aotp symposium 2011 have art, will wear it!etsy.com

Jennifer Bowesrecognition through repetition

fall 2011 issue 17 a puBlication for the visual artist

Calls for Entries

THE CENTRE FORCREATIVE ARTS

Classes for all ages and levels: -Children’s Classes -Drawing -Glass -Fibre -Painting -Photography -Pottery -Workshops -Visual Arts Monthly Gallery ExhibitionsGift Shop featuring local artistsBirthday PartiesSchool and Group bookingsDrop In Studio Use

Please contact the Centre for details and submission forms.

CFCA Christmas Show and SaleWe are looking for high quality art and craft items created by Peace Area artists for annual Christmas Show and Sale. Please contact us by November 14 if you want to participate.

CFCA Miniature ShowSubmit your miniature artwork by March 15, 2012. All work must be 10cm x 10 cm or smaller, includ-ing any framing. The show will be on display on our new wall gallery between April 9- 27.

www.creativecentre.ca

Peace Watercolor Society35th Anniversary Retrospective ShowOctober 7 - 28Reception: 7pm on October 7

Patricia Peters:Conversations with the LandNovember 4 - 25Reception: 7pm on November 7

CFCA Christmas Show and SaleDecember 2 - 16Reception: 7pm on December 2

CFCA Student ShowJanuary 6 - 27Reception: 7pm on January 6

Ken HouseGo:Dreams Do Not Come With TitlesFebruary 3 - 24Reception: 7pm on February 3

Art of the Peace Traveling ShowMarch 2 - 30Reception: 7pm on March 2

Neil Kolacz:Retro IntroApril 9 - 27Reception: 7pm on April 13

At the Centre

9904-101 Avenue, Grande Prairie780-814-6080 info@creativecentre.ca

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K. Housego

P. Peters

E. McNaught

Up Coming Exhibitions

L. Dykstra

N. Kolacz

in this issue:

Editor: Eileen Coristine

dEsign, Layout & advErtising: imageDESIGN

PubLishEr: Art of the Peace Visual Arts Association, Box 25227, Wapiti Road P.O. Grande Prairie, AB T8W 0G2 Phone: (780) 532-2573 (Jim Stokes) E-mail: art@artofthepeace.ca

Printing: McCallum Printing Group

CovEr: Jennifer Bowes photo by Sarah Alford

©All rights reserved Art of the Peace 2011

Reproduction in whole or in part is strictly prohibited.

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

4. artist’s statement

4. contriButors

5. art out there

8. aotp symposium 2011 authentically yours, the artist

10. have art, will wear it! three of a kind

12. artcetera the art of making multiple originals

14. jennifer Bowes recognition through repetition

20. etsy.com taking local art to a gloBal market

22. assemBlage tumBler ridge art cluB

23. art Books in review

24. trying on wearaBle art at the centre27. gallery of artists

28. exhiBitions & opportunities

30. candace gunsolley

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

jody farrell has more than 25 years experience as an editor and writer for newspapers, magazines, and education publications. She especially loves writing profiles of interesting people, many of whom happen to be artists, and is always willing to put things off for a good visit over coffee.

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

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

sarah harwood hails from a ridiculously small logging and mining town in central BC that fills her with nostalgia and an affinity for the unusual. She now happily illustrates, teaches, writes, and designs in Grande Prairie, Alberta. Check out her work at sarah-harwood.com

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

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

Contributors

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Due to the overwhelming success of the Wearable Art Show at the Centre for Creative Arts last fall, this year there will be two showings. This is a good thing, since I don’t think anyone who was there last year will want to miss it, and I’m sure they’ve told their friends about the unique creations on the runway.

Does a Skylin Herba gown constructed from old computer parts, or a Debbie Courvoisier clay tile mini-dress beg the question: what are these artists thinking? Perhaps it’s that we sometimes take art and fashion too seriously.

There are times when we have to dress a certain way (though they are becoming rarer) and artworks that can only be viewed with gravity. But a Lori Kolacz frock made of twisted balloons, ain’t that a kick in the culottes!

In a take on fashion that is not so wearable but still a comment on style, our featured artist this issue Candace Gunsolley has made an elegant statement by reusing the pages of fashion magazines.

Repurposing of materials is also a main feature in cover artist, Jenn Bowes’ pieces. Hour upon hours spent re-working books into a surreal fabric merge her meticulous process with materials that we often overlook. This artist lets the pages tell a tale of their own.

Three of a Kind artist, Ashley Lett, also a presenter at the Wearable Art Show, is a dedicated repurposer – pirating anything that she can make into something “flashy and fashionable”. Shannon Fennel’s wearable art is applied directly to the body and its temporary nature thrills her. Her medium is a living person and fashion just can’t get fresher than that. Following the tradition of her ancestors, Hazel Robinson turns moose hide into art. Hazel creates works that demonstrate how long we humans have had the de-sire to shine in a piece of unique apparel.

I hope you find this issue inspiring; remember, you are your own work of art.

Artist’sStatementwearaBle art

By eileen coristine

art of the peace 4

art out there...

irene pearcy1930-2011Popular Peace Country artist, Irene Pearcy passed away in September, 2011. A member of Artists North for almost 30 years, Irene started painting in1968 and “was hooked”, according to her daughter, Linda Pearcy.

“Mom loved the guest artist work-shops and heading out to Euphemia McNaught or Gordon Mackey’s farm for nature walks or to sketch and photograph the scenery for future paintings.”

Founding Artists North member Barb Greentree says, “Irene was very com-mited to our club and was always the first one to participate in events. She was loved for her watercolour flowers, which she continued to paint as long as she was able.”

Irene was thrilled when three of her paintings were chosen for the Hues of Blue Travelling Exhibition sponsored by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.

dinosaurs and friendsWhen Robert Kennedy Jr. describes your event as one of the three top ex-periences of his life, you can probably call it a resounding success.

The Aykroyd Family and Friends Di-nosaur Ball, held at the Crystal Cen-tre in Grande Prairie, July 23 raised $467,000 in funding for the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum project in just one evening.

Contributing hugely to that total was the $100,000 raised by a silent auc-tion of works by 13 regional artists. Included in those was Sexsmith artist Suzanne Sandboe who also present-ed Dan Aykroyd and Donna Dixon-Aykroyd with an original watercolur painting titled Bonebed.

The design of the museum, scheduled to open July 2013, is being done by Teeple Architects Inc. and is now 80 percent complete. These architects also designed the Montrose Cultural Centre. Construction is scheduled to begin next spring at the future muse-um site near Highway 43 at Wembley. Dan Aykroyd, who performed at the July ball, has promised to come back for the grand opening and to bring along the Blues Brothers.

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exhiBit lost to wild fireThe community of Slake Lake lost many homes and public buildings in the wild fires that reached the town on May 15. Among the buildings was the Slave Lake Regional Library, at which a Travelling Art Exhibition (TREX) exhibition was on display. On view was 75 Million: Bison Drawings of Adrian Stimson. The show con-sisted of 25 drawings, some of which were realistic and some imaginative petroglyphs.

Stimson created the series to dem-onstrate the resilience of the bison and to promote their return to domi-nance.

“The tragic loss of all the works in 75 Million due to the Slave Lake fires pales in comparison to the loss the people of Slave Lake have suffered. However, the exhibition will be sadly missed,” said curator of the exhibi-tion, Todd Scaber.

In response to the loss of these works Adrian Stimson is generously creating a new exhibition with new artworks based on the subject of the bison. This exhibition is due to begin travelling to TREX venues during the fall of 2011.

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happy anniversaryThe Peace Watercolour Society launched a show honouring their 35th year together October 7th. Their first group exhibit was held in the Dawson Creek Art Gallery in 1976 and includ-ed work by the founding members, including Euphemia McNaught and Robert Guest (still a member of the society). A Fall Show and Sale has been held annually ever since and is rotated between major galleries in the area.

“”We are held together by a com-mon goal to express impressions of our environment in watercolour paint-ings,” explains member Judy Brown. “What makes the Peace Country stand out and kindle the imagination of people in faraway places? Can this be identified visually? Our painters will attempt to find out.”

The society’s original goal was to maintain and promote the tradition of transparent watercolour in the Peace Region and mixed media was dis-couraged. This is still the basis of the society. A new member is accepted after an application and screening are completed.

The 35th Anniversary Retrospective Show will be held at the Centre for Creative Arts in Grande Prairie until October 28th. “We have paintings from as many of our past and current members as possible,” says Judy Brown. “It is a walk down memory lane featuring 35 years of transparent watercolour in the Peace Country.”

healing arts for slave lakeEasing the pain, loss and anger of those who were evacuated from Slave Lake in May is something that we all would like to be able to do. Two regional groups have offered what solace they can through the medium of art.

Grande Prairie artist, Ada Lovmo travelled to the area in June and spent ten days delivering the Want to Reach program to area youth.

“Through expressive art therapy we attempted to address their anger, grieving and anxiety,” Lovmo ex-plains. “The program was offered through Canadian Mental Health As-sociation, the Catholic school system and local youth agencies.”

Alberta country music artist Paul Brandt has raised $100,000 towards replacing the Slave Lake Regional Li-brary through his Up From the Ashes Slave Lake Benefit Concert held at the Winspear Theatre in Edmonton.

Also stepping up to help with the recovery were the organizers of the North Country Fair. This June they offered evacuees free admission to the annual solstice celebration, which takes place in the Driftpile River valley near Slave Lake.

Pictured above is a collaborative painting done by fair-goers during an art session at the Awareness Tent. The North Country Fair is in its 34th year. M

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the magic hourShortly after the opening of the Mon-trose Cultural Centre in 2009, a room in the library dedicated to the mem-ory of former Children’s Librarian, Linda Smith was opened. The room inspired Linda’s brother, Ted Smith to donate funding for artwork to deco-rate the walls. In June 2011 a three-panel mural by Grande Prairie artist Tim Heimdal was completed.

As well as working at the library from 1984 to 2001, Linda Smith was an accomplished author of ten books of children’s and fantasy literature. Tim Heimdal’s mural is based on Smith’s work The Freyan Trilogy.

“After she left her job Linda was a selfless volunteer at the library until she died in 2007” says Laura Reilly, Children’s and Youth Services Librar-ian, “Tim knew Linda, and he did a really good job of representing what she had written.”

According to the artist, the title The Magic Hour refers to both the eve-ning light captured in the piece and the time of reading stories to children.

The library will be showcasing the mural during Alberta Arts Days (Sept. 30 and Oct. 1) and an event is being planned for next spring, when Linda Smith’s last book, The Piper of Sha-dona will be released.

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new BeginningsThe Peace River Chapter of the Fed-eration of Canadian Artists hosted its first annual chapter show New Begin-nings at the Dawson Creek Art Gal-lery from May 14 to June 11.

“The art pieces featured in the inau-gural show were absolutely beauti-ful,” says Melissa Holoboff, curator of the gallery. “It was an honour to meet the artists who attended the opening held on May 14th. The range of con-tent within the exhibit made a dynam-ic presentation. It pleases me greatly that the Dawson Creek Art Gallery is able to sustain and offer profes-sional quality exhibits such as this for the residents of Dawson Creek and surrounding area to enjoy. The show was very well attended by the viewing public.”

The opening weekend included a workshop focused on the fundamen-tal elements of art making. Instructor Nicole Baumeister, SFCA, was avail-able to meet with individual artists.

Founded 70 years ago by a group of influential artists, including Group of Seven member Lawren Harris, the FCA is a not-for-profit organiza-tion that promotes the passion and pleasure of the visual arts through ex-hibition, education and communica-tion. There are currently 12 chapters across Canada and abroad with over 2000 members.

new in the northThe Manning Art Community of Ex-pression, formed last spring, has plans to bring more workshops into their town and hold an art walk next spring.

“Opening an art centre here is the main goal,” explains founding mem-ber Andrea Pederson. “We formed a group to help find funding for work-shops and get established.”

Anyone in the area wishing to get in-volved with the new organization can reach Pedersen at 780 836 3444 or at michaandme@gmail.com.

pag progressReconstruction of the Prairie Art Gal-lery will be ongoing throughout this autumn. As a result the office has been moved to the Kin Gallery on the lower level of Centre 2000 at 11330-106 Street, Grande Prairie.

“We expect to be back at the Mon-trose Cultural Centre on November 15, at the earliest,” explains executive director and curator, Robert Steven.

While there are limited office hours and some programs have had to be suspended due to the move, Chil-dren’s Art Classes and the Travelling Exhibition program are still in opera-tion.

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feathers and fantasyThe Peace River group Artistry was invited to contribute to Feathers and Fantasy 2011; members of the art collective were asked to create wings for the Fashion Show models.

“The reason the models wore wings was to showcase the talents and ef-forts of the local artistry,” says event coordinator Tina Halabisky. “The wings also fit in with the feathers and fantasy theme.”

While some of the wings were elegant or whimsical, others showed a sense of humour. For instance, one set was constructed of old cds and a broken case.

Feathers and Fantasy was the most recent title of an annual event the Belle Petreloeum Centre in Peace River has been hosting since 2009. This year’s event included a Trunk Sale of wares by local vendors and an evening Fashion Show.

“We will continue with Feathers and Fantasy in 2012,” says Tina Hal-abisky. “It is a wonderful event that provides artists with an opportunity to be seen and have a chance to show and sell their creations.”

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AOTP Symposium 2011authentically yours, the artist

By jody farrell

carl white was born in England and lives and works in Calgary, Alberta, where he graduated from Alberta Col-lege of Art and Design (Four Year Diploma in graphic design, painting, and drawing) in 1992.

His paintings, which have been shown in many group and solo exhibitions over the last 19 years, are richly layered and drawn from a wide range of interests. White’s father in-troduced him to the work of masters such as Rembrandt, instilling an understanding of light and shadows prominent in White’s own luminous works. He credits literature and music of every kind, and even earlier years of skateboarding, with having influenced his art.

In a May 2011 review of his recent exhibition Istoria, writer Marcella Ducasses comments on how White’s highly vivid,

The annual Art of the Peace Symposium has a reputation for giving creative souls everywhere a healthy

dose of motivation just as those darker months set in. The weekend-long event, which runs from Octo-

ber 14-16, 2011, in Dawson Creek, BC, is full of mind-expanding talks, images, and hands-on work. Its

presenters are all heavily immersed in the visual arts, and no one will walk away without feeling moved at

some level. This year’s speakers include Calgary artists Carl White and Shona Rae, and Dawson Creek-

based artist Jennifer Bowes.

historically-driven imagery, still manages to be authentic and fresh:

“Despite the rich allegorical and historical references, White’s work is unmistakably contemporary in its execution.

The subject matter may evoke paint-ers of another era, but his expressive brushstrokes, spontaneous and at times violent splashes of exuberant colours, glossy finishes and drips of paint left to their own devices, along with his signature scriptural markings, are White’s — and White’s alone,” Du-casses writes.

“I am interested almost entirely in the process, the act of creation and join-ing the flow,” White says today. “The work itself is the residue, the dust, the skin that has been shed. I am deeply contradictory in that I often begin in an intellectual pursuit only to try whole-heartedly to break free of it once the painting begins.”

art of the peace 8

leftA Name For Your SeaCarl White

centreBeautyShona Rae

rightDream of ScipioJennifer Bowes

shona rae graduated from The Aberta College of Art and Design with a BFA in 2005. Ten years prior to receiving that degree, the ceramist of 30 years had become enthralled with goldsmithing, a fascination brought on by a series of dreams that led to a new perception that “metal is clay.”

Throughout the winter of 1994-95, night after night, Rae dreamed of hammering metal. Her work had always been inspired by her keen interest in ancient myth, religion and prehistoric archaeological finds. Now, in addition to her already substantial knowledge and mastery of clay, Rae chose to study metals to better render the visions she’d had in those dreams. Her sculptural art jewellery has since won her numerous awards in both Europe and North America.

“I want to celebrate the human inclination to decorate our person and our environment with contemporary artifacts,” Rae says today. She forges, casts, carves and constructs precious metals, sterling silver, gold, and other materials, into symbols re-imagined from imagery found in archeology, mythology and folklore.

Rae’s presentation for the 2011 AOTP Symposium will fea-ture 22 sculptures she has been working on since 1998. These works, entitled Fairy-tales, Folklore and Mythcom-munication... include a series of miniature, precious metal sculptures that reference rings and draw the viewer into the story on a conceptual and intimate level, Rae says.

“My lifelong fascination and study of fairy-tales, folklore, reli-gion, myth and Jungian philosophy is the major influence in my artwork. I believe that in our urge to tell stories we seek to give order and meaning to our lives, explain natural phe-nomena, the complexities of life, (...) the human condition.”

jennifer Bowes is an Alberta-born artist and gradu-ate of the University of Alberta (BFA, 1999; MFA 2003). She has taught at both the U of A and Grande Prairie’s Regional College and currently teaches at Northern Lights College in Dawson Creek.

At the Symposium, Bowes will be covering her works over the last decade, beginning with those related to her masters thesis, in which she argued that a drawing can be made using only texture and shadow, with media other than the usual drawing tools. Her fibre and paper sculptures feature meticulously knotted, knitted, or handsewn work, and speak volumes about the artist’s quiet dedication and resolve.

Her most recent creations have Bowes imposing these rep-etitious techniques onto paper and then removing them. The final product features what has been left behind. “My work tends to be painstaking and labourious,” she explains. Bowes also spent time in the mountains of Field, BC, and in the Italian Alps, where her surroundings sometimes left her feeling overwhelmed. She wanted to capture this sense of awe in her art, which she sees as being both reactive and expressive. Hundreds of hours of small, quiet, repeated gestures produce an artwork whose “silent voice becomes very present,” Bowes says.

Artist and colleague Sarah Alford says Bowes’ decade of teaching has developed an unmatched devotion to both the program she undertakes and the students she prepares. “I’ve never met anyone who works so hard,” Alford remarks. “I would even say the (Northern Lights) College itself may have underestimated Jenn’s ambition.”

Bowes is responsible for initiating a visual culture program aimed at preparing students to critically evaluate their own visual production and the visual environment that surrounds them. Alford says these new courses put Dawson Creek “in line with programs in Canada’s major art colleges and universities.”

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leftDressAshley Lett

centreBatShannon Fennell

rightMoccasinsHazel Robinson

ashley lettAshley Lett, whose ‘Provocouture’ label started eight years ago in Toronto, now operates out of Grande Prairie’s old post office downtown. The designer chose the edgy label name to emphasize her rockabilly flair and sassy, provoca-tive attitude.

In her busy second floor studio, surrounded by racks of clothing, her sewing machine and various designer tools, Lett alters and reconstructs just about any item she feels she can turn into something both flashy and functional. A former white wedding dress has been cut into, leaving a portion of the voluptuously sculpted front higher than its back. A zip-per tidily hidden underneath, allows for an add-on crinoline that will transform the now flashy cocktail number into a still-wild, but fuller, more extravagant evening gown.

In July 2011, Lett launched her first-ever magazine, a hefty, high gloss issue, featuring a wide range of her creations. She christened the periodical’s inaugural printing by hosting her own runway show at the Montrose Cultural Centre. Ten models wore the 60 pieces she had made in an upbeat, lively retrospective of her designs.

“Many local clients, sisters, and friends brought in things I’d made over the years, and there was stuff I had taken off the rack,” Lett explains. Sizes ran from 2 to 18, and reflected a variety of styles, from subtle everyday and evening wear to the more out-there designs and burlesque lingerie.

At the time of this writing, Lett was busily preparing a num-ber of outfits intended for the Centre for Creative Arts’ Wear-able Art show. One was a “crazy corset” made entirely of handmade lace, which Lett had sewn using water soluble stabilizer and multicoloured thread encased in clear vinyl polymer (PVC). Other designs included dresses made of cut taffeta and ribbons, which she’d sewn over creating swirls and spirals. “Who knows how many pieces they’ll let me show, but I’ve got lots!” Letts exclaimed.

Have Art, Will

Wear It!

three of a kind

By jody farrell

Haute couture runway shows have always

been a venue for artistic statement. Not

only is the designer’s clothing something

of a moving artwork, but the hair, makeup

and sometimes outrageous prosthetics

are all choreographed in a lively and inspi-

rational performance. The following three

Grande Prairie residents, whose work is al-

most always wearable, share their passion

for their art form.

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hazel roBinsonAn onlooker sporting a fringed leather vest stops by Ha-zel Robinson’s booth at the annual Métis Conference in the Grande Prairie Inn. She examines Robinson’s beaded flower pendants and moccasins, remarking on her beautiful handi-work. A vendor whose neighbouring booth displays many vests, says “I asked her if she had any (beaded flowers) I could buy, but she did not bring extras. She could sell lots of those.” The woman next door does not do her own bead-work and would add Robinson’s to her vests.

All of Robinson’s work is unique, not only in its quality but because she is responsible for the entire product, including the moose hide she uses in her moccasins and vests. Born in Habay, Northwestern Alberta, and raised in Assumption, this Dene Tha’ First Nations artist learned to clean and tan moose hides from her mother.

The long process, which involves stripping and scraping the hide of all its flesh and hair, then smoking it and hang-ing it to dry, can take up to a month to complete. A quality finished hide can fetch from $1,000 to $1,500. Robinson brings half the hide home to Grande Prairie, where she has lived for the last 20 years, and uses it to make her vests and moccasins, and other wearable goods. She decorates the clothing with her delicate beadwork. It retains the wonderful smokey smell, which Robinson maintains is the toughest part of the tanning process, due to the health risks brought on by smoke inhalation.

“My mother did that part of it,” Robinson says, adding that she passed away just before spring of this year, leaving her daughter to carry on the tradition.

Robinson finds time between two jobs to do the bead-work and make clothing, as well as teach others. One of those students, Annabelle Ouellet, credits Hazel with hav-ing taught her how to bead both by hand and on the loom “Hazel is amazing at it,” Annabel says. “She is so patient with her time.”

shannon fennellThere’s not enough space to list the awards Shannon Fen-nell has won for her costume and makeup designs. Her work won best costume at the United Kingdom Face Paint-ing Convention in 2007, and first place in the Worldwide Face Painting Contest in Belgium in 2006. She also finished second in the United States Body Painting Festival in Albu-querque, New Mexico in 2007 and was named Top Face Painter of the year in another UK competition in 2005.

This sought-after Grande Prairie artist who travels interna-tionally to teach and compete, practices locally as well. She was the lead makeup artist for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the 2010 Arctic Winter Games, and has worked on many Grande Prairie Little Theatre productions.

Fennell spends hours of preparation working out a design, including the exact time it will take to paint specific parts. For the Albuquerque competition, Fennell first worked the detail out on her own knee. The design took her 45 minutes of her allotted six hours. She has done sculpting, drawings, and paintings, and made casts of heads, and templates of many objects, all in aid of her final product.

Fennell also trained in Hollywood and has worked in film. But after nearly two decades in the field, and 15 years as a professional, she’s still most inspired by the temporary, and live, nature of body and face painting.

She contends that “art that has no pulse, and just sits there hanging on a wall” is no match for the live child’s reaction to her newly painted butterfly face.“You’re not alone,” she says of live work. “You’re doing it with somebody. People are oohing and aahing. It’s a real adrenaline rush.”

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artceteratextile d’art

By kim fjordBotten

10032 81 Avenue Edmonton, AB T6E 1W8 1 800 363 0546

www.paintspot.ca info@paintspot.ca Fine art supplies and workshops make great gifts!

Oct 4 - 29

Inspiration 6

Seasons FairviewFine Arts

CentreopeningOctober 4th

at 7pm

Barbara J DaleyMary Mottishaw

Mary ParslowJudy Templeton

Sandy TroudtCindy Vincent

There are as many ways to work on fabric as there are ways to paint, draw, print, collage, and airbrush. Quilters, mixed media and textile artists find fabric painting enjoyable be-cause it’s easy, spontaneous, and whatever you create be-comes a unique item. If you haven’t painted fabric before, these tips can be helpful:

• Got images on your computer and wish to print on fabric? Some textiles come treated with digi-tal primers and are adhered to a paper backing mak-ing them simple to print through an inkjet printer.

• Pre-wash all fabrics before you begin in order to remove the size from the material as size can interfere with the paint moving and bonding to the fabric. Test the paints - use them straight or diluted on some similar scrap mate-rial. Try different mark making and colour combinations until you are comfortable with the paints and the tools. Keep spare fabric handy while working to continue test-ing.

• Read labels carefully. Some paints will not work on syn-thetic fibers and specialty paints are needed for some silk and wool. Acrylics from tubes will stiffen fabric and are more likely to crack; adding a fabric medium will help. Fluid acrylics and textile paints work well on denim, can-vas and heavy cotton, and have great covering ability for coloured fabrics. Working on lightweight fabrics requires thin, watery paints and dyes which flow gracefully through the fabric and mix freely with each other remaining invis-

ible to the touch. Artists should be aware that dyes are translucent and not opaque enough to cover dark co-loured fabrics.

• Controlling free flowing colour is often done with a resist technique using wax, waterbased resists, or Gutta. The re-sist acts as a boundary between colors much like lead in a stained glass window. The paint spreads on the fabric until it reaches the resist lines. The islands of color can be blend-ed, highlighted or accented with other colors. Other tricks to control colour include adding thickeners to the paint or treating the fabric with a preparation called No Flow.

• Some paints are perfect for solar printing. Setacolour can be applied using a large brush. Place stencils or found objects like feathers, ferns and lace and set out in the sun until completely dry. Magically, the shaded areas will turn white while the sun-exposed areas will remain bright. This process creates the appearance of a photo-negative.

• With most fabrics, heat setting the garment is necessary after painting. To fix the image, iron on the reverse side of the decorated fabric for three minutes. Once fixed, the de-signs will resist machine washing and dry cleaning. Caps and shoes can be adequately heat-set in a clothes drier.

Experimentation with fabric art has few limits and is as open as your creativity. Some of the most beautiful fabric cre-ations are happy accidents.

art of the peace 12

JOURNEY

Jim Stokes & Carmen Haakstad

Spring 2012Prairie Art Gallery

Works by

2012

Located in the Montrose Cultural Centre

9839 103 Avenue, Grande Prairie, AB T8V 6M7P: (780) 532-8111 | F: (780) 539-9522 | E: info@prairiegallery.com

For a complete list of exhibitions visit www.prairiegallery.com

The Alberta Foundation for the Arts (AFA) has supported a provincial travelling exhibition program since 1981. The mandate of the AFA Travelling Exhibition Program is to provide every Albertan with the opportunity to enjoy visual art exhibitions in their community.

Three regional galleries and one arts organization coordinate the program for the AFA:Northwest Alberta: The Prairie Art GalleryNortheast and North Central Alberta: Art Gallery of AlbertaSouthwest Alberta: The Alberta Society of ArtistsSoutheast Alberta: Esplanade Arts & Heritage Centre

The Alberta Foundation for the Arts Travelling Exhibition ProgramTREX For the 2011/2012 Travelling Season the

Prairie Art Gallery presents four new Exhibitions:

Evy and Betty: Celebrating our Peace Region Matriarch'sEuphemia McNaught and Evelyn McBryanEuphemia McNaught watercolour on cardn/d from the AFA collection

hole/Whole Kim HuyhnSerial Number 2Chine-colle Lithograph on Paper, 2009

Liberation From Natural FormsRon KostyniukRoad Map Series: Falling IconSprayed Enamel on MDF

EvolveTina MartelPhotograph of reflection of resulting paper Smart Car from the Evolve Project during the Works Festival in Edmonton, 2010Photograph on fabric

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™

For other information and images see www.beaverlodgegallery.com

Peace Country themes and wilderness vistas

780-228-3741

Picture Perfect Grande Prairie

Unique GalleryGrande Prairie

Cultural CentreBeaverlodge

Member of the Federation of Canadian

Artists & the Peace Watercolor Society

PWS

art of the peace 13

Jennifer Bowes

phot

o by

Sar

ah A

lford

art of the peace 14art of the peace 14

As with many Peace Region artists, Bowes is influenced by her physical environment and draws upon memories of her childhood landscape. When not at school, Bowes would escape to the mountains for four months out of the year to work on an organic farm. It was here that she first be-came acquainted with the process of repetition that would define much of her later work. Then: plowing, sowing, plant-

ing, walking, hiking, breathing – now: knotting, knitting, carv-ing, marking, stitching – per-petual movement attempting to achieve, in the artist’s own words, a balance between con-trol and chance.

More recently, Bowes cites travel as being influential to her life and work. After graduating from the University of Alberta

with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Painting and Drawing, Bowes spent a year teaching English in northern Italy in the small town of Sondrio. It was here that Bowes transitioned from figurative art to abstraction, taking a keen interest in textures and printmaking. Amongst the stunning, towering, textural aged wall reliefs and architectural motifs that almost seemed to have voices, Bowes became interested in the fact that, within each work, there exists a duality of both silence and vocality. “I found that trying to find voices within silence was really influential to my work, and trying to bring that into the work where the piece I was making had a voice of its own and didn’t necessarily need me to be there to explain it.”

Perhaps this duality is best illustrated in The Dream of Scipio, one work in a series Bowes completed for her MFA Thesis Exhibition. In a sort of collaboration with the writer, Bowes took a book with hundreds of pages and, using white thread, ran a double stitch over every letter of the book, inflicting an

recognition through repetition By margaret price

For a moment we sit in silence as Jennifer Bowes ruminates on my question.

Undoubtedly, she is asked one like it quite often. After all, when one has produced such abstract and visually stimulat-ing work as Bowes has, others become inquisitive, probing into the landscape of the creative. What are your biggest inspirations and influences? What medium do you gravitate towards? How do you describe your approach to art?

Today, the question is modest, inherent: “Why are you an artist?”

After a few moments of quiet re-flection, Bowes replies, in stan-dard form, with an acute aware-ness of herself and her work and the cognitive processes behind both, her vocal presence at once soft spoken and commanding, deliberate yet effort-less.

“Everyone asks why I do what I do and I answer that I just feel compelled to do it,” she says. “A lot of people say I’m compulsive but that’s not true because I choose to do this. Compulsion is when you don’t choose. I just need to do that repetitive behavior.”

It is this repetition that informs and defines Bowes’ work; work that is most assuredly process-driven. Each gesture, no matter how small, is significant, quietly imbued with re-iteration and slight variation, capturing a moment, thought or silent pause. Through repetition, Bowes reaches a sort of contemplative, trancendental and grounding state; a state of recognition and awareness, a state balancing delicately between two experiences of time, an active moment and an extended period.

knotting, knitting, carving,

marking, stitching – perpetual

movement attempting to achieve, in

the artist’s own words, a Balance

Between control and chance

art of the peace 15

element of illegibility and forcing the viewer to approach the work in a different way. Instead of perceiving the work with our minds, we perceive the work tactually, with our hands. “It’s a book of hundreds of thousands of stitches,” she says. “I was trying to impose silence on the book so that you could put your own thoughts into it because I find when I hold a book, I’m not necessarily interested in the text itself but the presence of the book.” The resulting piece, more than just an amalgamation of meaningless alterations, is a record of the touch and intent of the creator, impregnated with the opinions and emotions with which the material was altered, thus serving as a container for thought. “Even though you couldn’t read the words of the book, the voice was still there and the reference of the book was still there.” Sometimes, through silence, we hear the loudest voice.

Another work illustrating Bowes’ awareness of and rever-ence for stillness is In Silence, a sewn paper piece inspired by her work on the organic farm. As part of her job, Bowes learned how to drive horses, becoming interested in the re-sulting furrows in the soil. In the winter, Bowes would replicate those furrows by skiing paral-lel lines into the field and she responded to her environment by bringing those lines back into the studio. “In the morning I would ski in the field and in the afternoon I would come back and fold the paper and sew it, so it was always this back and forth between the landscape and the work,” she says. “I was trying to respond to the silence I was capturing and then trying to bring it right back to the work.”

A work Bowes completed for the 2007 Alberta Biennial, Suspended sees Bowes perform a number of transforma-tive labor techniques to impart a subtractive and reconfig-ured aesthetic to her work. Again taking inspiration from her

environment in the form of an oriole’s nest she found dur-ing a walk, Bowes adhered to her repetitive processes to create a contemplative environment through which one can experience a profoundly different connection to an object. “For me, using repetition, and sewing and knitting the paper was kind of like creating a home for my thoughts, so the shape of a nest was fitting.” A piece two years in the mak-ing, Bowes meticulously cut each line of text out of a book, ran the disjointed strips of text through a sewing machine and knit the shreds back together, creating what looks to be a large, interconnected, albeit slightly abstracted, finely-woven knit garment. “I wanted to create a piece that, when you stood far away from it, looked like a cohesive object and when you got closer, it fell apart and started to look like it was unraveling. So you have two experiences of the same object, and you yourself become suspended between those two perceptions of the piece, so you have to figure out how you feel about it.” Bowes forces the viewer to come to terms

with the appearance of a work of art juxtaposed with its actual meaning by presenting a coherent shape composed of small, quiet gestures. In Suspended, Bowes’ subtle gestures alter the physicality of the object in question, and what remains is a devotional record of the gentle interac-tion between creator and ob-ject, and by extension the in-teraction between object and

viewer. “I read the book every time I manipulated it, so the process is kind of honoring the book, taking it apart and then putting it back together.”

After Suspended, Bowes returned to the comfort of figu-rative art and portraiture for a brief period of time, yet still never deviated from repetition. Taking inspiration from an Italian window shutter with handles depicting a man’s and woman’s face meant to represent Janus, the Roman god

left In Silence - detail centre Suspended - detail right Suspended

“i wanted to create a piece that, when

you stood far away from it, looked

like a cohesive oBject and when you

got closer, it fell apart and started

to look like it was unraveling.”

art of the peace 16

who looks forward and backward into the future and past, Bowes set off on a project to complete 200 carved por-celain double-sided heads, entitled Head Project. “I really was interested in how closely the faces looked to my other work when you looked at them from a distance,” she says. “They’re still dealing with repetition but with repetition you have variation, and at the same time they were very quiet, responding with this silent voice. So the same thread ran through this piece even though my work isn’t dealing with a stitch any more, it’s dealing with faces.”

Of late, Bowes has explored the relationship between labour and destruction, and the resulting humility. In her In Silence Companion Piece, Bowes approaches the material in the same way, attempting to alter its physicality by folding and sewing the paper. However, she takes the process one step further by cutting all the stitches away, framing the piece of paper so viewers can see not only her initial alterations, but the absence of the marks she’s inflicted upon the paper. “I think this piece was influenced by when I was trying to ski the parallel lines into the field,” she says. “It’s so windy up here that all those lines kept getting blown in and I was really frustrated. But there is something really beautiful about that, too, and I thought that I needed to capture that humility on paper. What if I destroy my labor, and what kind of voice is left behind?”

For Bowes, a work is never really finished until the seem-

ingly arbitrary duality between silence and vocality is real-ized. “The piece tells me when it’s done,” she says. “Making a piece is like having a child. There’s a certain point where the child starts to talk back and have its own voice, and I feel it’s the same way when you’re making work. When the work starts to speak for itself, then you have to back away and try to figure out what it’s saying.”

As an artist, one can impart vocality to a certain extent, achieve recognition through repetition, but only once a piece has realized vocality can one respond, in silence and humility. “I think as an artist, as a teacher, as a student, you always have to be willing to venture in the part that is un-known,” she says. “I think it’s more important in the process not to know how it’s going to end, for the work to have its own voice, and I think for me, the more I step back and let that work become its own, the better. Allowing humility to filter in and determine what the work is going to be like is really important to me.”

left Head Project

Bottom right In Silence companion piece detail

top right ski tracksInspiration for In Silence

art of the peace 17

When Jennifer Bowes stepped into her role as head of the Visual and Graphic Communication Arts program at the Dawson Creek Campus of Northern Lights College, she had some relatively big shoes to fill. Serving as the successor to renowned artist Laine Dahlen, who held the position for more than three decades, Bowes began work at the college in 2009, and has already made a noticeable impact on the program.

And it’s no wonder, as she comes carrying an impressive range of experience and achievements. Bowes received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting and Drawing in 1999 and a Masters of Fine Arts in Drawing in 2003, both from the Uni-versity of Alberta. As an artist, she has participated in nearly 20 exhibitions, and has been featured in more than a dozen publications. At the college, she draws upon her years of experience as an instructor at Grande Prairie Regional Col-lege and the University of Alberta, and appreciates the flex-ibility of working at a smaller institution. “At NLC, I’m able to take all the problems I’ve experienced in ten years and all the strong points from working at different institutions, and put them together,” she says.

As part of the one year foundational program, Bowes em-phasizes the fundamentals of drawing and painting and ex-pounds upon real-world skills such as preparing grant and show applications, portfolio development and networking. “Students should be able to go into a second year program knowing how to make a frame for a painting, knowing what all their tools do, knowing their pencils, brushes, everything,” she says. “I try to give the students as many approaches as possible.”

In terms of courses, Bowes has introduced Sculpture as well as Visual Culture, a course that explores the significance and social context behind why a piece was created rather than focusing on the memorization of dates and facts. She is working on a second year program with the intent of add-ing advanced painting and printmaking to the mix, and is creating new transfer agreements so students may transfer easily into other post-secondary institutions. Additionally, she is hoping to incorporate more graphic design-focused courses into the program curriculum.

But more than just teaching a curriculum, Bowes is illustrat-ing a philosophy. “I really think that art is about discipline but also humility,” she says. “You have to be willing to make mistakes because if you don’t ever try to make a mistake, you’re never going to put yourself in a situation where you have to fix it, so I try to get students comfortable enough that they’re willing to face humility. Your success is how you rise above failure.”

Jennifer Bowesillustrating a philosophy

By margaret price

art of the peace 18

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Original Works by Local Artists

Lower Level,QEII Hospital10409 98 StreetGrande Prairie, AB

Exhibition opportunities available by contacting Carrie at 780-830-4855

Louise Lissoway

McNaughtHomestead Heritage

Angie Patterson

For all program and event information call 780.512.6316 or go to: www.mcnaught-homestead-heritage.com

Peace River Museum, Archives and Mackenzie Centre780-624-4261 | 10302- 99 Street, Peace River, Alberta T8S 1K1

www.peacerivermuseum.com | museum@peaceriver.net

Explore our rich archival collection

REMINISCINGTHROUGH PHOTOGRAPHS

CALLING ALL ARTISTS!

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Be listed in the online Art of the Peace Artist Directory with your bio and an image of your artwork. Plus get a membership in Art of the Peace with all its benefits for only $35/year.

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art of the peace 19

In a world that favours mass production for mass consump-tion, one name has come to stand for the handcrafted, handmade, and unique.

Etsy.com is an e-commerce website that sells art, crafts, and vintage items as well as art and craft supplies. The site launched in June of 2005 and has rapidly grown to become a $300 million a year business, with sellers happy to take advantage of its low setup fees and access to the global marketplace, and buyers attracted to the unique, one-of-a-kind items they can find on the site. Etsy also prides itself on community, striving to create a connection between the buyers who visit the site and the sellers who create and list items. Sellers create a shop name and a profile with a little bit about themselves, a feature of the site that highlights the real people behind the products.

It’s a plan that seems to be working, with Etsy announcing in December of 2010 that the site had reached seven mil-lion registered users. The site is so popular that it has even spawned a satire site, Regretsy, where users post pictures of some of the more off-the-wall items that can be found an Etsy – ironically, creating more exposure and boosting sales for the very Etsy listings Regretsy mocks.

So far, however, only a few Peace Country artists and craft-ers have taken advantage of Etsy’s popularity. Rachel Wat-son sells handmade soaps and other items through her Etsy store Stitch N Spoon, and made a presentation at the Peace Country Cultural Industry Coalition’s last quarterly

top leftHandmade Snowman Thinking About SnowSheila Brent

top rightPeppermint Chocolate Organic SoapRachel Watson

centreLilacJenn Duguay

Etsy.comtaking local art to a

gloBal market

By susan thompson

left Lac BoisvertJenn Duguay

art of the peace 20

meeting encouraging other artists to do the same. Although she is based in Peace River, her Etsy store has helped her take her natural, sustainable, organic products to the world.

“A very small percentage of my sales are from Etsy, how-ever, the worldwide reach of the Etsy website has allowed me to send my products all over Europe, Australia and America. Oddly I’ve made more sales to Hong Kong and Italy than Canada on Etsy!” Watson explains.

Sheila Brent, another Etsy seller based in the Peace who makes and sells snowman-themed ornaments and decora-tions through her shop SnowmanCollector, feels that Etsy should actually be more popular in less populated, more isolated regions like the Peace. “Etsy is especially helpful for those of us in rural areas where it might be difficult to find venues to be seen. Etsy is seen by the whole world. I have sold items all across the United States and even as far as Australia! This is an excellent opportunity to bring your items to a market that is looking for handcrafted, unique things with very little risk involved. Although I still sell at local shows, it is very exciting to sell on Etsy and see your things go to far off destinations.”

Brent’s Etsy profile lists her favourite materials as “soft fabrics, greenery, [and] rusty items” and her inspiration as “primitive country style.”

Etsy charges a listing fee of 20 cents for each item, and takes 3.5 per cent of every sale. That low start-up cost, with a popular web presence and e-commerce sales tools already provided, can make the site very attractive to small or new sellers. On average most Etsy sellers tend to be college-educated women, and most sales are around $20, although far more expensive items are not uncommon on the site either.

“I’m not sure why more people here don’t use Etsy. I’m not sure if they are simply unfamiliar with it or are under the impression that it is difficult,” Brent says. “That impression is totally untrue. Etsy has a lot of information guides out there to help computer challenged people such as myself. People seem comfortable with online shopping so I don’t know why more don’t use it as a selling venue themselves.”In fact, it’s not at all unusual for Etsy shoppers to later be-come sellers. That’s what happened to Peace Country pho-tographer Jenn Duguay, a natural light photographer who loves capturing landscapes, plants, and animals.

“I was originally part of Etsy as a buyer. The site drew me in because I have an affinity for art and handmade goods,” Duguay says.

Duguay’s Etsy store has become the main vehicle for sell-ing her fine art prints, allowing her to sell her work across Canada, as far away as the East Coast.

“Everyone involved in the site (from the people behind the scenes at Etsy to buyers, sellers, and teams) helps foster a positive and supportive atmosphere. People are quick to share information about making a successful Etsy business. Shop owners are always promoting other shops. There is such a strong sense of community.”

Watson agrees that the experience of being an Etsy seller is part of what makes it valuable to her as an artist. “The unique thing about Etsy, compared to other online retail sites, is that there are many ways to use the site and how you choose to spend your time there. Each vendor’s ad-venture and what they gain from their input is a completely original experience.”

From her own experience, Watson says there are four im-portant things to be mindful of as an Etsian: 1) Networking is time consuming but will increase

your sales. 2) Photos must be competitive and compelling. As

people cannot “touch” your items, you will have to satisfy their senses through pictures.

3) Tell a story. Let people know the passion behind the product. Descriptions must draw people in and explain not only the fundamentals, but also the romance behind the creation.

4) Be unique. Have a cohesive business image from your banner to your photos and how you pack-age your product. Unwrapping a parcel is an im-portant part of a customer’s purchasing experi-ence.

Duguay says that other features of the site can also help boost sales. For example, Etsy regularly features a collec-tion of new items on its main page.

“If you are an artist in the Peace Country, you should look into selling your art on Etsy,” says Duguay. “Research what the site has to offer and see if it is the right fit for you and your work. It is a great way to broaden your market and spread the word about your art.”

art of the peace 21

Art clubs are about more than formal structure and seeking grants. They can also offer their members something less tangible but often even more important - encouragement.

Jane Kelly had almost given up on her watercolour land-scape paintings before joining the Tumbler Ridge Art Club. “I was new to town here in 2009,” Kelly explained when I spoke with her this summer. “I just noticed down at our local rec centre that the club met on Fridays, so I went.”

As Kelly found, the Tumbler Ridge Art Club doesn’t have a formal structure with officers or a hierarchy. Instead, it was and remains simply a group of artists who get together to create and talk about creating.

“The club is centred around encouragement and support. We might get together and paint in someone’s backyard for example,” Kelly said. That loose organization, with a drop-in fee but no formal board, has helped the artists involved feel free to pursue their artis-tic aspirations without the added commitment and pressure of volunteer work.

“We are all busy people. We really wanted to focus on the group working for us, rather than us working for the group.”

Yet simply getting to know other artists and sharing pro-cesses and ideas has helped Kelly take her art seriously and pursue opportunities she might otherwise never have attempted. Since joining the club, the artist has complet-ed some 50 watercolour paintings, using the landscapes around Tumbler Ridge as inspiration.

In May, both she and fellow club member Darcy Jackson were accepted into the Federation of Canadian Artists (FCA).

“Without the support of the group I wouldn’t have made the leap to apply to the Federation. We helped each other with our portfolios,” Kelly said. Her membership in the Federation now entitles her to submit her work to juried art shows, and

is helping to introduce Kelly to the larger art community in Canada. Kelly has also shown her work in her first art show, the Life’s Mosaics show Au-gust 16th – September 10th at the Dawson Creek Art Gal-lery, again, thanks to the sup-port and encouragement of the club.

“We share marketing ideas. We share inspirations and techniques. I also find if I can share some of the techniques I use, it helps, because it helps you think it through more when you have to explain to

someone else, and makes you more conscious of what you’re doing.”

“I find being a part of a group like that is really important.”“For me, it’s been a jumping off point.”

For more information about the Tumbler Ridge Art Club or to join, contact Darcy Jackson at 1-250-242-5200 or dar-lorjac@yahoo.ca

Correction: Art of the Peace would like to apologize to the Beaverlodge Art Society which we mistakenly referred to as the Beaverlodge Area Cultural Society in Assemblage, Spring 2011.

assemblagetumBler ridge art cluB

By susan thompson

Gift Shopwatercolours,

local pottery,

knitwear, Calvin

Cornish prints,

dichroic glass,

jewellery, quilted

and hand

woven items

Monthly Gallery Exhibits

Fall Courses• pottery/glazing

• oil & acrylic painting

• watercolour

• jewellery

• paper arts

• quilting

• batik & encaustics

• genealogy

• face painting

• “Seasons” Show & Sale by Inspiration 6• Art of Calvin Cornish Show & Sale• Members Christmas Show & Sale

780-835-2697www.fairviewfinearts.com

• Art & Supplies Silent Auction• Bag Ladies• Joy Cook McKay Show & Sale

art of the peace 22

art books in reviewBy wendy stefansson

Tel: (250) 782-2601 www.dcartgallery.ca

101 - 816 Alaska Ave, Dawson Creek, BC V1G 4T6

Artists Run Centre | 13 Exhibits Per Year | Art Rental Education Programs | By Donation | Year Round | Gift Shop

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Custom Picture Framing

art into fashion by Roberto Capucci

In the hands of Italian fashion-designer-turned-sculptor Roberto Capucci, a dress is not so much a garment as an elaboration upon the female form. Taking the dress as a starting point, he extends it, expands it, makes it some-thing more. Makes it express a hummingbird’s wingbeats. Makes it unfold like a budding rose. Makes it radiate like ripples in a pond.

His dresses are fashion science fiction, going boldly where no dress has gone before. They are Op Art; they are Abstract Expressionism; they are Surreal. They are the objects Dale Chihuly would make if his medium were silk taffeta instead of glass. Referencing the forms of art, archi-tecture, and musical instruments – but also and overarch-ingly the forms of nature – Capucci’s dresses contain the whole world and yet somehow exceed it.

Having achieved international renown in the world of high fashion during the 1950s, 60s and 70s, Capucci turned his back on actual dresses and began to create what he called “dress sculptures” in the early 1980s. No longer wearable in any meaningful sense, these “dresses” were works of art that employed the forms, materials, tech-niques and craftsmanship of dressmaking. Weaving, bead-work, and incredibly complex sewing and pleating turned miles of richly coloured silk into sinuous, undulating art.

Sumptuous and resplendent, Capucci’s dresses are a celebration of life in which more is clearly more.

The Douglas Udell GalleryVancouver, BC

October 2011

604.736.8900

A Series of Wildfire Paintings

Robert Guest

202 pages with illustrations

art of the peace 23

2011 marked the third year Grande Prairie participated in Alberta Arts Days. Winding down this year’s festival on October 1st, the Centre for Creative Arts

hosted its highly anticipated second annual Wearable Arts Show. By popular demand, they held it twice in one night.

This hugely popular, high-energy exhibition encourages local artists and on-lookers to explore our relationships with art, fashion, identity, and culture. On

the dramatically lit catwalk, clothing becomes a tool for expression and a dynamic piece of art. Using the body as a canvas, it conveys a message,

an emotion, or a concept. It compels us to stop and wonder.

It is this sense of marvel that Lori Kolacz hopes she instilled with her fabric-free piece, Beweave it or Not, a short, retro-styled dress

woven entirely from over 140 pastel blue and pearly white latex balloons.

Through “twisting”, the art of balloon sculpting, Kolacz satisfies her desire to share joy, laughter, and beauty in every day and to celebrate the transitory quality of life. “In that way,” she explains, “balloons aren’t just for kids.”

A large but often under-appreciated aspect of twisting is the inherently short lifespan of each sculpture. Kolacz’s

dress, for example, took six hours to make on the morning of the event to ensure it looked “fresh” for its runway debut. By the

next morning, the dress was a deflated shadow of its former self. At once fun, whimsical, and light, Kolacz’s “pop art” Beweave it or Not subtly

and generously reminds us to savour every moment.

Trying on Wearable Art at The CentreBy sarah harwood

phot

o by

Kire

n N

iki S

angr

a

art of the peace 24

Some artists presented in the show use things we look at every day but don’t see as fashion. With her post-apocalyptic inspired hoop skirt and bikini called Silicon Beach, artist Skylin Herba takes this one step further by making her outfit of used circuit boards - objects that we not only don’t see as fashion, but that we typically don’t see at all.

Bringing awareness to planned obsolescence and e-waste is a predominant goal Herba explores in this outfit. “Parts of it were created by tearing apart an iBook,” she shares, “I spent so much money on it just a few years ago!” Bits of old DVD players, ceiling hardware, aluminum tape, and coated tele-phone wire are also built into this piece.

“It’s not that I want to villainize technology...” Herba continues, “It just makes sense to prioritize our purchases; to not stress so much about having the newest thing out there. Treat what you have well, and try to give it a second life.”

One of the most striking contrasts between conventional fashion and wearable art is the way each acts as an extension of self. Alex, a founder of the highly successful online blog, Fashionartisan, says “You cannot talk about fashion without relating it to the kind of life a person lives.” Wearable art, how-ever, pays no heed to the demands of day to day life. Its cur-rency isn’t determined by brand name or functionality, but a higher level of creative freedom that stimulates our fantasies, fears, and curiosity.

For Niki Sangra, the visionary behind bringing a wearable art event to the centre, this sense of diversity and inclusiveness is what compels her to create wearable art. She draws compar-isons between the event and Halloween “where everyone’s given permission to be who they want.”

Reminiscent of a costume worn to a masquerade ball, Sangra’s creation, Cloaked in Midnight, shrouds the wearer in a surprisingly heavy black cape covered in rows upon rows of rustling, hand-made fabric feathers. A simple, form fitting dress in the same colour is worn underneath. Sangra spent months silversmithing an intricate bird-like mask and a glim-mering layered necklace that add a magical and mysterious air to her piece. “Contrasting a more static art like painting,” she explains, “wearable art changes every time you move. It lets what’s inside come out... You have to move to it.”

Few genres can cross and mix so much content with such intrigue and accessibility as wearable art. It shows what popu-lar fashion typically ignores: Beauty has no one-dimensional standard.

If you have any questions about wearable art or about how you can get involved with the show next year, contact the Centre for Creative Arts at 780-814-6080 or info@creative-centre.ca. You can also view video footage of the event at creativecentre.ca.

left Beweave It or Not - Lori Kolacz centre Cloaked in Midnight - Niki Sangra right Silicon Beach - Skylin Herba

phot

o by

Lau

ra O

’Con

ner,

Sar

ah K

halla

d

phot

o by

Luk

as H

erba

art of the peace 25

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art of the peace 26

a gallery of

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artists

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

Marj TaylorPainting the inner landscape

780-532-7562 | mshilka@telusplanet.net | Grande Prairie

Marian Jacoba ShilkaSa

gmei

ster

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780-494-3410 | ecoristine@hotmail.comEileenCoristine

Suzanne

780-568-4124 art@suzannesandboe.comwww.suzannesandboe.com

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oil | ceramic acrylic | watercolour

Dan

780.518.6790 d.wourms@telus.net

Wourms

PWS/CSPWC

Exhibits with the Grande Prairie Guild of Artists and the Peace

Watercolor Society

780-539-4046

780-933-6030www.vickihotte.com

Vicki

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

& Unique Gallery

Hotte

art of the peace 27

Call to ArtistsInspired by TravelJune 9 – July 16The Leighton Centre is inviting Alberta artists working in all mediums to submit to a special exhibition showcasing artwork that was created as a result of travel outside Canada. You may have been inspired by the great architecture in Europe, fascinated by Antarctica or simply spotted an interesting face in the crowd in Asia – we are looking for images that have captured your artistic imagination while travelling the world! Artists may submit 3 images in any media or style. Deadline for submissions March 1, 2012. Please download submission forms and guidelines at www.leightoncentre.org. Questions? Contact Exhibitions Coordinator Karin Richter at karinrichter@shaw.ca; 403-272-1471.

Beaverlodgecultural centre

Exhibits & EvEntsBeaverlodge Art Society Miniature Show & SaleSeptember 25th – October 20

Clara Foshaug Show & SaleOctober 23rd – November 17th

Grant Berg Show & Sale

November 20th – December 22nd

ProgramsBeyond Auto - Digital SLR Photography Workshop with Vivian FarnsworthOctober 8th, 10am – 4pm(Bring your camera manual)Cost: $50/student

Opening the Door to Colour & Light - Watercolour Workshopwith Marian Jacoba-ShilkaOctober 8th, 10am – 4pmCost: $75/student

Hair Pieces to Hatswith Ashley Lett October 18th, 7 – 10pmCost: $20/student

Learn to Weavewith Lynne BrownCost: $120/student Wednesdays, 7 – 10pmStarting October 19th

A Pottery Partywith Darlene DautelTuesdays, 7 – 10pmStarting October 25thCost: $120/student (all supplies included)

Needle Felting - Animalwith Aleeta Haas October 29th, 10am – 4pmCost: $45/student

Still Life and Beyond - Drawing Workshopwith Dan Arberry October 29th & 30th10am – 4pmCost: $100/student

It’s All About People - Digital SLR Photographywith Vivian FarnsworthNovember 5th, 10am – 4pmCost: $50/student

Encaustic Workshopwith Wendy Olson-LepchukNovember 12th, 1 – 3pmCost: $25/student

Oil Painting - Beginnerwith Janet EnfieldNovember 12th & 13th10am – 4pmCost: $100/student

Beginner Stained Glasswith Jan OlsonNovember 19th & 20th11am – 4pmCost: $125/student

The Painterly Printwith Mary ParslowNovember 26th, 10am – 4pmCost: $75/student

Batik Basicswith Darlene DautelDecember 3rd, 10am – 4pmCost: $75/student

Hot Glass Ornamentswith Wendy Olson-LepchukDecember 3rd, 1 – 3pmCost: $25/student

Big, Big and Biggerwith Patricia PetersDecember 3rd, 10am – 4pmCost: TBD

Call 780-354-3600 for more info or visit BeaverlodgeGallery.com.

oPPortunitiEsGallery exhibition and gift shop sales opportunities are available. Call 780-354-3600 for info.

mcnaught homestead

oPPortunitiEsThe Schoolhouse Studio is available for retreats, classroom, gallery or meetings. For info call 780-512-6316 or visit McNaught-Homestead-Heritage.com

dawson creek art gallery

Exhibits & EvEntsJust BreatheCarrie KlukasSeptember 13th – October 8th

Art of the Peace ExhibitArt of the Peace Member ArtistsOctober 11th – November 5th

South Peace Art Society Annual Christmas Show and Gift FairSouth Peace Art Society MembersNovember 12th – January

Christy Burres and Tina MartelJanuary 9th – February 4th

David ThiessenFebruary 6th – March 3rd

Dan Arberry and Ron KostyniukMarch 5th – 24th

Exploring ArtMarch 26th – April 21st

Mixed Media from School District 59April 23rd – May 12th

Peace Liard Juried Art ShowMay 14th – June 10th

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

fairview fine arts centre

Exhibits & EvEntsSeasons Show & Sale Inspiration 6October

Constance Davidson Show and Sale November

Members’ Christmas Show and Sale December

Art and Supplies Silent Auction January

Bag Ladies February

Joy Cook McKay Show and Sale March

ProgramsPhone the Centre at 780-835-2697, email finearts@telus.net or visit FairviewFinearts.com

fort st. john community arts council

ProgramsFor more information on Fort St. John opportunities, call 250-787-2781 or visit FSJArts.org

north peace cultural centre

Exhibits & EvEntsIt’s a WrapThe North Peace Spinners and Weavers GuildOctober 7th – 30th

Magical Christmas MarketNovember 13th – December 24thArt of the Peace Travelling ShowJanuary 20th – February 3rd

Chocolate FestivalFebruary 11th

Annual Art AuctionApril 28th

grande cache tourism & interpretive centre

Exhibits & EvEntsExhibiting the Palette Pals Art Club and local art year round. Check out GrandeCache.ca for more info.

centre for creative arts

Exhibits & EvEntsThe Peace Watercolor Society 35th Anniversary RetrospectiveOctober 7th – 28th

Beaverlodge, AB

Dawson Creek, BC

Fairview, ABGrande Prairie, AB

check out www.artofthepeace.ca for more details, locations and hours

Exhibitions Opportunities+

Fort St. John, BC

Grande Cache, AB

art of the peace 28

Conversations With The LandPatricia PetersNovember 4th – 25th

CFCA Christmas Show & SaleDecember 2nd – 16th

CFCA Student ShowJanuary 6th – 27th

Dreams Do Not Come With TitlesKen HousegoFebruary 3rd – 24th

Art of the Peace Traveling ShowKen HousegoMarch 2nd – 30th

Retro IntroNeil KolaczApril 9th – 27th

Programs The Centre has classes for everyone! Check out our website, CreativeCentre.ca or call 780-814-6080.

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

grande prairie museum

Exhibits & EvEnts50th Anniversary ExhibitRodacker/Campbell Gallery

Lantern ToursOctober 21st and 22nd

Old Fashioned ChristmasDecember 11th

ProgramsTours and school programming available phone 780-532-5482.

grande prairie regional college Exhibits & EvEnts

Exhibits throughout the year in the Glass Gallery.

prairie art galleryThe Prairie Art Gallery is expand-ing. Construction is currently un-derway to connect to our current location in the Montrose Cultural Centre.

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

Qeii hospital,the courtyard gallery

Exhibits & EvEntsGALLERYGuild of ArtistsSeptember & October Angie PattersonNovember & December

GPRC Fine Art StudentsJanuary

Tina MartelFebruary SHOWCASESTodd SchaberOctober & November

oPPortunitiEs for artistsFestival of Trees Art Market is looking for any artists or artisans that wish to take part in this years festival running from November 17-20. Please call Carrie Klukas at 780-830-4855.

uniQue gallery

oPPortunitiEsOpportunities for exhibitions. Call Dan at 780-538-2790.

high prairie & district museum

oPPortunitiEsIf you are interested in showing your work at the High Prairie & District Musuem please call 780-523-2601.

peace river museum

Exhibits & EvEntsCabinets of CuriositiesMarch – December

Artists of the PeaceArt wall rotates on a monthly basis

High Prairie AB

Peace River, AB

art of the peace 29

Candace Gunsolley

I was influenced immeasurably by my upbringing in several countries. This played a large role in my ability to creatively translate into my sculptures and mixed media paintings. I would say with my diverse experiences living in some of these countries affected me by the different cultures, ar-chitecture, landscapes, religious and political values each country presented. I started my artistic career as a Stylist, and was able to visually transform my clients through color and sculpting the hair. I find this added influence and practi-cal skills to me as an artist. While abroad I was involved in dance and Gymnastics, which put me in the market as a professional clown. I think this is the reason I’m drawn to the body and bizarre costume making. I feel a great need to express myself using many mediums and a variety of experimental techniques. I have a great at-tachment to a feminist point of view, as many of my projects take a feminine quality whether I use paint, paper, hair, re-usable objects or wearable art. I would like to say that I’m willing to experiment with any medium and push the limits to transform that medium by ways of burning, chemical ma-nipulation, and any new method I find through research. I have a desire to learn new forms of artistic transformations. I would like to travel and work with other artists in other countries, be mentored and in turn bring my knowledge to others.

I was inspired to produce my Multi-layered Girlfriend sculp-ture for my love of my friends and the many trials and tribula-tions we share. I created her from a paper cast and attached pleated paper strategically throughout this sculpture. I enjoy using found objects, recycling easily forgotten materials. I’m especially fond of paper and use it in many of my painting and sculpture projects.

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art peaceofthe

> Networking > Learning > Exhibiting

LOOKING FORWARD

2012 ART OF THE PEACE” Travelling Exhibition > North Peace Cultural Centre

January 20 - February 3

> Centre for Creative Arts March 2 - 30

> Peace River Library Gallery May

> Grande Cache Tourism Centre July 18th - August 9th

GREAT EXHIBITION OPPORTUNITY

2012 Dream Home > Showcasing artwork to thousands of visitors

> In celebration of the City of

Grande Prairie’s 100th Anniversary

View an amazing selection of artwork at communities throughout the Peace

Country and beyond.

2014 Art of the Peace Juried Art Show

artofthepeace.ca

Opening in 2012

#103, 9839 103 Avenue, Grande Prairie, AB T8V 6M7

P: (780) 532-8111 | F: (780) 539-9522 | E: info@prairiegallery.com

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