togetherness: women’s art collaborative, irwin & the … summer 2016... · 2018-03-26 ·...

SPRING/SUMMER 2016

TOGETHERNESS: WOMEN’S ART COLLABORATIVE, IRWIN & THE RETRO GIRLS, MADE ON MONDAYIMBIBE: PAMELA NAGLEY STEVENSON

WILD THING: STEPHANIE KELLETTFOCUS ON YOUTH FESTIVALGUSHUL STUDIO RESIDENCY

ARTS & HERITAGE NEWSPHOTOGRAPHING YOUR ART, PART II

2 SPRING/SUMMER 2016 ARTICULATE 3

Working as an artist can be a solitary activity. Some of us thrive on our isolation; others of us seek out connection. As an editor, I have the best of both worlds. I get to engage with all sorts of fascinating people and then retreat to my writing space to try and recreate those connections in words. Given our mountain valley geography,

physical connection with like-minded others can present challenges. Many of the artists we feature in this issue have found ways to come together, physical and otherwise. These days, art and the Internet are far from mutually exclusive. In fact, sharing our work in the virtual universe has become a rich and valid means of building community and receiving affirmation and feedback for the work that we are pursuing.It isn’t a coincidence (well, maybe a bit) that many of our featured artists are women. In our goal-oriented world, women tend to look to the sisterhood and beyond to enrich their life and work. Nelson fibre artist Kate Bridger initiated her Made on Monday project to challenge herself to produce one piece of artwork each week. Her website now has over 20 registrants from Australia, the U.K. and North America who post their artwork online. Creston’s Retro Girls and the Women’s Art Collaborative from the Argenta area meet regularly with a common goal (let’s make art!); Laura White in our Last Word column gives a shout out to social media art sites as forums for sharing and learning.Political tidbit: Provencher, Manitoba MP Ted Falk has introduced a private members bill, The Fairness in Charitable Gifts Act. The act proposes to level the playing field between tax credits for federal political donations and for donations to other registered Canadian charities. Falk feels that charities across Canada will benefit from the bill, as more dollars will be freed up for donations. More information can be found here: tedfalk.ca. Falk encourages people to contact their MP to express their support for the bill. I received a letter from Sandra Hartline of Nelson in response to the “In Passing” article on Holley Rubinsky in the fall/winter issue. She writes: “A short story by Holley Rubinsky published in Room a few seasons ago described a woman at her 70th birthday party, sitting with a swollen ankle, a cyst behind her knee. ‘Gold is the colour of gratitude; the sweet creases of burnished leaves enter, like a vision, into the universe of her mind.’“That to me sums up the heart of this passionate, funny and complex woman. Holley was my friend, and she will be much missed.” Thank you, Sandra.Corrections: In the fall/winter issue of ARTiculate, two names were incorrectly spelled. Nick and Kyla Hurst (not Hearst) were involved in the staging of Murder on the Canadian; Jennifer Whetter (not Whetting) was the assistant curator at the Creston Museum who researched the Irwin Crosthwaite exhibition. I apologize for the errors.

Margaret Tessman, editor

SPRING/SUMMER 2016ISSUE #29

Editor: Margaret Tessman

Contributors:

Kate Bridger, Anne DeGrace, Barbara D. Janusz, Brian Lawrence, Robert E. Livingood, Moe Lyons, Alison Masters, Greg Nesteroff, Colleen Palumbo, Colin Payne, Laura White, Margaret Tessman

Design: Evolution Creative Communications

Proofreader: Anne Champagne

Project Management: Krista Patterson

Sales: Natasha Smith

Arts & Heritage News 4Local History: Golden Sikhs & Hosmer Mine 6 Ceramics: IMBIBE 8Cover Story: Stephanie Kellett 10ARTiculate events calendar 12Plein Air: Gushul Studio Residency 16Online: Made on Monday 18Group Work: Women’s Art Collaborative 20Recycled: Irwin & the Retro Girls 21Handmade: The Art Barn 23 Community Celebrations: Day of the Dead 24How To: Photographing You Art: Part II 26 On Stage: Focus on Youth 28Book Review: Surviving City Hall 30Last Word: Editorial 31

ThE MoRE WE GET ToGEThER

on the cover:Stephanie Kellett, Taseko. 24x24 inches, acrylic on birch panel.

ISSN #1709-2116

Copyright: Contributors retain the copyright of their own original work. By submitting work to ARTiculate for publication, contributors are granting permission to ARTiculate for one-time use in the print and digital/online versions.

Together We Are the TrustColumbia Basin Trust supports the ideas and efforts of

the people in the Columbia Basin.

We take our lead from residents and communities. Whatever the situation calls for, we adapt our role: from providing resources, to bringing people together, to leading an entire initiative. The Trust is here to offer experience and support to all Basin residents.

While our range of services, programs, initiatives and financial investments is extensive, our purpose is straight-forward: we exist and act for the social, economic and environmental well-being of the Columbia Basin—now and for generations to come. cbt.org/arts

FROM “SEPTEMBER IN THE CROWSNEST” BY SANDRA DONOHUE


NEWS NEW MUSIC

Originating from Métis and mixed blood, Amanda Strong’s work centres around blood memory and indigenous ideology. Her artistic background is rooted in photography, illustration and media, which extend into her recent stop-motion animations. Indigo and Mia’ challenge conventional structures of storytelling in cinema and have screened internationally, most notably at Cannes, TIFF, VIFF and the Ottawa International Animation Festival. The detail and layers of these animations are often lost via two-dimensional and screened formats. Amanda’s current curiosity lies in extrapolating the process of the animations to exist in gallery and installation formats for audiences to experience in three dimensions. Her exhibitions at the Oxygen Art Centre and Langham Cultural Centre this summer will explore Mia’ via a display of puppets, props and some set elements, in addition to a projected reel of animated works.Amanda’s new work should capture the attention and imagination of local youth, as her practice is a successful marriage of traditional (stop-motion) and new media and technological savvy, very much the currency of the target audience. Amanda’s perspective is important in rural regions such as Nelson where cultural diversity and diverse forms of expression are relatively few compared to large urban centres.Amanda Strong, Oxygen Art Centre, Nelson, June 4 to July 3, opening night June 3, 7–9 pm. Langham Cultural Centre, Kaslo, July 9 to September 4, opening night July 8, 7–9 pm.

A CALL foR JUSTICE: fIGhTInG foR JApAnESE CAnAdIAn REdRESSA travelling exhibition from the Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre in Burnaby will be on display at gallery 2 in Grand Forks through June. A Call for Justice: Fighting for Japanese Canadian Redress (1977–1988) tells a story of human rights and the enduring perseverance of the Japanese Canadian community that suffered so much from 1942 to 1949. The Nikkei Centre has prepared the exhibit to honour of the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Redress Agreement with the government of Canada. Using historical photographs, artifacts, poetry, personal statements, art and video, A Call for Justice celebrates the emotional 10-year struggle to achieve acknowledgement and an apology from the government for the unjust treatment of Japanese Canadians during and after the Second World War.A Canadian Heritage Museums Assistance Program grant will help to cover the costs of bringing this important exhibition to Grand Forks. The funds will also be used to commission an article to link the history of the internment camps and the redress process to the Boundary area. Grand Forks & District Art & Heritage Centre, 524 Central Avenue, 250-442-2211, gallery2grandforks.ca

Forty-five years and counting by Moe Lyons

The Vallican Whole Community Centre, lovingly referred to as the Whole, is a shining example of the old adage that life begins at 40. Back in the day, idealistic young people moving to the Slocan Valley realized that they needed a community centre of their own. Raising the centre from the ground up helped to build community, and as women, children and men worked side by side, they learned many of the skills they then applied to building their own homes. For many years the Whole was home to a community school, which eventually outgrew the space and moved to a new location in Winlaw. The Rural Alternatives Research and Training Society (RARTS), the organization that oversees the building, then had more flexibility to host workshops and events, and to collaborate with other organizations. In the past, RARTS had been instrumental in the creation of the Dumont Creek Burial Society and the Slocan Valley Seniors Housing Society.Nearly five years ago the Whole celebrated its 40th birthday with a big community party, marking the first four decades of its rich and varied life. Soon after, work began on major renovations and the building is now ready to enter a new era.Starting off with style, the Whole sponsored its first three-part cultural series this year: a Valentine’s cabaret, and performances by vocalists the Kootenay Divas and comic Lucas Myers. On May 8, Mother’s Day, the Whole will host an afternoon tea featuring the Wind River Quartet playing a variety of classical, jazz and contemporary flute music. They will be joined by Netta and Toinya, the Fominoff Sisters, one of the Slocan Valley’s favourite singing duos, and by classical guitarist Angelo Sammartino.On June 18 an all-day solstice mini-festival called ALT will celebrate alternative cultures in the Slocan Valley and beyond. ALT will showcase music, emerging artists, alternative literature and spoken word, as well as opportunities for mentoring and other manifestations of creative culture. Young and old can explore the Slocan Valley’s vibrant new youth culture.The Whole is proud to host a variety of performances you would expect to find in a larger urban centre. As one Valentine’s cabaret attendee said, “This is better than you’d get in Vancouver for hundreds of dollars—the atmosphere, the quality of the music.” This is what the Whole is offering: the very best acts in the most beautiful hall in the Kootenays.To find out more, visit vallicanwhole.com or Facebook the Whole.

by Margaret Tessman

John Jenkins and his musical partner in Smalltown Revival, Jackson Baker, describe themselves as weekend warriors. Three-quarters of the way through mixing their new CD, Green, John (kick drum, snare, high hat, guitar and vocals—it’s easy to understand how he played as a one-man band for two years) and Jackson (bass and vocals) have been playing live shows and prepping for their CD release party in Golden in early May. “We’ve turned into a power trio of two,” says John. “We can perform in a variety of venues and we can fit into a Toyota Matrix!”

John went into the studio last fall with a vision for a new collaboration. “I was trying to get away from my usual country heartbreak tunes with some fun, danceable music,” he says. Still wanting to maintain a representation of their live sound on Green, John realized that the sky’s the limit in the studio. He added some session players, including Dave Stonehouse on banjo, producer Jordan Stringer on percussion and cajón, and 14-year-old Slade Coffman on guitar and vocals. Slade also co-wrote one of the songs for the CD with John, who is his guitar teacher. “He can really sing,” says John. “When he heard the mix on playback, I wished I could have videoed his reaction.”

Green was produced by Nanaimo-based Jordan at Bill Noble’s Strawbale Studio in Golden. A huge part of the CD project involved looking for opportunities to add benefits to youth and community, key directions for the Columbia Kootenay Cultural Alliance (CKCA) grant that helped to finance the recording. John describes the studio sessions as “a massive mentoring process. Bill learned a lot from Jordan, and their relationship will continue.”

Smalltown Revival also received support from Bill Usher, executive director of Kicking Horse Culture in Golden, which will help sponsor the CD release. “We’ll be in the Civic Centre with the big stage and big lights,” says John. “The scope and scale are important.” John feels that applying for CKCA funding has taught him a lot. “It was an amazing process,” he says. “It legitimizes my career and Kicking Horse Culture legitimizes my show. It’s given me a reason to keep working on my music.”John says that the title track on Green is “the most politically forward song I’ve ever written.” Inspired by the Peace River Valley and the Site C dam, the song lyrics include quotes from individuals that John met while his wife Rachel was working on her master’s project on the valley. “I feel passionate about the area,” he says. “I have some big ideas about how the song might help.”Before another spark flies off of another chainYou better get down on your knees and pray for rainThe neighbours will rally to put out the fireCan the neighbours rally to tame their desire??

I see families working hard to sustain themselvesI see neighbours working hard to put food on the shelvesThe Peace River Valley is not for saleMay greed fail and common sense prevail

– From “Green” by John Jenkins’ Smalltown RevivalGreen will be launched at the Civic Centre in Golden on Friday, May 6 (presented by Kicking Horse Culture); at Pynelogs in Invermere on Saturday, May 7 (presented by Columbia Valley Arts); and at Expressions in Nelson on Saturday, May 28. Tickets are $20 for all shows, and include a copy of the CD.

AMAndA STRonG AT oxyGEn And LAnGhAM

ThE VALLICAn WhoLE CoMMUnITy CEnTRE

GoInG GREEnJohn Jenkins’ Smalltown Revival

Dance floor at the Vallican Whole. Photo: Jeremy Addington

John Jenkins and Jackson Baker lay down a cool tune. Photo: Jan Kotyk


LOCAL HISTORY

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TIdES of foRTUnE: A CoMMUnITy hISToRy of hoSMERby Margaret Tessman

A new exhibition at the Fernie Museum will examine Hosmer, a boom-and-bust mining town in the Crowsnest Pass, and place its history in the context of present-day extraction industries. In the early years of the 20th century, communities sprang up across the Crowsnest coalfield with great hopes and aspirations. Hosmer, Morrissey, Corbin and Frank were just some of the towns that appeared on the map as exploration and mining boomed in the region. These were not small communities. For example, Morrissey at one time had a population of 1,100.The Hosmer mine is an example of a stereotypical boom-and-bust town. “In the case of Hosmer, we’re looking at the history of the early mining exploration that led to coal mining and coking,” says museum director and curator Ron Ulrich. “Once workers got into the mine, it turned out that the gross yield was quite high, but the net yield after processing costs were factored in was substantially lower.”In 1913 a recession hit and the bottom dropped out of the coal market. The problem was made worse by the high cost of moving coal to market. Workers were given four to six months’ notice before the mines closed or, in the case of Fernie, half the workforce was laid off. “The mine closures are one reason why the Elk Valley had such high numbers of men going to war in 1914,” says Ron.The big questions for the museum researchers are how did 1,300 people create a community and what happened after the layoffs? One long-time resident, Mr. Fink, has donated items to the museum, and the work of early researchers Fred Lightfoot and Margaret Kennedy will supplement existing archival sources. These include the Hosmer Times, which published from 1910 to 1913, and a Hosmer map, hotel register and police blotter. The challenge for the museum is photo documentation. Although there were four or five photo studios in Fernie at the time and some travelling photographers, Hosmer was an exception. “The community was there so briefly, it didn’t have its own photographer,” says Ron. The museum is appealing to the community and ex-community members to donate relevant artifacts for the exhibition.“Research like this allows us to put the present into context,” says Ron. “We’ve been through this and survived it before.”Fernie Museum, 491 2nd Avenue, 250-423-7016, ferniemuseum.com

LOCAL HISTORY

Boom to bust and back againby Colleen Palumbo

The Golden Museum has added a new permanent exhibit to its collection. Sikh Golden Years covers the immigration of men from the Punjab region of South Asia to the sawmilling town of Golden in the early 1900s and follows them through those early days up to the present.In 1897 Queen Victoria invited her South Asian troops from India to attend her Diamond Jubilee celebrations in London. Crossing Canada on their way home, these soldiers returned to India with stories of an attractive land waiting to be settled by British subjects. The first Sikhs came to Canada in 1902 as part of a Hong Kong military contingent travelling to the coronation of Edward VII.Early Sikh immigrants to Golden arrived around the same time to work at the Columbia River Lumber Company sawmill. In those days the community was in its youth and the sawmill was the main source of employment. The company recognized the value of these tall, strong men and hired them to work in the lumberyard, planer and sawmill.It has long been believed that the first Sikh temple or gurdwara in Canada was built in Golden. What is certain is that between 1904 and 1908 5,000 men arrived in British Columbia from India. The majority moved immediately to the United States but 50 settled in Golden. It soon became apparent that there were no community

resources to support the new arrivals, so the Right Reverend William Lewis Macrae was invited to minister to their needs. Rev. Macrae had spent 18 years in Trinidad, posted there as a missionary to the East Indian population. He ministered in Golden from 1905 to 1914. Macrae always kept a front row pew available in his church for the East Indian community and allowed them to hold services there until a gurdwara was built.The gurdwara was a plain, 3.7-by-6-metre (12-by-20-foot) wooden structure located beside the East Indian workers’ boarding house. From the outside, other than the flagpole, there was nothing to indicate it was a temple. The building was always open and was adorned with all kinds of ornaments and a beautiful blue floor covering. An altar sat at the far end of the room. Tragedy befell the community of Golden in 1926 when a forest fire ripped through the surrounding forests, destroying the timber limits of the Columbia River Lumber Company. The milling giant was forced to close, resulting in wholesale layoffs for the workers. With no other work in the area, the entire East Indian community left Golden for points unknown.It was 30 years before the forest had regenerated to the point where cutting could begin, and once again capable, hard-working men were needed. In 1957 Gurdial (Big Bill) Singh Dhami received a call that there was work at the sawmill in Donald. Gurdial was responsible for bringing the first wave of a new generation of South Asian men to the area. When the Donald mill went bankrupt, Big Bill felt responsible for the men who were out of work. He arranged for a personal loan so that he could pay the men who had come to Golden on his word. It took him until 1963 to pay off that debt.By 1962 South Asian men were again arriving in Golden to work as new mills opened. Their numbers grew and by 1976 there were 70 South Asian families living in Golden, most of the Sikh faith. They had been meeting at the old Snow King’s Castle and other places about town but needed a place of worship of their own.The Sikh community approached the government about the possibility of having the land back that the original gurdwara had sat on. This was not possible, but land was available close to the original site. The Golden Sikh Cultural Society was formed and the new gurdwara, opened in 1981, is the heart of the Sikh community that makes Golden their home.Colleen Palumbo is the Golden Museum and Archives manager. Website: goldenbcmuseum.com

Mill workers at the Columbia River Lumber Co. with Sikh man on horse. Early 1920s. Collection of Golden Museum, P5335

SIKh GoLdEn yEARS

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CERAMICS

A musical with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Based on the story of Joseph from the Bible’s Book of Genesis.Directed by Geoff Burns, Musical Director Allison Girvan , Choreographed by Lynette Lightfoot

Tickets $15 adult, $10 student$45 family of four2016-2017 Season Series LaunchSeptember 6, 2016Buy your season subscription & SAVE 20% off regular ticket prices on Capitol Theatre Performances!The Capitol Theatre presents local, national and international artists in live theatre, dance, music and comedy, and more...

July 21, 22, 23 at 7:30pm and July 23 at 2:00pm

The Capitol Theatre in Nelson presents:

The 28th Annual Summer Youth Program

Sneak Peek: January 19, 2017

With Nico Rhodes, Piano

For all upcoming shows check out our website calendar. Buy tickets online:

www.capitoltheatre.bc.ca (250) 352-6363, 421 Victoria Street, Nelson BC Box Office Tuesday to Friday Noon – 4:30pm

See You AT The TheATre!

“Joelle’s passion-filled voice is spine-tingling and her stage presence electric.”

“Rabu is

Edith Piaf,

Bette Midler

and Carole

Burnett all

rolled into one

extraordinary

performer.”

Pamela Nagley Stevenson invites us to sip from the cup of timeby Anne DeGracephotographs by Jeremy Addington

It’s the early 1960s, and a young girl who should be in bed is hiding behind the living room door listening to philosophers, monks, sadhus and other thinkers discuss the world through the lenses of history, ethics and spirituality. The evening’s host is the girl’s father, a professor of philosophy at the University of Hawaii, who will later take his daughter with him on sabbaticals around the world. One day she will let these experiences shape the pots she throws.“When I grew up and fell in love with clay, I was always looking for the historical roots behind form,” explains artist Pamela Nagley Stevenson, whose newest body of work, entitled IMBIBE: Vessels of Illumination, is now touring Kootenay galleries. An intensive investigation into human history through the ceremonial drinking cup, IMBIBE is also the culmination of a lifetime of inquiry and two years of dedicated research. Through the journey Pamela discovered a shared visual language across time and cultures. Clay, an ancient medium for art and function, was the perfect vehicle. “Ceramics are a visual language of our unity,” she says.As an instructor at Kootenay School of the Arts for 17 years, Pamela told her students stories of history through the pots they studied. “If history was taught by the art people made, rather than the wars they fought, more students would love history,” she laughs. When she retired, the CKCA major project grant she received “was the most beautiful gift,” enabling full-time devotion to IMBIBE. “I got to stretch myself and make shapes I wouldn’t normally make. The grant allowed me to explore new surface designs and techniques.”The 108 wood-fired vessels in IMBIBE are organized within a “sacred geometry”: nine world regions, each represented by 12 cups for a total of 108 “peace offerings.” The number is reflective of the 108 beads in a mala, or prayer rosary.

Every project must begin somewhere, and Pamela’s began with a dream: a mala in which every bead was a cup; a world family of drinking vessels. It was a beautiful marriage of the philosophies and sacred texts she was introduced to through her father and her chosen form of artistic expression.The cups themselves are contemporary interpretations of traditional forms and symbols, and they span centuries—from the Neolithic era to pre-Industrial Revolution—and continents. Every vessel references an actual artifact, specific to date and place, and exemplifies a golden age of ceramics for that area. Within that framework, Pamela allowed herself space for artistic discovery.For each cup, Pamela immersed herself in the place and the time, poring over museum artifacts and regional histories in books and online. She tried to absorb the culture and let it influence her hands. Listening to music such as Ethiopian or Tibetan, “I let that inform my sense of place,” she says. As she did she began to see connections. Indian ragas, for example, embody the mathematical golden ratio, and in African music, “There are syncopated rhythms that you can see in the patterns in art.” A universal kinship in creative expression was being revealed.As commonalities emerged across disparate cultures, Pamela’s excitement grew, so much so that at times she couldn’t sleep—and when she did, she’d dream. “I made pots even when I was sleeping,” she says. The decision to allow herself the freedom of interpretation elevates the work from reproduction to artistic, personal exploration. Surface imagery honours the iconography of the world’s great faiths and philosophies, with resulting amalgams that are unique. Explains Pamela, “You can say spirit a hundred ways in a hundred different cultures and the symbols will be similar, will embrace the same essence.”A single shared liner glaze for the interior of each vessel represents “our essential unity as one human family. One intention, one family of cups with one glaze, one essence, one vision, one firing, one chance, one life, one offering,” she says.

CERAMICS

IMBIBE: VESSELS of ILLUMInATIon Fired together in a two-chambered wood-fire soda kiln with the help of former student Lisa Christie, the vessels were first moved from the studio over the course of a month. It then took twelve days to set up the kiln followed by four full days for firing. Six-hour shifts were required to keep the fire hot, because “Magic happens at two-thousand four hundred and fifty degrees Fahrenheit,” says Pamela. Standing dead larch and recycled wood created the fire that painted the pots. Unloading the kiln was an emotional moment, as every cup represented an intense cultural and even spiritual immersion. The cup referencing a 1600s trade port in East Africa, for example, was a tribute to a period in Islamic history of religious tolerance and cultural exchange, an important and expansive time. Unfortunately The Chalice of Gondar did not survive the kiln. In fact, 150 cups were fired to select the final 108 for IMBIBE.There were other casualties and successes, the vessels for Gaza and for Israel among them. “I was heavily invested in them; there was a whole lot happening internationally at that time. When I opened the kiln, one Gaza vessel was cracked right through—in half,” she says. One that represented a later time period made it, however. “There were so many mysteries.” Just one Canadian vessel survived, referencing the Oneida people in the Great Lakes region, although the North American first peoples are represented through cups from other regions.

Firing the pots together at once was “an act of faith,” Pamela explains. “Every firing is an offering. Each piece of wood that goes into the fire is a prayer, an intention.” Pamela worked with photographer Jeremy Addington to document the body of work, and this resulted in a beautiful book named for the exhibition entitled IMBIBE: Vessels of Illumination. The book, like the exhibition, is an invitation to take a historical and geographic journey through a celebration of a basic human act: to drink, replenish, restore and honour. Through the artistic approach closest to her heart, Pamela invites us to imbibe in our collective humanity.IMBIBE premiers at the Kootenay Gallery of Art in Castlegar on June 17, 2016. In August it moves to the Grand Forks Gallery, where it will remain on exhibition until November.

Pamela stokes the wood-fired kiln.


Winlaw. Selected panels from the series are currently on display at the Kootenay Brokerage in Rossland through June.When Stephanie is not finding inspiration way out in the wilderness, she is deeply involved in the Slocan Valley arts community. Originally from Penticton, the 34-year-old artist landed in the Kootenays in 2009. She didn’t consider herself a painter back then. “I was more of a mixed media artist working in collage and oil pastel,” she says. Kellett set her focus on changing that by developing her painting technique over the course of nine months. “I didn’t know many people back then, so it was easy to just hole up, practice and really learn what it meant to paint.”Broken Wings Cannot Fly, her first exhibition of acrylic paintings, was shown at Ourglass Studio in Nelson in August 2010. Selling most of the pieces in the show validated the time she spent honing her skills. Since then Stephanie has become a force in the Kootenay art scene and beyond. She has had numerous café showings throughout the region; participated in group exhibitions at Touchstones Nelson and the Kootenay Gallery in Castlegar; was a muralist in two of Penticton’s street art festivals and ArtsWells; has created interactive installations incorporating metal sculpture for Shambhala Music Festival and Burning Man; and has hosted several single-night multimedia pop-up gallery events that include paintings, sculpture, video, music and dancing, all centred around a specific theme. Two illustrated collections of essays for this writer are under her belt, and in 2014 Stephanie organized the massive Winlaw Mural Project, a collaboration with her favourite local artists Vanessa Bate, Mogli Squalor, Pixie Johnson and Bubzee, a group of women whom she considers the “new wave” of place-based artists in the Slocan

Valley. “I chose to work with those women not only for their artistic skill and sensitivity, but also for their way of being on the land.” On Kellett’s horizon is a larger body of work that begins where Finding Our Way Back Home ended. Ten more paintings will be created, expanding the series to 20 pieces. Fittingly, Stephanie intends to call the series Landscape, Migration and Wildness. The exhibition is scheduled for viewing at Pynelogs Cultural Centre and Art Gallery in Invermere in September, and at the VISAC Gallery in Trail in January 2017.To see more of Stephanie Kellett’s art, visit her website, stephkellett.com,Robert E. Livingood resides in the Slocan Valley. He is a writer, grizzly bear researcher and music producer/DJ who performs as The Sugarbear. His latest book, In Wonder and Warpaint, was illustrated by Stephanie Kellett and is available on Amazon. Visit his blog at thedevilsclub.blogspot.com

COVER STORY

Aug 15,

www.cbculturetour.com250-505-5505 • 1-877-505-7355

Mirja Vahala - Inner Eye

A project of Funded by

Columbia Basin Culture Tour Aug 13 -14, 2016

10:00am - 5:00pm

Explore artists’ studios, museums, art galleries and heritage sites through this free, self-guided tour within the Columbia Basin.

Meet the artists, shop for fine art and craft, view demonstrations, special exhibitions, interpretive displays or chat with local historians during this two day long cultural celebration!

For further information visit our website or call.

by Robert E. Livingood

Encountering the work of Stephanie Kellett immediately gives one a sense of her wild vision. She uses a variety of mediums such as acrylic paint, oil pastel and pen and ink to render both landscape and its non-human inhabitants with a sensitivity derived from experiencing them up close. Finding Our Way Back Home is her latest body of work. Inspired by a three-week excursion during which she followed one of British Columbia’s largest recorded sockeye salmon runs, the series begins where the salmon break from the Fraser River, then head west into the teal blue waters of the Chilcotin River system between Bella Coola and Williams Lake. Each painting depicts key moments along the migration route that flows over the vast, semi-arid Chilcotin Plateau. She chose to paint this section of the route not only for its stunning esthetic qualities, but also for its ecological richness. “It’s one of the only dry-land ecosystems left in North America with all of its pieces still intact—largely due to the Tsilhqot’in First Nation’s effort to maintain it,” Stephanie explains. “That facet was crucial in choosing a place to work.” Unlike plein-air painters, the artist doesn’t create on site. “I’ll take reference photos and jot down some notes, but I don’t produce

while I’m on a trip. When I’m out there it’s more about having a direct experience with the place. The inevitable result is art, but I have to really feel it before I can paint it.”To gather material, Stephanie spent days at various points on the riverbank observing tens of thousands of sockeye salmon persevere against baffling odds as they swam toward their place of origin, Chilko Lake. During this time she camped in remote areas where dozens of grizzly bears had gathered, also drawn by the abundance of salmon. She admits that being in the presence of such powerful animals can be scary at times, but says deep wilderness immersion makes her a better artist by sharpening her senses. Her direct experience with nature’s raw beauty is evident in her work. The 10 paintings that compose Finding Our Way Back Home were created in Stephanie’s studio in the Slocan Valley. Each image is expressed with acrylic paint on 24-by-24-inch high-grade birch panels. Painterly brushstrokes and layers of acrylic washes hide and reveal sections of wood grain that appear like lines on a topographic map. Stephanie preferred painting on this surface over a blank canvas. “I choose each panel based on the dialogue that happens between the landscape to be painted and the energetic imprint visually present on the wood. For me, canvas doesn’t speak to landscape the way wood does.” Finding Our Way Back Home was exhibited to the public in December 2015 as a one-night art event at a pop-up gallery in

COVER STORY

STEphAnIE KELLETT’S

WILd VISIon

Honeyface 2 24x24 inches, acrylic on birch panel Photos: Stephanie Kellett

Sheep Range 24x24 inches, acrylic on birch panel

Stephanie at Chiko Lake.Photo: Robert E. Livingood


EVENTS EVENTS

Art Walk Opening CelebrationCastlegar’s 20th Art Walk Opening CelebrationJune 22, 7–8:30 pm, Castlegar Community Complex, 2101 6th Ave., Castlegar250-365-8026castlegararts@gmail.comwww.castlegarculture.com/culture-guide/castlegar-art-walk/

Art ExhibitionArt by Kate Marlowe & Holly WoodsJune 28–July 16 & July 19–Aug. 6Studio Connexion Gallery, 203 Fifth Ave. NW, Nakusp250-265-3586 & [email protected]

Car ShowShow & Shine Car ShowJune 4, all day, Revelstoke250-837-5345 [email protected]/

Flower ShowCanadian Peony Society 2016 BC Yukon Peony ShowJune 10, 3–7 pm; June 11, noon–6 pm, Castlegar250-368-6228 [email protected]

JULyFestival of the ArtsMountain Mosaic Festival of the ArtsJuly 1, noon to 3 pmKinsmen Beach, Invermere250-342-4423info@columbiavalleyarts.comwww.columbiavalleyarts.com

Literary FestivalElephant Mountain Literary FestivalJuly 6–10, [email protected]

FestivalChristina Lake Homecoming SummerfestJuly 8–10, Christina Lake250-447-9771 [email protected]

Music FestivalPass Creek Gospel Music FestivalJuly 16, [email protected]/

FestivalKootenay Festival–Let’s Celebrate!July 25, 10:30 am–7 pm, Castlegar250-365-3386 [email protected]/

Music25th Annual Kaslo Jazz Etc. FestivalJuly 29–31, [email protected]

AUGUSTMusic FestivalShambhala Music FestivalAug. 3–8 Salmo River Ranch, 7790 Hwy. 3, Salmoinfo@shambhalamusicfestival.comwww.shambhalamusicfestival.com

Art ExhibitionContinuous: Monique Martin; Standing Outside, Looking In: Erica KonradAug. 5–Sept. 17Kootenay Gallery of Art, 120 Heritage Way, Castlegar250-365-3337kootenaygallery@telus.netwww.kootenaygallery.com

Arts & Culture FestivalKimberley Kaleidoscope Arts & Culture FestivalAugust 6–13, KimberleyCentre 64 Theatre, Studio & Outdoor Concert Area, 64 Deer Park Ave. [email protected]/home-basic/kimberley-kaleidoscope

Art ExhibitionArt by Summer Group & Patrizia MentonAug. 10–27 & Aug. 30–Sept. 17Studio Connexion Gallery, 203 Fifth Ave. NW, Nakusp250-265-3586 & [email protected]

Art Exhibition & Opening GalaArts on the Edge 2016 (in the gallery August 2–27) Gala ReceptionAugust 12, 7 pmCentre 64 Gallery & Studio, 64 Deer Park Ave., Kimberley250-427-4919kimberleykaleidoscope@gmail.comwww.kimberleyarts.com

Food & EntertainmentAfternoon TeaAugust 13, 1–4 pmCreston Museum, 219 Devon St., [email protected]

Music FestivalKaslo GuitarFestAug. 15–20, Kaslo250-353-7600 [email protected]

Music FestivalInvermere MusicFestAug. 19 & 20, Kinsmen Beach, Invermere250-342-4423info@columbiavalleyarts.comwww.invermeremusicfest.com

Pirate DayPirate Day on the SS Moyie SternwheelerAug. 7, 10 am–3 pm, Kaslo250-353-2525 [email protected]

Culture TourColumbia Basin Culture TourAug. 13–14, 10 am–5 pm, Columbia Basin250-505-5505 [email protected]

SEpTEMBERWatercolour Painting WorkshopPainting the Urban Landscape with Calgary Artist Rex BeanlandSept. 23–25 Selkirk College, [email protected]

FestivalBike Fest RevelstokeSept. 10 & 11, all day, Revelstoke250-837-5532 [email protected]/BikeFestRevelstoke

FestivalHills Garlic FestivalSept. 11, 10 am–5 pm, New [email protected]

AstronomyAn Evening with the StarsSept. 17, 10 pm, RevelstokeWatch Perseids meteor shower from summit of Mount Revelstoke National Park.250-837-5345 [email protected]/event

Art WalkArt on Deer ParkSept. 3, 11 am–5 pm, Kimberley250-427-4919 [email protected]

www.kootenayreflections.com

Place of Peace Guy Hobbs250-428-7474

www.guyhobbs.com

onGoInG Museum Season Programming45th Season Opening & AGM; Peter’s Day–Doukhobor Burning of Arms Commemoration; Season CloseMay 1, 10 am–5 pm (AGM at 3); June 26, 10 am–5 pm; Sept. 30, 10 am–5 pmDoukhobor Discovery Centre, 112 Heritage Way, Castlegar250-365-5327doukhobor.museum@gmail.comwww.doukhobor-museum.org

Music FestivalSummer Kicks 2016June through August, Spirit Square, Golden250-344-6186info@kickinghorseculture.cawww.kickinghorseculture.ca

Art ExhibitionAGOG Group ExhibitJune through Sept.Art Gallery of Golden, Golden250-344-6186agog@kickinghorseculture.cawww.kickinghorseculture.ca

Art Classes & WorkshopsLandscape Painting, Aspens on Barn Wood, Mixed Media CollageJuly & Aug., Tues. through Thurs. evenings 7–10 pmPainted Aspen Studio Gallery, [email protected]

Outdoor Music SeriesMusic in the Park–TrailJune 16–Aug. 25, Thursdays, 7 pm, Gyro Park, [email protected]

Art WalkCastlegar’s 20th Art WalkJune 20–Sept. 20Business venues throughout Castlegar250-365-8026castlegararts@gmail.comwww.castlegarculture.com/culture-guide/castlegar-art-walk/

Art ExhibitionReaching for the PeakJuly & AugustPainted Aspen Gallery, [email protected]

Art WalkInvermere Art WalkJuly & Aug., every Fri. evening 5–8 pm InvermereJami Scheffer 250-342-4423www.theartwalk.ca

Art ExhibitionALFA Artwalk (self-guided art tour)July 1–Sept. 30Various venues downtown [email protected]

Residency & ExhibitionCésar DamianAug.–Sept., Wed.–Sat. 1–5 pmOxygen Art Centre, 320 Vernon St., Nelson (back alley entrance)[email protected]

MusicRevelstoke Street FestivalJune 25–Aug. 28, RevelstokeThis is a free to all festival of music. 6:30–9:30 pm every night in downtown Revelstoke.250-814-9325 [email protected]

Art WalkNDAC Presents: Artwalk 2016July 1–Aug. 26, Nelson250-352-9898 [email protected]

Farmers’ MarketCreston Valley Farmers’ MarketSaturdays, 9 am–1 pm, Creston250-254-1594 [email protected]

MarketRevelstoke Farm & Craft MarketSaturdays, May–Oct., 8 am–1 pm, Revelstoke250-837-5345 [email protected]/event

MusicMusic in the Park in NakuspEvery Wed. in July and Aug. 6:30–8 pm, NakuspIf it rains, we move into the arena.250-265-3322

MarketKaslo Saturday MarketEvery Saturday, June 11–Sept. 24, 10 am–2 pm, Kaslo250-353-7600 [email protected]

Music, Art, CultureFirst Saturday in KimberleyFirst Saturday of the month in July, Aug., Sept. and Oct., Kimberley 250-427-4919 [email protected]/kimberley-first-saturday/

SocialsSunday Downtown SocialsJuly 10–Aug. 14, FernieFernie’s historic Victoria Avenue is closed four Sundays in the summer to host street performers, road games, and music entertainment. Refer to website for details.250-423-6868 [email protected]/summersocials/?fref=ts

MusicSummer KicksJune 15–Aug. 17, GoldenFree weekly evening concerts in Spirit Square.www.KickingHorseCulture.ca

Art WalkKaslo ArtWalkJune 17 until Labour Day, KasloMap at the Visitors’ Centre.250-353-7600 [email protected]

Art WalkCastlegar’s 20th Annual Art WalkJune 20–Sept. 20, [email protected]/culture-guide/castlegar-art-walk/

ApRILMusicInternational Choral FestivalApr. 30, 7 pm, Trail250-512-8021 [email protected]

MAyExhibit A Call for Justice–Fighting for Japanese Canadian Redress (1977–1988) Travelling exhibit to Junegallery 2 Art & Heritage Centre, Grand [email protected]

Art ExhibitionYoung Visions 2016–Student ExhibitionApr. 21–May 28, Kootenay Gallery of Art, 120 Heritage Way, Castlegar250-365-3337kootenaygallery@telus.netwww.kootenaygallery.com

Musical TheatreRock of Ages: The MusicalMay 26–29, 8 pmCapitol Theatre, 421 Victoria St., [email protected]

Art ExhibitionOxygen Art MarketMay 27–29, Wed.–Sat. 1–5 pmOxygen Art Centre, 320 Vernon St., Nelson (back alley entrance)[email protected]

Concert–Rock ’n’ RollLive@Studio64 Spring Concert Series: The Red CannonsMay 28, 8 pmCentre 64 Studio, 64 Deer Park Ave., Kimberley250-427-4919kimberleyarts@gmail.comwww.kimberleyarts.com & www.redcannons.com

FestivalRevelstoke Downtown Street FestivalMay 7 & Sept. 10, all day, Revelstoke250-837-5345 [email protected]/event

Heritage WeekBC Historical Federation Conference & Revelstoke Heritage Week CelebrationMay 20–27, all week, Revelstoke250-837-5345 [email protected]/event/heritage-celebration-week/

SculptureCastlegar SculpturewalkMay 21, Castlegarcastlegarsculpturewalk@gmail.comwww.sculpturewalkcastlegar.com

May DaysKaslo May Days Festival & Logger SportsMay 21–23, [email protected]

FestivalCastlegar Garden & Nature FestMay 28, 10 am–3 pm, Castlegar250-365-1653 [email protected] www.castlegargardenfest.com

JUnEArt ExhibitFrom the Garden with LoveJune 1–30, Frog Peak Restaurant, Crescent [email protected]

Art ExhibitionAmanda StrongJune 3–July 2, Wed.–Sat. 1–5 pmOxygen Art Centre, 320 Vernon St., Nelson (back alley entrance)[email protected]

Art ExhibitionSoldier of Life: Denis Kleine; IMBIBE: Pamela Nagley StevensonJune 17–July 30, Kootenay Gallery of Art, 120 Heritage Way, Castlegar250-365-3337kootenaygallery@telus.netwww.kootenaygallery.com

Mini FestivalALT: A Celebration of Alternative Cultures in the Slocan Valley & BeyondJune 18, noon till midnightVallican Whole Community Centre, 3762 Little Slocan River Rd. S., Vallican (Winlaw)[email protected]

Not a Trophy, a Sentient Being Jim Lawrence250-366-4649 Cherry Lace Laura Leeder

250-402-6599www.lauraleeder.com


ARTWALK ARTWALK

Monthly gallery exhibitionsLive EntertainmentWorkshops Creative Kids art classes Art on Deer Park

An artwalk through tented displays and demonstrations by regional artists on Deer Park Avenue.

September 3, 11 am – 5 pm.

Visit www.kimberleyarts.com for detailed information.Gallery and office hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 1 – 5 pm64 Deer Park Avenue, Kimberley, BC [email protected]

2015 PEOPLE’S CHOICE WINNER "Regeneration" by Argenta artists Spring Shine & Christopher Petersen

2016 sCulPture season

Voting OpenMay 21 - September 30

ALFA Artwalk Venue

Anne Béliveau Gallerist

Tues. - Sat. 11am-4pm mid May - mid Oct. or by appointment

203 Fifth AveNakusp, BC V0C 1R0 Tel: (250) [email protected]

The

Nel

son

and

Dist

rict

Art

s Cou

ncil presents the27th Annual

Friday July 1 - Friday August 26Downtown Nelson Opening night Friday July 1 400 block Bakerwww.ndac.ca [email protected]

502 Vernon Street, Nelson, BC

Thanks to our sponsors:

June 4 - Aug 21

May 28 - Sept 11

Greetings from Nelson: Historic Postcards from the Permanent

Collection

Lou Lynn: Out of the Ordinary

Lou LynnBronze ButtonsMedium: bronze


PLEIN AIR

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We aremoving!!

Find your Co-op, our fri end ly f a c es and a ll the b est in gred i ents , in our new store th is f a ll !

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Morning deliveries from

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Creston landscape artists discover their museby Barbara D. Janusz

“You have to catch them, the skies change so quickly,” Karen Arrow Smith enthuses. “I used more blue, combinations of blues, than when I paint plein air in British Columbia.” And while the Boswell landscape painter also extols the rich golden colour of the aspens in all their autumnal splendour, her cohort, Eileen Gidman, says that she was immediately drawn in by “the patterns, repeated shapes within the landscape.” As month-long residents of the Gushul Studio in Crowsnest Pass, both women enthusiastically embraced the vastness, expansiveness and diversity of the surrounding montane environment, where prairie juts up against alpine. “In B.C.,” Eileen observes, “we have closed-in valleys with so many trees. In Crowsnest, it’s more open but also everything seemed

tortured by the wind.” The wind didn’t deter the two women, however, from venturing every day to paint outdoors, although Karen describes having to sit closer to the ground for protection.Acquired and renovated by the University of Lethbridge in 1991, the Gushul Studio is the original home and atelier of renowned photographer Thomas Gushul (1891–1962), who emigrated from the Ukraine with his wife, Lena, in 1906. Thousands of Gushul’s black and white photographs that depict the lives of Canada’s earliest immigrants and the coal mining industry, with the stunning Crowsnest scenery as a backdrop, are housed in the archives of Calgary’s Glenbow Museum and the Crowsnest Museum. “I felt so honoured to have been able to stay there,” Karen says. “I loved the historical connection of the studio to Thomas Gushul,” Eileen agrees. “We met lots of people who knew the Gushuls.” A registered historic resource, the studio’s most coveted feature is its natural light wall for photography. Across the yard is the writer’s cottage where

PLEIN AIR

Eileen and Karen resided during September of 2015. Managed by the Gushul Residency Program Committee, the residency attracts artists from across the globe.Steeped in history, the Gushul Studio and the thousands of images it generated are a testimony to the resilience of Crowsnest residents. No strangers to tragedy, in 1903 and 1914 respectively, many residents lost their lives in the Frank Slide and Hillcrest Mine disasters. More recently, the Lost Creek fire of 2003 forced the evacuation of Hillcrest Mines and Blairmore residents, including the artists at the studio.Venturing beyond the eastern boundary of Crowsnest Pass to paint on the rangelands of neighbouring Municipal District of Pincher Creek, Karen and Eileen encountered firsthand the resiliency of the people native to the front ranges of the Rockies. “The ranchers were just so obliging, accommodating to our requests to set up our easels on their rangeland as long as we assured them that we’d keep the cattle gate shut,” says Karen. “I just found something so sturdy and resilient about them.” She compared them to the 100-year-old grey weather-beaten outbuildings that litter the rangeland and often formed the focal point in a landscape composition.When applying for the residency the two women already knew they would get along, as they’d both trained and worked as nursing practitioners at the same hospital in Creston, and at one time even job shared. Since leaving their profession to pursue vocations as landscape artists, Karen and Eileen have been drawing upon the experience and energy of other artists in honing their craft. At Emily Carr University of Art + Design in Vancouver, where Eileen earned her four-year fine arts certificate, she was introduced to the rigours of daily plein-air watercolour painting on location. “I’ve always admired

the work of Carr and the Group of Seven,” Eileen says. Karen, on the other hand, attributes the development of her unique style and technique in painting to two American watercolour artists: Zoltan Szabo (1928–2003), who many refer to as the father of watercolour painting; and Katherine Haynes (1926–2007) from Bonner’s Ferry, Idaho, under whose tutelage Karen worked for 14 years. Their shared residency at Gushul culminated, according to Karen, “in a synergy that can only be experienced from being with another person.” Even the studio’s proximity to the railroad tracks in Blairmore ignited their imaginations. “After a while you could tell who was driving the train based on how he blew the whistle and we imagined drawing upon those individual train whistles in painting each of the conductors’ portraits,” says Eileen.When I asked Karen and Eileen to identify the amenities that Gushul Studio has to offer residents, both women emphasized the local artists and arts organizations. The Crowsnest Pass Art Gallery in Frank, funded largely by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, fulfills an indispensable role in promoting culture and artistic expression in the community. The gallery gift store features the work of over 50 artists. More recently, an Artists’ Collective, with some artists sharing studio space in historic downtown Coleman, has formed. It was at a Collective creative minds brainstorming session that I met Eileen and Karen, and where they, in turn, became immersed in the local arts scene. “We’ve applied for another residency in 2017,” Eileen says. In the meantime, they’re staying connected with Collective artists through social media.

Barbara D. Janusz is a Crowsnest Pass-based writer and the author of the novel Mirrored in the Caves.

GUShUL STUdIo RESIdEnCy

Above: Karen Arrow Smith painting fall colours en plein air. Photo: Eileen Gidman Bottom, left to right: Eileen Gidman, Livingstone Range, watercolour; Eileen Gidman, Patterns of the Landscape, watercolour; Karen Arrow Smith, Golden Aspens, watercolour.


ONLINE

REGIONAL ART, INTERNATIONAL COLLECTIONSShowcasing accomplished artists in a variety of mediums, styles and sizes Specializing in large scale paintings and sculptures

Art that goes around the world by Kate Bridger

Last October I retired from my “day job” and, looking ahead at a vast expanse of unscheduled, unspoken-for time, I realized that I would have to inject a little structure into my life if I was going to remain productive. So, I decided to create one 5x5-inch fabric art piece every Monday for 52 weeks. To help keep me on task I announced my plans on Facebook and before the day was out, my post had received over 500 “likes” and, in the days that followed, expressions of interest from other artists wanting to join the challenge. And so, much to my surprise, the Made on Monday (MoM) project was born and my concerns about too much free time were no more.Since then, I have completed over 20 MoM pieces and more than two dozen registrants from Australia, England, Scotland, the U.S. and Canada have come on board. I built a Made on Monday website where each artist who successfully completes at least 12 pieces has their own page featuring their weekly submissions. There is no judge or jury involved in this project since it was originally conceived to encourage process and discipline rather than results. Some of the participants are professionals who have been honing their skills for many years; others are new to their medium, or are returning to their studios after prolonged absences.Sue Kelly is a fabric artist from Sebastopol, California. Asked why

the MoM project appealed to her, she wrote: “After several decades of raising children and working full time in a demanding career, I now have the time to pursue my dreams and release my inner artist.” Kelly went on to say that she also liked the scale of the project because it allowed her to complete each piece within a reasonable time period and have something to show for her efforts at the end of the day. Sue Evans, a mixed media artist from Gosport, U.K., echoes Kelly’s sentiments: “I thought, five inches square, that’s a manageable size to try to accomplish on a weekly basis; also it is keeping me in a creative flow.”However, beyond the talent, commitment and creativity of the individual artists, crucial to the success of this project so far are the roles social media and the Internet have played in its inception and evolution. I was a relative latecomer to Facebook, having spent years eschewing it because I thought it was simply a public forum for

I LoVE MondAyS!

ONLINE

salacious gossip and idle loitering. But as I soon discovered, it all boils down to how one chooses to use it. Meeting India Tresselt, a multitalented yarn artist and temari maker from Vermont, USA, is a perfect example of a fortuitous social media connection. It began when an old friend of mine in England asked me to make a series of fabric-covered balls for an antique game he was restoring. Despite my friend’s confidence in me, I recognized this was a task well beyond my abilities. One morning, as I was enjoying a casual scroll through Facebook, I came upon a picture of a collection of exquisite yarn- and thread-covered balls—temari. I visited the artist’s website, forwarded the link to my friend in England and, within days, India Tresselt was commissioned to complete the work on his project. Not only that, but Tresselt is now a MoM contributor, using her yarns to create complex and intriguing two-dimensional pieces.“I simply wouldn’t have any audience for my art—beyond my friends and family—without social media and the Internet,” writes Tresselt. “In the three years that I’ve been active with an artist page on Facebook, an Etsy shop, and now my own website, I have developed a worldwide audience for my work and found an international network of artists who inspire and encourage me. I have been mentored and encouraged to pursue my art in a way that would never have been possible without social media.”Emma Siedle-Collins lives off the beaten track on the Isle of Skye and when she is not busy running her holiday B&B, she is at work in her art studio. Like many of the MoM participants she joined the project because she finds the weekly challenge gives her something to focus on and keep her engaged. When I asked her about her experiences with social media, she replied, “Facebook is an excellent

way of communicating, of staying in touch. Working in a rural area, I can still have access to groups who share my interests, receive information about exhibitions and even visit then ‘virtually.’ It can be very distracting with too much inspiration sometimes, but I wouldn’t be part of this MoM group without social media.”Clearly, as portals to like-minded people, inspiration and a global audience, social media provide invaluable tools. With no geographical or cultural barriers to limit access, the Internet allows individuals living in small or isolated communities to participate in the world’s largest think tank. But like most things, moderation is the key—after all, we still need time to create something worth “sharing.” Made on Monday is an ongoing project and, despite what appears to be a preponderance of women and textile artists, all artists—painters, sketchers, collage makers, stained glass artists, photographers—are invited to join in anytime. To find out more, visit katebridger.wix.com/madeonmonday.

Kate Bridger, Nelson B.C.

Sue Evans, Gosport, U.K.

Sue Kelly, Sebastopol, California

Vicki Miller, Victoria, Australia Lainey Benson, Nelson B.C. Photos courtesy Kate Bridger


GROUP WORK RECYCLED

Check out our website for Tickets · Details on Bands · Map · Sponsors · Volunteering · www.invermeremusicfest.com

Like Us on Facebook at Facebook/Invermeremusicfest

Kinsmen Beach, Invermere, BC250.342.4423 [email protected]

3 Day Waterfront Music FestivalAugust 19th to 21st

Friday evening | 3-bandsSaturday | All Day MusicSunday | Musician Workshops

MusicFest Food & Refreshment Village

Making art, finding communityby Margaret Tessman

Robyn Skobalski lets her chai get cold as she talks animatedly about the simple joys of being part of a group of women with a common purpose. Argenta, Johnson’s Landing and Meadow Creek are all smallish communities at the north end of Kootenay Lake, a bit hard to get to, and isolated by distance and geography from the larger centres in the region. There, a group of like-minded women have come together to make art. It was an email from Robyn that started the ball rolling. She put out feelers into her community to gauge interest in a women’s art group back in the fall of 2014. The idea clearly struck a chord, and the Women’s Art Collaborative started meeting once or twice a month at Pat Lawrence’s weaving studio, with a core group of between 9 and 12 members. “Our goal is to express ourselves creatively in a safe environment,” says Robyn. Robyn confesses that she initially felt rather vulnerable and out of her element because of the broad range of ages and artistic abilities of the women in the group. “Other women said, ‘Me too!’ and as we talked, we found that really wasn’t the case,” she says. The oldest member, Dottie Ross, is 86; the youngest is a 14-month-old who

comes to meetings with mom. “We share so much,” says Robyn. “Lots of laughter and creative energy fill the studio space.”The group jelled quickly and by their second meeting they had come up with an idea for a collaborative project, a felted wall hanging. The design depicts a group of women sitting in a circle with their arms and hands extended, engaged with the work they are doing and with each other. “We wanted to show what nourishes us as women, and to represent that in our finished piece,” says Robyn. At each gathering a goal is set for the work that needs to be done, whether teasing, carding, dyeing or needle felting the wool fibre for the 6-by-6-foot hanging. “We try to do as much as we can using things we grow in our gardens,” says Pat. Coreopsis flowers, lichens, onionskins and goldenrod are just some of the plants that can produce colours for dyeing. The hanging is constructed from three layers of felted wool, two layers for the background panel and a final coloured layer that picks out the details of the design.Pat is an experienced dyer and fibre artist whose career as an anthropology professor and work in Sri Lanka put her crafting urges on hold. “I’ve wanted to get back to weaving for forty years,” she says. She and her husband, wildlife photographer Jim Lawrence, added a studio to their home three years ago, the walls of which are covered with Jim’s photos. The passion and excitement of being

together in the studio with other crafty women gave Pat the boost she needed. “I’m spinning and weaving every day,” she says. Pat lights up as she describes the alchemy of indigo dying, in which the deep blue colour develops only as the fibre is removed from the dye pot and the dye oxidizes in the air.Each step of the processing and felting process is gradually being accomplished by the group, but just as importantly, they are finding that they each take home some of the collective inspiration and creativity that is generated from their gatherings. “We’re strengthening community,” says Pat. “It is marvelous and women can do this anywhere.”

Making second-hand artby Alison Masters

One thing led to another. Blame it on good cheer at New Year’s. Blame it on Andrea’s dress from Gleaners. Blame it on a little idea igniting like a firecracker and exploding in a million directions.Idea: Take the outdated, the outlandish, the terribly polyester clothing from Creston’s beloved Gleaners thrift store. Use it as inspiration for an art exhibit. Signing up: Four friends, each with her own strong art practice: Andrea Revoy, potter, creator of Cirque du Poulet and keen Gleaners volunteer; Sandy Kunze, painter/potter, creative mind behind the Art Bus, the Statue of Liberty necklace and numerous community art shows and projects; Alison Bjorkman, potter, creator of repurposed furniture and co-owner of Puffin Design; Alison Masters, painter with an upcoming show, Little Houses in a Large Landscape. Fun concept, talented artists, great materials but no home. The artists found themselves at the Creston Museum requesting space. Did they hear right? They could take over the museum for a month, weaving their work through the museum installations? “Just don’t break anything,” said Tammy Hardwick, curator. Next lucky break, the appearance of an art collection looking for a show. Forty works by Irwin Crosthwait, needing space and hanging. Could they help? Born and raised in Creston until age 14, Crosthwait lived and worked in Paris. He was a fashion illustrator in the 1950s and 1960s but was also known for his abstract painting. The Gleaners-inspired project joined forces with the Crosthwait retrospective. Irwin & the Retro Girls was born. All fluff and no substance, because really, what were they going to do with all of that clothing? As one of the Retro Girls soberly remarked, “Unfortunately we don’t know how to sew.” Meanwhile, Andrea’s basement was filling with bridesmaid dresses, chiffon negligees and clothing labeled “100% virgin acrylic.” She was soon going to drown in a quicksand of clothing.A year of play dates had added up to some fun experiments with cement and duct tape, some great lunches, but nothing to show. It was time to get serious. Sandy dove in deep, brushed off childhood sewing skills and taught herself how to apply snaps from YouTube. Voila! The scarf gown was born, quickly followed by sewn silhouettes and a clothing line for Fru-Fru the small dog.

Her recreational sewing races (what else do you do with a collection of Gleaners sewing machines?) were not, however, enough to inspire the others. Alison B. proceeded to do what she does best. She took a chair apart. She flopped clothing on it. She adjusted this way and that way and it became clear that she had a series of chairs in the making, “un-reupholstered” and redressed. Andrea threw a dress at Alison M. and said, “Hey, it’s just a blank canvas; paint something,” so she did. The painted dresses found models and Alison M. did what she does best and painted new images over recycled paintings. Andrea, buried deep in the volume of clothing, pulled herself out, one chiffon nightie at a time. Lampshades they became, as cheeky and pastel as they had ever been as nightwear.So it is that the artistic process unfolds. Artists experience ignition with an idea that sizzles and is multiplied by their combined energy. Then the real work begins as each artist untangles imagination and reality and follows the ups and downs of her own pathway. Somewhere along the route, each artist found what she needed and new life crept into the old stuff. The alchemy of making art, a mixture of magic and hard work, began to happen. Irwin and the girls did a happy dance. It was finally coming together. Irwin & the Retro Girls, June 18 to July 9 at the Creston Museum & Archives, open 10–5, Wednesday to Saturday. Website: crestonmuseum.ca

WoMEn’S ART CoLLABoRATIVE

Women at work. Pat Lawrence’s weaving studio is the meeting place for the Women’s Art Collaborative. Photo: Robyn Skobalski

Debra Rushfeldt Studio/Gallerydrawings - paintings - mixed media assemblage206 Broadway St.Nakusp B.C.

250 265-3288

Summer hours, Tues through Friday 9:30am to 12pm, Saturday 11am to 3pm, closed Sundays. Other times by appointment.

www.debrarushfeldt.com

“Quiet Corner, Chichicastenango” 2015 22”X22” charcoal on paper.

IRWIn & ThE RETRo GIRLS

Sandy Kunze pieces together a ball gown from recycled scarves. Photo: Dirk Kunze


EVENTS HANDMADE

Box 2655, 320 Wilson Street, Revelstoke BC, V0E 2S1 [email protected] 250-814-0261www.revelstokevisualartscentre.com

March 18th – april 29th

Twisted: Members Show

Boundaries: Leora Gesser

May 6th – May 27th

Presentation, Representation, Manifestation:RSS Art Exhibit

Golden Girls: Annual Show

June 3rd – June 30th

The Wildlife: Valerie Rogers

Abandoned: Jason Keerak

Horsing Around: Sue Davies

ArtStarts Honey Bee Project

July 8th – august 26th

Roots, Stumped, Growth Fierce Art Project

Four by Four: Four Photographers, Sixteen artists

Summer Street Festival In RevelstokeJune 25th to August 28th

6.30 to 9.30 EVERY NIGHT

Free to all – seewww.revelstokeartscouncil.com

for listing and details

Crafting on the farmby Margaret Tessman

Beth Swalwell’s husband Colin is a helicopter engineer who worked on a firefighting crew in Australia during the 2014 bushfire season. Beth joined him there for six weeks, and on a side trip to Tasmania they happened upon the port city of Burnie, the site of an old paper mill. Closed in the 1970s, the mill was repurposed, renovated and reopened in 2009 as the Makers’ Workshop. The building is now home to 80 artists and artisans, from cheese makers to hat makers to glassblowers, along with a gallery, retail spaces and a café. For Beth and Colin, the highlight of Makers’ Workshop was the old Hollander beater that was still in situ, and in earlier days was used to pulverize fibre for making paper. Colin fell in love with the Hollander and in the fall of 2015 found a used beater on Craigslist for $2,000. He had it installed in the workshop on their Creston acreage (“He’s a big thinker,” comments Beth) and the inspiration for the Art Barn was born.The 300-square-metre workshop is divided into a self-contained suite for Beth’s father, room for Colin’s mechanical shop, and a 5.5-by-12-metre studio space for crafting. The couple did much of the work themselves, designing and building the space with an eye to the future. “We have a five- to ten-year plan,” says Beth. “When dad isn’t able to live independently anymore, we’ll open a restaurant and cater art retreats.” (Beth is a big thinker, too.) The concrete floors with radiant heat are great for drying paper; glass garage doors on the front of the building can be opened wide for shows and markets (featuring the wide variety of berries that Beth and Colin grow); and the adjustable steel worktables were locally made. Beth came by her love of craft through her parents: her father was a woodworker and her mother a quilter. “Our home near 100 Mile House always had art everywhere,” says Beth. “I only later realized that my dad collected to help support the artists in the community.” Beth’s mother operated the quilt shop in Creston and Beth was the organizer of the Creston Valley Quilt Festival for four years, bringing in international teachers for workshops that drew thousands of participants. Looking for a spark to motivate her art, Beth fell in love with the work of quilter Nancy Crow, who became a teacher and mentor and “got the art quilt bug going for me,” says Beth. “She told me, ‘You just go home and do the work.’ I took all the positives I could from the practice.”

Another technique that Beth has embraced is art journaling, which entails taking any materials at hand and recycling them into a piece of art. Beth organized a group of eight women who each made art journals with watercolour paper and collage, then mailed them once a month to each other. “We did our own thing with the contents,” says Beth. “I add writing about the process, about where it can take me next,” she says. The Art Barn offers a “Mommy and Me Get Our Art On” workshop, with a trunk-full of paper material that participants use to make a personal book with a quilted cover and sewn-in pages. Beth also teaches classes in machine and art quilting, mixed media and doll making. Her “day job” as a rehabilitation assistant in a seniors’ facility inspired her latest idea, a therapeutic hammock that can be suspended over a piece of paper on the floor. People can spend time swinging in the hammock and making marks with a tool on the paper, which can then be made into a book. The old Hollander beater was fired up in January for the Art Barn open house. Over 70 people attended the opening, most attracted through word of mouth. And future plans? Beth would love to see the Art Barn become a destination for schoolchildren. “You can throw personal materials or notes into the beater and make them an invisible part of the paper you are creating,” says Beth. “I can picture classes of children coming. I have the paper-making frames all ready.” Art Barn, 805 25th Avenue South, Creston, 250-428-1814, facebook.com/artbarnfarmsstudio, [email protected]

ThE ART BARn

(top) Handmade book by Beth. Rolodex art experiment. Beth created 100 collages in 30 days from a book of 1920s fashion illustrations and an old Rolodex file. Photos: Natalie Santano


COMMUNITY CELEBRATIONS

2016

Millenium ParkDowntown Castlegar100 5th Street

July 23, 201610:30 am - 7:00 pm

Free AdmissionDonations are Welcome!

ISLAND MOUNTAIN ARTS40th Annual School of the Arts • Wells/Barkerville, BC

For more information on this and other programs:1-800-442-2787 • www.imarts.com • [email protected]

“This intense period of exploration will guide and strengthen my work for years to come.”

~ Laura Widmer, Artists’ Project Participant

The Toni Onley Artists’ Project for Professional and Emerging ArtistsJuly 9 - 17, 2016Artist Mentors: Jeffrey Spalding & Anong Migwans Beam

The Artists’ Project is an intensive juried artist retreat guided by senior artist mentors. It is a forum for artists to explore, develop and forward their ideas in relation to visual arts practice. Artists of the Kootenay/Boundary are eligible for the “Articulate Magazine Scholarship”. For application process and more details about the project please visit www.imarts.com.

Remembering those who have passed away

by Greg NesteroffCemeteries are as much about the living as they are about the dead. It’s a point emphasized by two of West Kootenay’s most picturesque graveyards, where ceremonies are held to remember departed loved ones, inspired by a centuries-old Mexican holiday.The Day of the Dead traces its roots possibly as far back as an Aztec festival. Before Spanish colonization in the 16th century, it took place at the start of summer but has since come to coincide with All Saints’ Day in the fall.

By tradition, it’s an opportunity for family and friends to gather, pray for and remember loved ones who have passed away. Colourful altars are fashioned out of photos, food, candles and personal items to encourage souls to visit and to hear prayers directed at them. In 2010 a family began organizing such a celebration at the Dumont Creek Cemetery in the Slocan Valley, and after a couple of years handed it over to the non-profit burial society that manages the site. “Anybody who has any connection to the cemetery can come and wander around looking at graves and tell stories about the people who are there,” says Sally Mackenzie of the society. “Some people sit around for hours. Others come and spend a bit of time and leave. I think it’s good for people to have a time and place to go and visit with others about those they’ve lost. It’s healing and wholesome.”

Despite the venue, it’s neither a sad nor scary occasion. The event always involves a potluck meal, huge bonfire and altar, and is held annually on the last Sunday in October from mid-afternoon until early evening, when tea lights are placed on the graves. “The whole cemetery gets twinkly,” Mackenzie says. People are encouraged to bring photos, fruit and flowers. Other ideas have also been embraced: last year artists created installations around the cemetery’s edges, “which were quite lovely and thought-provoking,” while on another occasion a man rang a bell that echoed through the woods. The cemetery, in a secluded area off Lancaster Road in Winlaw, currently averages three burials and three or four inurnments of cremains each year, whereas several years used to go by between burials. Mackenzie says that change reflects the age of the people who established the cemetery in the early 1980s and are still connected with it—it will probably be even more frequently used in the coming years. A second clearing, larger than the present one, has been set aside but hasn’t seen any burials yet.Unlike municipal lawn cemeteries, the burial society doesn’t get hung up on rules around headstones. “It’s the Slocan Valley, so people have lots of artistic ideas,” Mackenzie says. “They put what they want on the graves, so there are some very interesting and unique things.”The same can be said of the markers in the cemetery at Argenta, which held its first Day of the Dead celebration last November.Organizer Deb Borsos said the inspiration came when she realized relative newcomers to the community probably didn’t know who some of the people in the cemetery were.

“It seemed a shame to me to lose our interesting history and the memories of who people were and what they had done while living in Argenta. It is so interesting and rich in stories from all over the world,” she says.The cemetery was founded in the 1950s by the first Quaker families who moved there, but didn’t have its first burial until 1967. Since then it’s become the final resting spot for over 50 people.Last year’s inaugural ceremony took place in the nearby community hall, which was decorated in papel picado (cut paper decorations). Residents told stories about departed citizens and several local singers and musicians performed. Noemi Kiss led a community choir in pieces that reflected the cultures represented by those in the cemetery. Borsos created a series of altars dedicated to people buried in Argenta, people who lived there and have died but are not buried there, departed pets, and lost buildings and structures that helped form the community’s character—like the old school and hotel, the wharf and the 1970s ski tow. She purposely didn’t put any names on the photos. “I wanted that to be part of the sharing, imagining that (as did in fact happen) everyone would go and look and those that didn’t know who was in the photos would say ‘who is that?’ and those that did know would share.”At the end, residents walked to the cemetery and placed tea lights on individual grave markers. “It was based on the traditional Day of the Dead, but we changed it up to match our own community and it seemed to work well,” Borsos says. “It was one of the more successful truly ‘done by community for community’ events I’ve seen and am inspired to encourage more of this in future.”It goes to show how paying tribute to the dead can often pay dividends for the living.

COMMUNITY CELEBRATIONS

dAy of ThE dEAd

Argenta’s first Day of the Day celebration last year featured colourful altars dedicated not only to past citizens, but pets and lost buildings. Photos: Greg Nesteroff

Day of the Dead ceremonies at the Dumont Creek cemetery in Winlaw occur on the last Sunday in October.


HOW TO

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IN SUPPORT OF CREATIVE COMMUNITIES

by Colin Payne

In Part I of “How to Photograph your Art,” we looked at setup and tips for photographing three-dimensional craft media. Part II is geared toward painters and other creators of two-dimensional works. We’ll take a look at some simple techniques for lighting and shooting that can make photographing your artworks easy and even enjoyable.But first, let’s review some general tips from Part I that you’ll need to keep in mind as we proceed. Use the right equipment and be familiar with itIn order to get good-quality images of your artwork, you need a decent camera that you know how to use and a tripod on which to mount it. You should have at least a mid-range, modern point-and-shoot camera, or if you want greater image quality, a mirrorless interchangeable lens or digital SLR camera might be a better option. Make sure your camera is set to the highest quality JPEG setting to allow high-quality printing, and use a shooting mode that turns the flash off (no flash mode or P mode). Finally, make sure your camera is focusing where it should by making sure the dots or squares that light up are located on the piece of art with which you’re working.If any of the above sounds intimidating, it might be a good idea to take a lesson on understanding your camera. These tend to be quite affordable and available in many communities.

Photographing two-dimensional artWhether you’re a plein-air painter or otherwise, the best place to photograph your two-dimensional artwork is the great outdoors. There, you will find an abundant source of natural light, without the glare and colour casts induced by various kinds of light bulbs and wall paints you find inside.In order to successfully photograph your art outside, there are a few things you’ll need to have in place:• A sturdy easel that won’t easily fall over or be knocked off kilter by

a gust of wind;• A stable tripod that is at least as tall as the top of your artwork

when mounted on the easel;• The pieces you want to photograph, preferably without frames,

glass or any other coverings that might reflect light and create a glare.

To get the right natural light to photograph your work outdoors, it’s best to wait for an overcast day without rain. The clouds act as a natural diffuser for the bright light from the sun, and provide you with a soft and relatively glare-free light with which to work. Set up your easel so the side on which you will place your piece faces north. As the sun travels from east to west via the south, this will reduce the chances that your image will have direct sunlight on it, which causes glare.Place your first piece on the easel, and make sure it is as perpendicular to the ground as possible. Then, set up your tripod and secure your camera to it. Zoom the camera’s lens in to a focal length of 50 to 100 millimetres.

HOW TO

www.wkartscouncil.com

YOUR ONLINE RESOURCE:- Back issues of ARTiculate Magazine- Kootenay Festivals & Events- Cultural funding and resource information - Connect with your local arts council- Business 101 - A publication for artists, writers, performers and presenters

- Kootenay Arts E-Bulletin

After you’re zoomed, move the camera on the tripod and place it so your work is taking up the whole frame of the camera’s viewfinder. If the easel and artwork are on a slight angle, tilt your camera on the tripod to match that angle. This will ensure the whole piece is in line with the camera’s plane of focus, and will come out sharp. If you can’t quite eliminate some of the background from around the edges, don’t worry as this can be cropped out when editing.Set your camera’s white balance function to the cloudy setting, and then press the shutter button halfway to focus. After you’ve checked the focus, press the shutter button all the way down to capture the image. Review your image on the LCD and zoom in to ensure accurate focus. If your image is too dark or light, you can use the exposure compensation feature in P mode to make it brighter or darker.What to do after you shootAs your camera does most of the processing work for you, the main editing tasks you should have to do afterward are adjusting the brightness, cropping and resizing for print or online submission.If you’re serious about working with your images after shooting, you can pick up a program like Photoshop Elements or Lightroom by Adobe. Otherwise, there are plenty of free programs that you can use, such as GIMP, Pixlr, Picasa and Apple Photos (if you own a Mac). Use your photo-editing program to make your images brighter or darker, so they match your original artistic intent. But be sure to use a gentle touch and don’t try to push them too far in either direction.When cropping, make sure your image includes only the artwork and not parts of the background or edges of a frame. Also make sure not to crop in too much, or you will lose a significant amount of resolution that you need to make high-quality prints. Finally, if you plan to upload your images to the Web or submit them with funding or gallery applications, you’ll need to resize your images to a lower resolution and smaller file size. The size for your website varies depending on how your site is setup, so ask your Web developer or check your WordPress/Shopify/etc. theme for details. If you’re submitting to galleries, check to see what size each individual gallery requests with their applications. And if you’re submitting an application for funding, here are some details for major funders: BC Arts Council – JPEG format; maximum dimensions are 768x1024 pixelsCanada Council for the Arts – JPEG format; RGB colour; file size no larger than 1.5 MB

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ON STAGE

Showcasing students for thirty yearsby Brian Lawrence

Over the past three decades, thousands of students have taken part in hundreds of performances as part of Creston’s annual Focus on Youth arts festival. The thirtieth anniversary of the festival runs May 2 to 6.For piano teacher Monte Anderson, a co-founder of the festival, that record highlights what makes the Creston Valley unique. “There’s no other place in Canada that I know of that has this kind of thing, that has the cooperation between private teachers and the school district,” he says. “It’s a testament to how we get along in this valley.”Anderson started the festival with another private piano teacher, Jo Anne Knobbe, in November 1986, and enlisted Elizabeth Hutton and Bonnie Boldt to coordinate drama and theatre. It was held in the Catholic Church hall, and included 10 performances, mainly violin, piano, vocal and drama, as well as a visual art display.It was an immediate hit. About 700 people attended the festival, which then featured a short concert every half-hour for an afternoon.

“We were trying to provide an opportunity for our students,” said Knobbe from her home in Regina, where she moved in 1988.The following school year, the private teachers joined forces with the Creston-Kaslo school district (prior to becoming the Kootenay Lake school district upon amalgamation with Nelson), and held 17 concerts in the Prince Charles Theatre, with student performers spanning all grades, including the Prince Charles Secondary School debate club.The joint school district-private teacher concept has remained through the years, with local “VIP” MCs hosting the concerts, which focus solely on participation rather than competition. “That’s a big aspect of it—building self-esteem and confidence,” says Anderson. “There will always be one person sitting in the back who is afraid to fail,” he told the Creston Valley Advance in 1988.“It’s always good for kids to do something other than just for themselves or their practising,” says Knobbe. “It gives them confidence of being able to do something in public.” When private students take to the stage, it encourages their peers to try to advance

their talent beyond what can be taught in school. “By having the private teachers involved, it shows off skills at a higher level,” Anderson said.From 1988 until his retirement in 2004, former Adam Robertson Elementary School teacher Frank Goodsir always had his Grade 4 and 5 music classes onstage with instruments. For many, their favourite song was “Tiny Bubbles.” “They got to play the ukulele, they got to dance the hula and they got to shake Hawaiian rattles,” he said.For Goodsir, a driving force in the Creston community theatre scene for decades, Focus on Youth presented a unique opportunity for the community’s students. “For most kids, this is their only theatre experience,” he says. “They not only perform for their parents and grandparents, but they perform for their peers. And they get to work with the lights and sound, and get that true theatrical experience. They may never have another one in their life.”As the festival progressed and after his retirement, Goodsir got more involved, coordinating publicity, taking photographs and maintaining extensive archives for the festival. His close association with Focus on Youth has allowed him to watch students’ abilities blossom, some from kindergarten right on up. One of those is Grade 12 student Skylar Eyre, a violinist who will perform for the last time in May. “Focus on Youth allowed me a chance to perform in a comforting, welcoming environment,” says Eyre. “There are no adjudications and I have never been criticized for any of my performances. It gave us youth performers a chance to really showcase our talent and work that we have put into it, and to celebrate our accomplishments as growing individuals.”It will be bittersweet to mark the milestone of his thirteenth festival. “It’s given me a chance to reflect on my performances and to really appreciate how far I have come as a performer, artist

and individual,” says Eyre. “It makes me really appreciate the community I have been raised in for supporting my passions and encouraging me to strive confidently in the direction of my dreams since the time I was five years old.”For some, the festival gave them a chance to demonstrate passions that turned into careers. Miriam Anderson, for example, became a professional classical musician in Europe. Pascale Hutton now has many movie and TV credits, and was the star of CBC’s Arctic Air. And Sarah Kapoor launched her film, The Bad Mother, partially shot in Creston, at last year’s Hamilton Film Festival.Those passions couldn’t have been fuelled without the community members who diligently attend the concerts—they’re not just for parents and grandparents to enjoy.“There’s always something about each performance,” says Goodsir. “There’s always some child whose talent surprises you.”

ON STAGE

foCUS on yoUThGrade 2/3 students from Canyon-Lister Elementary School joining their Chilean buddy class at Santiago’s School No. 121 to sing John Lennon’s “Imagine” in a 2011 Focus on Youth concert. Photo: Brian Lawrence

Adam Robertson Elementary School student Joshua Daignault in 2008. Photo: Brian Lawrence


LAST WORDBOOK REVIEW

Surviving

a memoirby Donna Macdonald

City Hall

ISBN 978-0-88971-320-8$22.95

“Donna captures all of it - the personal experiences,

motivation, frustration and humour of local

government.”

- Darlene Marzari, former MLA and BC and BC Minister of Municipal Affairs

SURVIVInG CITy hALLMunicipal government for the peopleby Margaret Tessman

Back in 2005, long-time Nelson City councillor Donna Macdonald was feeling exhausted and burnt out from her years in public office. That year there had been a lockout of City staff, a big forest fire on the North Shore of Kootenay Lake and a major move from the old City Hall to new digs in the provincial government building. Donna also sat on the committee that was looking at upgrades to the Nelson Community Complex.“I was carrying a lot of negative emotion and needed to write it out,” she says. Donna participated in writing classes and received feedback from other writers and readers, and her initial goal of writing as a cathartic process evolved. “I wanted to make it not all about me, but about the importance of local government.“If you understand it more as a citizen, you can be better at working toward change.”As Donna wrote pieces of what would eventually become Surviving City Hall, she realized that she didn’t want it to be a simple chronology. A writing course with Almeda Glenn Miller at Selkirk College in Castlegar used a “job description” exercise, which Donna applied to the 16 chapters of the book. Each chapter begins with an opener that describes an element of the work of a councillor. For example, Donna starts the chapter entitled “Women’s Work Is Never Done” with the following:

A councillor looks around her council table, and across the country, and wonders why there aren’t more women in local government. She wishes more women would run for office instead of running away from the mere thought of politics.She then goes on to discuss how women bring unique skills to the political table, and that yes, striving for gender equity in government does matter. It’s 2016, eh?Surviving City Hall also serves as a handbook of information

about the legislative framework of municipal government. For instance, did you know that municipal government is not a third level of government? According to the Canadian constitution, there are only two levels of government, federal and provincial. “We don’t know how complex municipal government is, especially in a place like Nelson, which has its own police and fire departments, and hydroelectric facility,” says Donna.Donna was first elected to Nelson City council in 1988. She grew up with a social conscience and the desire to make a better world, and eventually decided to put herself on the front lines. “My activist friends that I talked to pointed the finger at me as being the one to run for office,” she says. When she agreed to run, Donna had no idea what it would entail, and she entertained a lot of self-doubt. “I could have used a book like this back then.” Donna’s first work on council was the “Save the Geese and Groundhogs” portfolio, trying to find a solution to the Canada goose and Columbia ground squirrel colonies that were taking over the playing fields in Lakeside Park. “I wondered, ‘When do we get to the people?’” she laughs. Some of her coping strategies included monthly meetings with her support group and spending time rolling around on the floor with her young daughter. “She kept me grounded,” says Donna. At times it was necessary to confront political decisions that contradicted her personal feelings, such as the locking out of the City workers. “A lot of things challenged my values,” she says.Over the course of her political life, Donna worked under five different Nelson mayors. Surviving City Hall discusses aspects of each of their leadership styles, what worked and what didn’t, and offers a plea for civil behaviour in local government. “The tone set at council filters out into the community,” she says. Donna hopes that the book can prepare readers who choose to run for public office for the inevitable hard, controversial times. “There will be a gun out there looking for you.” Donna ran for mayor of Nelson in 1996 and 1999, took a hiatus from council from 2005 to 2008 and then was re-elected and sat from 2008 until her retirement in 2014. “It didn’t give me much time to write, but I knew it would be a big regret if I didn’t do it,” she says. Since her retirement, Donna says that the book has been “all consuming.”Summing up her goal for Surviving City Hall, Donna remarks, “I hope it will encourage others to run. I wanted to open the doors to City Hall.”Donna Macdonald will be doing readings from Surviving City Hall at libraries in Kaslo, Salmo, Trail, Rossland and Grand Forks starting in May.

Input Sought for Lakeside Park Amphitheatre Project The Nelson and District Arts Council (NDAC) is looking for input and support from the arts community for the development of a new Nelson arts venue.NDAC is examining the possibility of reintroducing the Lakeside Park Amphitheatre Project, a floating performance stage on Nelson’s historic waterfront. Comments can be directed to NDAC chair Ron Robinson, [email protected], or [email protected].

Editorial

dRAWInG . . . onLInE?by Laura White

At my (ahem) age and stage of life, I really didn’t expect to be using that derned Interweb or social media to provide me with guidance, inspiration or instruction in my creative process. But, you know, stuff happens . . . It all started with my Instagram account. My IG account has been active for a few years—I realized that

I really enjoy looking at photos, especially ones that are creative interpretations of everyday events and objects. And macros. I LOVE MACROS (Yes, I know that’s the equivalent of shouting. That’s the point). I also love the Hipstamatic app on my cellphone. This application allows you to choose lens, film and flash—before or after taking the photo—to give a huge range of effects to your imagery. I put these two together, using the Hipstamatic app to create my visual journal on Instagram.This kept me busy and excited for some time as I joined several Hipstamatic communities and forums on Instagram. The moderators and facilitators of these communities are creative and hard-working; they regularly post challenges or prompts to keep us trying new tools or using old tools in new ways. Of course, you can share as much or as little as you like online. This appeals to me very much.Although I was having fun with Hipstamatic and Instagram, I kept feeling the urge to work in more traditional ways in my sketchbook with pencil and pen and watercolour. I took courses through continuing education, but it was hard finding courses that worked with my schedule. Also, I was looking for something to help me build a daily creative practice in my sketchbook that mirrored what I was doing on Instagram but that didn’t require a lot of time, space or equipment.Enter Sketchbook Skool (that third “k” annoys me, but what can you do?). I was suspicious that this “skool” might be a scam, but an Internet search of the founders Danny Gregory and Koosje Koene calmed my fears. A partial list of their credentials includes drawing, sketching, illustrating, blogging, writing and educating. I started with the “Beginnings” course (or kourse, as the Skool likes to call them. Grrrr).It was awesome! Every Friday for six weeks I received an email reminder to sign in online and receive instruction through videos. Each week included a new teacher, new processes or techniques, and new assignments. With no deadlines or grading of assignments and lifetime access to all the materials, I was able to work at my own pace and as my schedule allowed. I could be as social (or not) as I wanted; the Skool has an Instagram account, a Facebook page and a variety of student forums through the website, but there is no obligation to participate in any of these. I didn’t. However I did look at as much posted student work as I could and did occasionally post my own work. The feedback was invaluable in keeping me motivated.Self-reflection is an important component of the Sketchbook Skool courses. I’ve never been much of a writer, nor have I kept written diaries or journals, but I derived insight from thinking about and writing answers to questions such as “How do you present yourself as an artist? And what should your title be on your business card if the inner critic wouldn’t interfere?”The “Seeing” course was next. It also did not disappoint. This course coincided with an unexpected trip to China where my Internet

access was severely limited. I just took a break from the new weekly instruction, worked in my sketchbook while I was away and picked up the course when I returned. Brilliant.While browsing Instagram one day, I discovered #the100dayproject. Spearheaded by Elle Luna of The Great Discontent (thegreatdiscontent.com), the question was “What could you do with 100 days of making?” Buoyed by my experience with Sketchbook Skool, I thought I could do quite a bit. I especially liked the approach of this project. From the website: “It’s a celebration of process that encourages everyone to participate in 100 days of making. The great surrender is the process; showing up day after day is the goal. For the 100-Day Project, it’s not about fetishizing finished products—it’s about the process.”It was also about committing to your project in writing and sharing images of it regularly online. I chose to do 100 days of animal sketches and I posted weekly updates on my Instagram account. Yikes! It was challenging for me to do the sketches and even more difficult for me to share them online, especially the “bad” ones. But I learned a lot about my process, and (mostly) conquered my fear of sketching in public.I don’t see this way of working ending any time soon for me. I’m enrolled in an online course through Craftsy (Travel Sketching in Mixed Media) and I’m thinking about organizing a Social Sketch, which is a way to gather a group of artists, sketchers, doodlers and other creatives for a night of sketching, collaborating and drawing. I’ll be posting details online . . .Laura White is a graduate of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and has been an instructor in the Jewelry program at KSA (now Kootenay Studio Arts at Selkirk College) since 1995. Laura is currently president of the Slocan Valley Community Arts Council and an executive board member of the West Kootenay Regional Arts Council. She is a past board member of the Craft Council of BC and the Assembly of BC Arts Councils (now ArtsBC).

Margaret PacaudJacquie HamiltonRandi FjeldsethMaureen Cameron

Carol PalladinoAnne HelpsDavid Halliday

ARTICULATE 31

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