the Vagina Monologues gala opening in Grande Prairie featured images of the cells of her own menstrual blood on a series of 12 glass "mandorlas", or genital-shaped dishes, arranged in a circle to suggest the ritual aspect of time being marked. An installation piece shown in Peace River was simply a recording the artist made of a mother nursing a very small baby played through headphones. "It was off in the corner, you put the headphones on and it was very intimate, small and closed," Stefansson explains. "People cried. It was the only artwork I've ever done where people cried." Her most recent pieces involve exposing film to light and developing it. The resulting ethereal, colourful pieces are each "as good an image as I've ever made of God," Stefansson says. While parenting is still her main focus these days, art meets her need to communicate at another level. “I do art because that's where I put that energy that says something to the world. I want to be part of that abstract conversation that goes on. All art forms do it. Advance new ideas, push a boundary here and there, make people look at something differently.”

Doug Thompson: The Humanity of Metal eace River-based welder and metal sculptor Doug Thompson wanted to become a blacksmith from a young age, and the welder is its modern equivalent. Having completed his journeyman welding, he worked for several businesses before purchasing his own rig, Hell'n'Back Welding. His day job keeps him happy doing what he loves, but he's got metal masterpieces on his mind. One is a metal sculpture of his own head. Notions of mortality and other issues surface when contemplating the skull, he says. "It kind of freaks people out," Thompson concedes. But it's the one those who see his works would like to see finished.

Thompson's a bit defensive when it comes to explaining the emotions he finds invested in his steel artworks. He seems confounded by an inability to automatically "get" what he calls the "humanity" of steel. "If it weren't for steel, we wouldn't be where we are today. We wouldn't have cars, skyscrapers, trains, wars…" Thompson argues. It's evident he's so close to the medium, so very convinced of its incredibly vast qualities and importance, he needs prompting to see a steel sculpture in the casual, uncommitted way the average person might. It requires concerted effort to go back to those outer textures and qualities that give his sculptures meaning. He's long since internalized them. Thompson’s ‘Oh God’ sculpture, a figure kneeling with open arms raised in gratitude, is highly polished. The steel's luminosity gives a radiating quality that would not be there if the figure were painted black. Another work, a ‘steel painting’ entitled ‘Reflections of Home’, features a carved and welded landscape that sits arched, or bowed inward, over a highly polished steel base. Placed in the right lighting, the unpainted landscape emanates colours of its own making, giving off greens and colours that simply happen because of its reflective nature.

artists directory ART CLUBS GRANDE PRAIRIE GUILD OF ARTISTS c/o 9329 - 47 Ave Grande Prairie, AB T8W 2G6 780-538-0616 Louise mlissowa@telus.net Meet weekly to paint at The Prairie Art Gallery, Sept - May, 7 - 10 pm, Tuesdays. Annual membership fee. Opportunities for instruction and exhibition. PEACE RIVER ART CLUB Box 2711 Peace River, AB T8S 1S8 780-624-8528 Miriam; mgair@telusplanet.net Shows and sales for member artists. Variety of mediums. Meet quarterly. PEACE WATERCOLOUR SOCIETY c/o 7601 - 102 St. Grande Prairie, AB T8W 1Y7 780-539-4046 Dale; 780-568-4124 Suzanne Peace Country artists focusing on transparent watercolours. Semiannual shows throughout the Peace Country.

PRAIRIE FIGURE DRAWING GROUP c/o 10209 - 99 St. Grande Prairie, AB T8V 2H3 780-532-8446 Karen 780-532-2573 Jim Non-instructional, informal group meets weekly at The Prairie Art Gallery, Sept.-May, Thursdays 710pm. Drop-in or monthly fee.

ARTISTS ADRIAN-CLARK, Carol 9338 - 69 A Ave. Grande Prairie, AB T8V 6T3 780-532-0846 www.adrianclark.ca art@adrianclark.ca Realistic renderings of florals, landscapes and still life, in coloured pencil and oil painting. ALBIN, Kelly (Blue Frogs Legs) Box 2152 Chetwynd, BC V0C 1J0 250-788-8804 Watercolours, acrylics, charcoal, pencil crayon, pencil, chalk, oil, photography and mosaics. Versatility with several media allows great scope in expressions of her concepts and designs.

Steel is soft and malleable when heated. Thompson says it's like clay in your hands. Still, he adds, the knowledge and skill required to manipulate the element into a wellconstructed sculpture is not something even the better welder can do. "The biggest reason for a lot of my sculptures is to use everything I know to create something new." ‘Oh God,’ steel sculpture by Doug Thompson.

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ASHTON, Ed #37, 8910 - 122 Ave Grande Prairie, AB T8X 1P8 780-532-6803 eashton@telusplanet.net www.edashton.com Original artwork in watercolour; Alberta grain elevators, rustic scenes, barns. BEGGS, Lorraine 921 - Cornwall Cresent Dawson Creek, BC V1G 1P1 250-784-0173 beggslorraine@hotmail.com Watercolours, pastels, photograms and photography. Realistic and abstract. BIBI POTTERY (Bibi Clement) P.O. Box 144 Hythe, AB TOH 2CO 780-356-2424 bibipot@telusplanet.net www.bibipottery.com Studio Potter/Sculptor specializing in wood fire and raku techniques. Artistic Director of BICWA Society, International Residency Program BROWN, Judy Box 825 Spirit River, AB T0H 3G0 780-864-3608 judybrown@robbtech.com My paintings reflect the peacefulness and serenity of our landscape. CLOAKE, Sue 9927 - 86 Park Ave. Grande Prairie, AB T8V 0C9 780-539-7405 Mixed media collage - a combination of mediums creates an intricate abstract textural surface. COWAN, Corinne RR3, Site 2, Box 6 Grande Prairie, AB T8V 5N3 780-532-6643 den_cor@telusplanet.net Because watercolour lends itself to a wide range of values and freedom of movement on paper, it is my choice of medium. CRAIPLEY, Sheila Box 569 Sexsmith, AB T0H 3C0 780-568-3754 Landscape, acrylic and oils in local landscapes and historic sites. CRICHTON, Holly General Delivery Grovedale, AB T0H 1X0 780-538-9264 holly_crichton@hotmail.com www.nightofartists.com Watercolours, graphite. Varied subject matter. Commissions welcome.

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CURRIE, Gordon 1512 - 113 Ave. Dawson Creek, BC V1G 2Z5 250-782-6388 gcurrie@eldoren.com www.watercolorpainting.info Watercolour and mixed media artist - scenic nature works of art. DAKIN, Charity (Taiga Studio) Box 1189 Manning, AB T0H 2M0 780-836-3836 www.nightofartists.com Original work in acrylic, pastel, pencil, charcoal. Limited edition prints. DEMUYNCK, Inez 11121 - 16 St Dawson Creek, BC V1G 4A1 250-782-6363 inez@pris.ca Teacher/Artist specializing in creative watercolour and handbuilt clayworks. DICKSON, Yvonne 10015 - 89 Ave. Grande Prairie, AB T8V 2Y9 780-532-1629 Watercolours with a Peace Country theme. DITCH, Valerie Box 882 Grande Prairie, AB T8V 3Y1 780-538-9238 serendipiditygirl9@yahoo.ca Primarily working in watercolour with attention to light and detail. Originals and giclée prints and cards available. DIXON, Suzanne Box 124 Pouce Coupe, BC V0C 2C0 850-786-5582 Folk art paintings, small pictures and cards. DRONYK, Dymphny 11306 - 102B St. Grande Prairie, AB T8V 2Y2 780-402-3280 dymphny@telus.net www.dynamicdatagp.com Photography, writing, grants, proposals, screenwritting and video production. DUPERON, Frances 9909 - 92 Ave Grande Prairie, AB 780-532-2753 Acrylic/oil paintings, portraits, landscapes, still lifes. FARRELL, Jody 8508 - 100 A St. Grande Prairie, AB T8V 3C3 780-538-1499 jaf1234@telus.net Paintings, oil, acrylic - mostly landscapes, flowers.

GAIR, Mirian Box 7211 Peace River, AB T8S 1S8 780-624-8528 miriamg@wispernet.ca I use semi-abstract form, light, and simplification to create oneness with spirituality and nature. Work in any media but prefer watercolour. GOURLAY-MORGAN, Jocelyn Grande Prairie, AB T8V 0H9 780-532-8105 vgorgan@telusplanet.net Original jewellery, sterling silver and semi-precious gems. Custom designs.

HOTTE, Vicki 11405 - 97 St. Grande Prairie, AB T8V 4K9 780-538-1947 svhotte@telusplanet.net www.vickihotte.com Acrylic paintings and drawings rural subject matter. HUETTE, Arthur 8608 - 100 St. Grande Prairie, AB T8V 2K1 780-539-5907 a_huette@cablerocket.com Large airbrushed art work. Will consider commissions.

GOURLAY, Marilyn Grande Prairie, AB 780-539-3992 mgourlay@telus.net Mixed media, life drawings. I enjoy the creative process. Facilitate art retreats and teach yoga.

KAUT, Donna Box 675 Grande Prairie, AB T8V 3A7 780-532-6468 ddakaut@telus.net www.nightofartists.com “I focus on oil paintings of wildflowers and berries of Alberta.”

GUEST, Robert Box 1784 Grande Cache, AB T0E 0Y0 780-827-2346 Painter in the Symbolist Landscape tradition preferring wilderness and nocturnal subject matter.

KLUKAS, Carrie 10818 - 95 St. Grande Prairie, AB T8V 1Z5 780-532-0102 carrieklukas@yahoo.ca Acrylic paintings on board, abstract expressionism.

HAAKSTAD, Carmen 8214 - 102 A St. Grande Prairie, AB T8W 1Z4 780-539-4483 chaakstad@gprc.ab.ca Spiritual and unique hockey images, chalk pastel and coloured pencil.

LAURIN, Ray 9637 - 113 Ave. Grande Prairie, AB T8V 1W4 780-532-5232 With acrylics, I can capture what nature has to offer us.

HEIMDAL, Tim 9804 - 102 St. Grande Prairie, AB T8V 2V2 780-532-1995 indigo@cablerocket.com Murals (interior and exterior) commissions, portraits. Acrylic on canvas. Impressionistic.

LE CORRE, Lynn 11110 - 95 St. Grande Prairie, AB T8V 1Z7 780-538-4046 skyrock@telusplanet.net Painting in miniature simplifies the landscape to colour and painterly forms.

HENN, K. Marjorie Box 262 Beaverlodge, AB T0H 0C0 780-354-2165 ghenn@telusplanet.net Countryside and wilderness themes are my inspiration, watercolour is my main medium.

MAGNETIC NORTH IMAGES (Brian Don Hohner) Box 104 North Star, AB T0H 2T0 780-836-0021 info@magneticnorthimages.com www.magneticnorthimages.com Landscapes and skyscapes of the north. Pastels. Commissions welcome.

HOLLER, Colleen Box 363 Wembley, AB T0H 3S0 780-766-2567 choller@telusplanet.net A variety of watercolour subjects with a view to contrast, light, colour and form.

MANHOLT-HOTTE, Sherrie PO Box 626 Wembley, AB T0H 3S0 780-766-3183 sherriemh@cablerocket.com Mixed media painter. Abstract.

HOMMY, Barry Box 298 Beaverlodge, AB T0H 0C0 780-354-8117 (w) 780-356-3741 (h) Artist in watercolour - local landscapes.

MARTEL, Tina Grande Prairie, AB 780-539-2814 tmmartel@hotmail.com Mixed media paintings.

MCGUINTY, Kristine 12813 - 92 St. Peace River, AB T8S 1R9 780-624-2605 Harvest Moon Studio: Contemporary photographic images, polaroid emulsion transfers, acrylic paintings and drawings. MCKENZIE, Cheryl 9102 - 105 Ave. Grande Prairie, AB T8X 1H7 780-532-7433 cheryl@imagedesignpros.com www.imagedesignpros.com Digital design and graphic artist. MCNEIL, Michele J. RR2 Site 13, Box 41 Grande Prairie, AB T8V 2Z9 780-538-4760 rpmcneil@telusplanet.net Stained glass with a contemporary twist “Yours is to dream it. Mine is to create it.” MULLIGAN, Helena 8709 - 98 St. Grande Prairie, AB T8V 2C7 780-538-2009 Insights, expressions of everyday life in sculptures, drawings and paintings. Commissions welcomed. NEKO GOLDWORKS (Neil Kolacz) Grande Prairie, AB 780-532-7030 nekogold@telusplanet.net Custom Designed gold and silver jewellery, and original watercolours. PALMER, Valerie ‘Spores n’ More’ Box 6512 Peace River, AB T8S 1S3 780-624-8589 donval@agt.net Mushroom spore prints: images created from natural spores of fungi. PETERS, Rika #202, 10230-106 Ave. Grande Prairie, AB T8V 5G8 780-814-7430 rugur@telusplanet.net Oil paintings; impressionistic landscapes. PRESTONE, Keith Grande Prairie, AB 780-532-1803 snobear_777@hotmail.com Snow, ice and sand sculpture/coordinator. 2D and 3D work in a variety of mediums. REDWOOD, Lonnie #118 10550 111 St Grande Prairie, AB T8V 8H1 780-532-3510 redfl@cablerocket.com “I enjoy painting landscapes and related subject matter in watercolours.”

REYNOLDS, Doris Box 277 Fairview, AB T0H 1L0 780-835-2379 Seasonal landscapes in watercolour of mountain parks, Peace valley and prairies.

SWANSTON, Nan RR3, Site 4, Box 6 Grande Prairie, AB T8V 5N3 780-532-6745 nan@imagedesignpros.com www.imagedesignpros.com Close-up views of nature, buildings. people - watercolour and pastel.

SANDBOE, Suzanne ASA, PWS Box 28, Site 9, RR1 Sexsmith, AB T0H 3C0 780-568-4124 ssandboe@telusplanet.net Realistic landscapes, portraits and scenes from everyday life. Original work and commissions in a variety of mediums.

SYROTA, Dale 7601 - 102 St. Grande Prairie, AB T8W 1Y7 780-539-4046 hsyrota@cablerocket.com Traditional transparent watercolour painting rendered in a true and unique style.

SHILKA, Marian Grande Prairie, AB 780-532-7562 mshilka@telusplanet.net Primarily watercolour, capturing the essence of brief, unforgettable moments in time.

TAYLOR, Marjorie 9506 - 77 Ave. Grande Prairie, AB T8V 4T3 780-532-0355 mataylor@telusplanet.net Acrylic on canvas/mixed media, abstract paintings, clay sculpture.

SMITH, Len 9110 100 St Grande Prairie, AB T8V 2K5 780-539-4608 Relief wood carving, 3D carving, intarsia, woodburning. Custom artwork and instruction.

WILLS, Doug Grande Prairie, AB 780-402-7077 define@telus.net Graphic design, illustration, on-site software instruction.

ST. ANDRE, Vivian Peace River, AB T85 1E7 780-624-4701 iriverdr@telus.net Acrylic and watercolour, abstract and traditional, sculpture and digital imagery.

PHOTOGRAPHY CRAWFORD, Barbara 9711 - 101 St. Peace River, AB T8S 1A6 780-624-5101 Outdoor photography, rural landscape, nature and old buildings. Colour and black and white. MCLAUGHLIN, Catherine Grande Prairie, AB 780-402-6211 cmclaughlin@telusplanet.net Photography - informal portraits of people and their pets, landscape. Freelance writing, poetry readings. GILJE, Lena Box 252 Wembley, AB T0H 3S0 780-505-0873 lkgilje@hotmail.com Portrait, corporate, weddings. PETTIT, Don 1204 - 103 Ave Dawson Creek, BC V1G 2G9 250-782-6068 1-866-373-8488 don@peacephotographics.com www.peacephotographics.com Peace Region nature photography, graphic design, publishing, marketing, product development.

STEFANNSON, Wendy 10509 - 81 St. Peace River, AB T8S 1M7 780-624-8522 wstef@telus.net Working conceptually, employing photography, acrylic paints and sculptural techniques. STEINKE, Vi Box 10 Silver Valley, AB T0H 3E0 780-351-2174 vsteinke@telus.net “My paintings of scenery and florals are done in oils, acrylics or watercolour.” STOKES, Jim 10417 - 110 Ave. Grande Prairie, AB T8V 1S8 780-532-2573 Quality, original paintings, drawings and prints. Contemporary representational work. (see ad page 10) STROM, Brenda 10205 - 76 Ave. Grande Prairie, AB T8W 1Y6 780-532-8930 strombrenda@hotmail.com Watercolors, oil, monoprints of florals, intimate landscapes and hockey players.

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BEAVERLODGE, ALBERTA

GRANDE PRAIRIE, ALBERTA

Beaverlodge Cultural Centre

Centre for Creative Arts

Ongoing programs in pottery, stained glass, batik, weaving, acrylic, oil and watercolour painting classes for a variety of ages. Please call Sue, 780354-3600 for dates and details.

The Centre offers many classes in fine arts, decorative arts, practical arts, physical activity and new is our craft clubs for children and adults. Starting in May 2005 we are offering classes in glass fusion and 35mm and digital photography as well as developing prints with new instructors.

Gallery exhibition and gift shop sales opportunities are available. Please call Sue at 780354-3600 for further information.

For more information and updated class information,

drawing, painting, digital arts, and photography. Visitor in the Arts Visitor in the Arts lectures series resumes September 2005 and continues throughout the academic year. For more information contact 780-539-2443.

Robert Guest Gallery, Picture Perfect Frame & Gallery Robert Guest Gallery is available for exhibitions - call Dan Kameka at 780-539-4091 for information and available dates.

education & opportunities DAWSON CREEK, B.C. Dawson Creek Art Gallery Ongoing programs for all ages in a variety of media. For more information regarding our art classes and workshops, please phone 250-782-2601 or e-mail us at dcagchin@pris.bc.ca. Opportunities for exhibition in the gallery are available. Guidelines for exhibitions can be viewed at www.pris.bc.ca/artgallery.

Northern Lights College The College offers a one-year program, leading to a graduation certificate in the Visual and Graphic Arts, to prepare the student for a wide variety of career opportunities. In addition, a two-year program is also offered leading toward an Associate of Arts Diploma. The primary focus is to build a portfolio for job preparedness or to continue education in another institution. Phone 250-7825251 for information.

FAIRVIEW, ALBERTA Fairview Fine Arts Centre New courses start in the fall. Call the Centre at 780-8352697 for course outlines in September.

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check out our website at www.gparts.org or contact us at info@gparts.org. You can also call us at 780-814-6080.

Courtyard Gallery, Elizabeth II Hospital

Queen

For information about showing contact Karen at the QEII Foundation office 780-5387583. Display cubes (showcases) are available for collections or 3-dimensional art.

Grande College

Prairie

Regional

Prairie North 2005 Creative Residency May 20th - June 2nd Non-instructional workshop for professional artists. Call 780539-2814 for information. Red Deer College Visual Arts Series Aug. 1st - 5th See ad at right. The Fine Arts Department Offers students a wide range of career and learning opportunities in the Fine Arts. These include Diploma, University Transfer programs, and courses in Music, Art, and Drama. Students in all GPRC programs may also fulfill their Fine Arts option requirements with FAD credit courses. Non-credit Visual Arts courses include

The Prairie Art Gallery PD Days by Design These Saturday afternoon workshops allow artists and teachers to experiment with a hands-on technique.

Art After Dark Monday evening, 7:00 - 8:30 pm, Art After Dark series for artists and art enthusiasts looking for art education. Art Investment Club The club invites anyone interested in learning about and purchasing art. The group meets once a month for discussions and lectures focussing on an amount to invest and purchasing paintings. The Prairie Art Gallery produces three new shows each year to tour, and is looking for proposals from its regional artists to keep on file. Please submit your artist cv, proposal, and four images of your artwork to: The Prairie Art Gallery, AFA TREX Coordinator 10209 - 99 Street, Grande Prairie, AB T8V 2H3. Call 780-532-8111 for furthur information.

where it’s all at . . . galleries of the Peace Peace Region Gallery Events and Exhibitions

St. Isidore

'Body Double' Commemorating Breast Cancer Month Sept. 27th - Oct. 22nd 'Out of the Woods' Regional Woodworkers Oct. 24th - Nov. 13th

Falher 49

FAIRVIEW, ALBERTA 43 • Fairview Fine Arts Centre

43 Valleyview

DAWSON CREEK, B.C. • Dawson Creek Art Gallery

BEAVERLODGE, ALBERTA • Beaverlodge Cultural Centre 512 - 5 Ave. Beaverlodge, AB T0H 0C0 780-354-3600 (phone & fax) Hours: Tues. - Fri.1 pm - 5 pm Sat. & Sun. 1 pm - 4 pm Gallery, gift shop and tea room. Exhibits & Events Iva Canning (nee Carrell), Jan Olson, Ruth Holmes, Wendy Olson-Lepchuk, Kelly and Sarah Lepchuk Great-Grandmother, Grandmother, Mother and Daughter Show and Sale May 1st - May 27th

Edward Bader Show and Sale June 26th - July 29th

101 - 816 Alaska Avenue Dawson Creek, BC V1G 4T6 250-782-2601 www.pris.bc.ca/artgallery dcagchin@pris.bc.ca Hours: June - August: 9 am - 5 pm daily Sept. - May: Tues. - Sat. 10 am - 5 pm

Sean Reily Show and Sale July 31st - Aug. 26th

Year round, artist run centre; gift shop; 13 exhibits per year; art rental; education programs.

Tim Heimdal Show and Sale Aug. 28th - Sept. 30th

Exhibits & Events Marjorie Henn and Barry Hommy May 3rd - May 29th

Dave McRae High Browns & Stetsons Show Oct. 2nd - Oct. 28th Marjorie Henn Show and Sale Oct. 30th - Nov. 25th

• The Small Gallery Beaverlodge High School Student Art May 29th - June 10th Kristin Canning Show and Sale June 12th - June 24th

917 - 2 Ave. Beaverlodge, AB T0H 0C0 780-354-8117 Pottery, fine art, framing & wood turnings.

'In the Summertime’ Members of the South Peace Art Society June 1st - July 24th 'Peace in the Valley' Janis Herbison and Wendy Moore July 26th - Aug. 22nd 'Sea and Land' Dutch Canadian Gerta Duiverman Aug. 30th - Sept. 25th

10801-103 Ave. Fairview, AB T0H 1L0 780-835-2697; fax 780-835-5561 www.fairviewfinearts.com finearts@telusplanet.net Hours: Tues. - Sat. 12 pm - 5 pm Gallery, education programs Exhibits & Events Artists at School Show May 21st - June 4th Tour from The Prairie Art Gallery of Fairview Fine Arts Centre and Raku Firing at Paula Fiorini's Claymaker Studio June 11th Judy Brown, Carolyn Brown and Evelyn Harris Three Generations Show and Sale June 11th - July 2nd Summer Show and Sale by Members July 9th - 30th Fairview Ag. Society Flower Show August Fairview Ag. Society Quilt/Weaving Show Sept. 3rd - 24th Fall Open House and Fall Course Announcement Sept. 17th Heather MacNair A New Leaf Show and Sale Oct. 1st - 8th

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Paula Fiorini and Erin Stelmaschuk Show and Sale of new works Oct. 15th - 29th

Exhibits & Events Grand Opening May 1st

GRANDE CACHE, ALBERTA

Main campus, main floor 10726 - 106 Ave. Grande Prairie, AB 780-539-2909 Gallery of student and faculty artwork.

• Grande Cache Tourism & Interpretive Centre Home of the Palette Pals Art Club Highway 40 South Box 300 Grande Cache, AB T0E 0Y0 780-827-3300 tourism@grandecache.ca www.grandecache.ca Summer hours starting May long weekend: 9 am - 6 pm, 7 days/week. Wildlife and historical displays, art gallery and gift shop. Exhibits & Events Palette Pals Art Club Show & Sale First 2 weeks of June Donna Kaut Art Show and Sale July 23rd - Aug. 22nd

GRANDE PRAIRIE, ALBERTA • Centre for Creative Arts 9904 - 101 Ave. Grande Prairie, AB T8V 0X8 780-814-6080 Education programs. Exhibits & Events Arts and Cultural Festival July 23rd and 24th

• Forbes and Friends 9918A - 100 Ave. Grande Prairie, AB T8V 0T9 780-513-1933; fax 780-513-1949 Gallery of Alberta crafts. Pottery, glass, jewellery, accessories, hand painted silk, home decor.

• Grande Prairie Museum 10329 - 101 Ave. (Muskoseepi Park) Grande Prairie, AB T8V 3A8 780-532-5482; fax 780-831-7371 gpmuseum@telusplanet.net www.grandeprairiemuseum.org The Rodacker-Campbell Gallery features rotating exhibitions.

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• Grande Prairie Regional College, Glass Gallery

Exhibits & Events Visitor in the Arts Series starts September 2005. Lectures are open to the general public at no cost on Wednesdays, 11:45am - 12:45pm, in the Fine Arts Recital Hall (L106).

• Heritage Discovery Centre 11330 - 106 St. (Centre 2000) Grande Prairie, AB T8V 7X9 780-532-5790; fax 780-532-8039 gpmuseum@telusplanet.net www.grandeprairiemuseum.org The Heritage Discovery Centre features new and exciting interactive exhibits and changing exhibits in the Kin Gallery.

• Picture Perfect Frame & Gallery 9934 - 100 Ave. Grande Prairie, AB 780-539-4091; fax 780-539-4554 picperf@telusplanet.net www.pictureperfectfineart.com Robert Guest Gallery, main floor gallery, original art, reproductions, framing & art supplies. Representative for www.fineartprint.ca. Exhibits & Events 13th Annual Capture the Beauty of the Peace Contest April 9th - May 4th 'Nature's Gallery' Carolyn Sinclaire Show and Sale May 7th - May 28th Peace Watercolour Society Fall Show and Sale Kakwa Falls by Robert Guest Limited Edition prints available Celebrating Alberta's Centennial Sept. 1st - Sept. 24th

'The Foothills and Rockies' Robert Guest Show and Sale Oct. 8th - 29th

• Queen Elizabeth II Hospital, The Courtyard Gallery Lower Level, QEII Hospital 10409 - 98 St. Grande Prairie, AB T8V 2E8 780-538-7585 Original works by local artists. In affiliation with the QEII Foundation. Exhibits & Events SHOWCASES 'Hand painted’ Mailboxes by various artists & handmade cards by Cheryl King April - June

Peter von Tiessenhausen Barbara Amos Children’s Interactive Exhibition ‘Play by Design’ May 20th - June 25th FurnARTure July 1st - Sept. 4th Red Deer Series Instructors July 1st - Aug. 5th Past Prairie Art Gallery Curators ‘A Selection of Works’ Aug. 12th - Sept. 4th Ken Jeannotte (Arrogation): The Full Weight of Reason Dale Kirschenman C.H.I.C.K.S of the North Oct. 21st - Nov. 27th

GALLERY 'Recent Works' Arthur Huette May - June

7th Annual House & Garden Tour Friday Garden Gala Evening June 17th 5:30pn Saturday Tour - June 18th 10: 00 am - 8:00 pm

GALLERY 'Come Home With Us' Alberta Foundation for the Arts Travelling Exhibition July - August

3rd Annual Euphemia McNaught Arts Festival July 22nd - 24th

SHOWCASES 'Hand painted Clay Sculptures' Gordon Perret July - September GALLERY Janet Enfield September - October

• The Prairie Art Gallery 10209 - 99 St. Grande Prairie, AB T8V 2H3 780-532-8111; fax 780-539-9522 info@prairiegallery.com www.prairiegallery.com Class A gallery, education programs, art rental and gift shop. Exhibits & Events Grande Prairie Regional College Year End Show All Schools Junior/Senior High All Schools/All Art All Schools Elementary All Schools/All Art April 15th - May 15th

4th Annual Tempt Your Palette - In Paris Trumpeter Hotel and Meeting Centre - Oct. 28th

• Unique Gallery 9929 - 100 Ave. Grande Prairie, AB 780-538-2771; fax 780-538-2790 Original artwork, pottery, jewellery, glassware, giftware.

PEACE RIVER, ALBERTA • Frameworks Custom Framing & Gallery 9903 - 100 Ave. Peace River, AB T8S 1S4 780-624-1984; fax 780-624-1984 Custom framing and readymade framing supplies. Original artwork, prints, posters, photographs, pottery, and other local handicrafts.

• Athabasca Hall Art Gallery Peace River Art Club Show July 1st

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