art of the Peace | Issue #5

art of the peace 1

3rd ANNUAL ARTS SYMPOSIUM

ARTISTS as teachers

EDNA MCPHAIL:Inspiring Spirit


ARTISTS as teachers

EDNA MCPHAIL:Inspiring Spirit

A Publication for the Visual ArtsFall / Winter 2005 Issue 5

of the Peace

www.artofthepeace.ca


ARTISTS as teachers

Inspiring Spirit

art of the peace 2art of the peace 2

Room6

Congratulations to Art of the Peace for your wonderful initiative in the publishing of these

excellent magazines.

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contents

Editor: Jody FarrellEditorial Commitee: Karen Longmate, Dale Syrota, Carrie KlukasDesign, Layout & Advertising: Image Design Contributors: Jody Farrell, Sarah Alford, Brenda MansfieldPublisher: Art of the Peace Visual Arts Assoc.,

c/o The Prairie Art Gallery, 10209 99 St., Grande Prairie, AB, T8V 2H3; Ph: (780) 532-8111; [email protected]

Printing: Menzies Printers

Cover: Edna McPhail at home with her painting Persistent Poppies

©All rights reserved Art of the Peace 2005Reproduction 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 re-sponsible for any consequences arising from errors or omissions.

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

City of Grande Prairie Arts Development Fund Peace Country Canada

art out there... 4

PRAIRIE NORTH review 8

the artbox 9

the BUSINESS of art 10

SYMPOSIUM speakers 12

EDNA MCPHAIL: inspiring spirit 14

ARTISTS as teachers 18

artists directory 19 where it’s all at 22 education & opportunities 24 Enduring Moment 26 26

A Toast to Art Teachers

Devoting an issue to art education seemed a

logical plan for a magazine that wants to raise the pro-file of the arts. There were many arts teachers to write about, and a wide range of programs andservices through which to explore and advance our own arts knowledge. We re-alized soon enough that this will not be our last foray into helping people lead fuller lives through learning art.

For our teacher profiles, we sought those who had not only taught but practised art, and who had influenced students in different areas of the Peace. We found these people to be enormously humble: Each suggested we choose someone else, who, in their mind had had a wider influence, and was, if not a better artist, a more worthy teacher specimen.

Yet, there are still elemen-tary, junior and high schools where arts instruction is not available, despite a con-certed effort on behalf of parents, and the availability of outside programs offered through non-profit arts orga-nizations.

With ever-growing evidence of the need for developing the part of the brain that houses creative thinking, arts programs continue to struggle for recognition in many of our schools. Hiring teachers who actually have fine arts backgrounds to teach art is very important in addressing the issue.

Arts educators everywhere, this issue salutes you.

Jody Farrell, editorart of the peace 3

art out there...

“Prairie Finds” Exhibition

Manning artist Charity Dakin featured eight of her works in Edmonton’s Agricom during its annual Klondike Days fes-

tivities. About 20 artists were part of the Prairie Finds exhibition in July. The show, which depicted rural scenes, was curated by Phil Alain. Also on show was the Alberta-Saskatchewan centen-nial mural mosaic Buffalo Twins featuring 336 paintings, many rendered by Peace Region artists. The mural can be viewed online at www.muralmosaic.com.

Sweetwater 9/05

Rolla, BC, artist Emilie Mattson and her family re-

cently hosted some 200 guests at an arts event dubbed Sweet-water 9/05, in honour of their acreage street name and the date of the show. Emilie and artist sons Dean and Karl. along with other Dawson Creek area artists featured works in what became a multi-faceted celebra-tion including music and song. Karl’s wife Inge-Jean also in-cluded written impressions of the couple’s recent canoe trip from Rolla to the Arctic.

In Memoriam

The Palette Pals Art Club in Grande Cache dedicated its

June exhibition to the memory of Esson Gale, a beloved and respected resident artist and lifetime honorary member of the group who passed away last March. The exhibition space in the Grande Cache Tourism Centre will be named after Gale, who had taught oil and acrylic painting for many years. In July, The Palette Pals won first place in the area’s Canada Day Centennial Celebration pa-rade.

On the Road with Art

The Peace Region’s art community was the focus of a recent road trip organized by the Prairie Gallery. On the Road with Art, a tour which took place on June 11, 2005, was an exploration of

the diversity and skill of the artists working in the region. Exhibits, demonstrations and open studio visits were included in the tour, allowing participants the opportunity to view first hand some of the processes involved in the creation of the artists’ work. Raku firing, printmaking, photography, metal sculpture and painting were among the disciplines showcased on the tour through Fairview, Whitelaw, and Peace River.

Charity Dakin, Fairview Sky

Dean Mattson, Untitled - Acrylic on canvas

Kristine McGuinty, So as in autumn - Acrylic on canvas

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McNaught Celebrated

Preparations for The Prairie Art Gallery’s third annual Mc-Naught Celebration arts festival were almost as fun as the

July weekend event itself. A plein air paint-a-chair saw a number of practising and newly initiated artists meet at Bob and Eleanor Andrews’ acreage west of Dimsdale in June, to artfully dress a series of adirondack-style resin chairs. These, as well as amazing, original chair designs were assembled on Main Street through-out the arts festival, whose logo this year was “Come Sit With Art.” An estimated 10,000 people visited the downtown during the combined arts program and Street Performers Festival. They were able to dabble in a bit of painting, pottery, and collage, while watching the likes of ceramicist Bibi Clement and other artists do their thing.

Multi Media Exhibition

Grande Prairie Regional College fine arts instruc -

tor Ian Forbes’ recent exhibi-tion at Fringe Gallery in Old Strathcona, Edmonton, com-bined multi media installation with storytelling. Forbes’ initial inspirations for the exhibition Morbid Anatomy - one being an image involving a drowned girl emerging from a wheatfield - were disturbing enough to warrant something that helped “remove them from reality.” He purchased a few old pho-tos from a Grande Prairie sec-ondhand store and developed a fictional scenario around a poet he named “William T. Mor-ris.” In an interview with Ed-monton Journal writer Gilbert Bouchard, Forbes explains: “I’m looking ultimately at how fiction makes truth more palat -able and how important story-telling is for all of us as human beings...” The website portion of the work is still available at http://homepage.mac.com/bol-undin/menu1.html. Go to Mor-bid Anatomy.

TREX

A popular visual arts program is organizing a northern

Peace tour of some work of the Grande Prairie Public School District’s teacher artists. The Alberta Foundation for the Arts travelling exhibition program (TREX) sends original artwork out to the remote parts of the province. Its Peace Region co-ordinator Sue Millar, of The Prairie Art Gallery, is working with Grande Prairie Composite High School art instructor and artist Steve Burger to curate a show of selected works from teacher artists in the Grande Prairie Public School District #2357. This Teachers as Artists exhibition debuts at The Prairie Art Gallery in September 2006, and will include both artworks and documentation of artistic techniques and classroom ap-plications

Peace River artist Miriam Gair’s painting depicting the last raft race held on the Peace River, (shown above), won a gold medal at the August seniors games in Wetaskiwin.

Wanted: Travelling Teachers

The Prairie Art Gallery is looking for arts teachers

who are interested in visiting Peace Region schools as part of a pilot program. Transpor-tation costs and distance have many local and rural schools requesting that arts instructors come into their area for work-shops.The programs would fol-low a lesson prepared by Gal-lery staff. If you are interested, please contact Lynn LeCorre-Dallaire at The Prairie Art Gal-lery, 532-8111.

The Prairie Art Gallery featured artists and funky chairs in its annual summer arts celebration

Come Sit With Art chairs were painted for the McNaught Celebration on Main

Husband and wife teacher-artists John Kerl and Laurel Rohne’s paintings Mus-keg Scene (above), and Untitled (below) will tour with a future TREX exhibition.

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Suzanne Sandboe The Peace River at Dunvegan - Watecolour

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Peace Watercolour

The recent Peace Waterco-lour Show and Sale at Pic-

ture Perfect Gallery showcased the work of 11 artists from Grande Cache, Grande Prairie, Beaverlodge, Dawson Creek, Buffalo Lake, Spirit River and Fairview. The PWS has annual fall shows that rotate amongst galleries in the peace region. Its next show will be at the Small Gallery in Beaverlodge in the spring of 2006.

Everyone’s Lake

Gerda Duiverman, whose recent Dawson Creek Art

Gallery exhibition one of paint-ings entitled Land and Sea fea-tured both Canadian and Dutch landscapes, says that of her paintings stood out for many viewers as a “familiar Alberta lake.” She had planned to name the painting for its Dutch lo-cation, but decided it should remain Untitled and represent whatever personal memory it evoked in those who saw it.

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Barry Hommy Out of the BlueGerda Duiverman with her Untitled lake painting.

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Painting by local artist, Marjorie Taylor Pottery by Alberta artist, Noboru Kubo

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art of the peace 7

PRAIRIE NORTH reviewLori Czoba

Lori Czoba, installation artist from Fairview, admits to being overwhelmed “by being in the midst of such talented artists” during the first few days at the Prairie North Creative Residency. How -

ever, as the days unfolded, it became apparent “that there was a genuine spirit of sharing among the artists,” and she remembers that for two weeks most of her conversations began: “What do you think if I…?” “How did you…?”

In the place of formal instruction, the residency, which takes place at the Grande Prairie Regional College in May, offers two weeks of intensive studio time with fellow artists. Czoba found herself learning not only about different materials and processes, including casting, performance art and digi-tal media, but the experience confirmed for her that “when you bring so many people together from various regions and backgrounds, you take with you a new perspective in all things.”

Marilyn Gourlay

For Grande Prairie artist Marilyn Gourlay, who has participated in and offered retreats all over the world in many mind-expanding practices, including yoga, aromatherapy, colour therapy, and sha-

manism, Prairie North offered a local space to explore and sythesize all that influences her art.

“It was a huge gift,” she says today. “It was well-organized, fun, and intellectual.” Gourlay praises the work of GPRC fine arts staff and community support - Murray Quinn’s end-of-residency gallery show is an example - as part of what made Prairie North so invaluable an experience.

“My intent was to show up and play with all of these forms of creativity, and see what came of it,” she says. “Together, we fed off of one another, reflected with and connected with each other. What I came away with was a better sense of how the daily practice of art - take painting - can be every bit as important to self-preservation and the care of the soul as is yoga.”

Along with a painting she calls Sacred Play, Gourlay created a multi media shrine that embraces the importance of the multi-sen-sory aspect of her work.

Ann Manuel

Ann Manuel travelled from Fredericton to attend Prairie North and found that it had “the right mix of informal and personal

attention…a cross-pollination that gave the experience even more breadth.” Manuel, who set herself up at the printing press, was delighted not only by the prodigious amount of work she created in such a short time but by the growing number of fellow painters who had begun to etch and ink their own prints. She joked that she had converted them “to the dark side!” “When you are surrounded by support and encouragment, along with buckets of fun, the work does develop more quickly and has a depth and reasonance not possible without it.”

by Sarah Alford and Jody Farrell

“Together, we fedoff of one anoth-er, reflected with and connectedwith each other.” Marilyn Gourlay

Three takes on GPRC’s summer art residency.

Marilyn Gourlay, Sacred Play - Mixed

Lori Czoba with Other I - Fabric

Ann Manuel, Untitled - Ink on mylar

art of the peace 8

theartboxFor all the studies that iden-

tify its inherent ability to develop the brain, art is still struggling to gain a serious nod in most schools in North Amer-ica. Still, it’s general knowl-edge that art education accesses and develops a part of the brain that otherwise may go unused, and that more and more, we are seeing creative thinking as es-sential in today’s world.

According to the Ottawa Board of Education: “Research shows a direct correlation between arts experiences and enhanced student achievement, in writ-ing, reading and mathematics.” Let’s look at some of the evi-dence that points to its impor-tance and benefits for not only children, but adults, who can access art education through workshops and courses.

American psychobiologist Rog-er W. Sperry published research findings in 1968 that the human brain uses two fundamentally different modes of thinking, one verbal, analytic, and sequential, and one visual, perceptual, and simultaneous. His work earned him a Nobel Prize. Ten years later, Betty Edwards published the first edition of her still pop-ular book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, in which she instructs in how to switch from the predominant, left-mode thinking to the right-mode. It’s a process which until about 10 years of age is easily accessed, but afterwards, requires prac-tised and guided efforts to shift into the right-mode thinking that “gets” the questions aroun spaces and perception.

As Betty Edwards says in her famous drawing manual, draw-ing itself automatically engages that spacial side of the brain in a way that will never again be lost once it has been re-taught. She focuses primarily on teach-ing adults to draw. One of her many students was a 68-year-old woman, who, having suf-fered a lifetime of depression, learned to draw and went on to gain national recognition for her work and story.

The desire to access the arts as an adult may begin with a need to find out what creativity re-sides in us. Too often, we hear people saying “I haven’t got an ounce of it in me,” when, the fact is, we have never been ex-posed to the kind of exercises that open that side of the brain. Many adults seek out art once they’ve sat through a class with a child, and discovered that they really do have a de-sire to learn more in this field. The more we expose ourselves to the multitude of arts-related activities available through lei-sure centres, galleries, colleges, and private courses, the more likely we are to find that very individual mark that is ours. For some, it becomes the very reason to get up every day.

See the directory at the back of this magazine for more in-formation regarding arts exhi-bitions and classes. Also, visit galleries and centres for pam-phlets on private courses in painting, drawing, pottery and other media.

Menzies

by Jody Farrell

whyworkshopsonart?

art of the peace 9

the BUSINESS of art

The Art of the Peace Society has representatives from

the Dawson Creek, Grande Prairie, Fairview and Peace River areas, and not only boasts the magazine and directory, but a website, and an annual sym-posium for artists and arts en-thusiasts.

Art of the Peace has received support from and worked with The Peace Region Economic Development Alliance (PRE-DA). This provincially funded program is responsible for the Branding the Peace initiative, in which different sectors of the region’s industry define and package their key selling fea-tures. The notion of “branding” sometimes raises questions by artists, whose personal goal is to render a work authentic through its differences. Does “branding” or packaging un-der a single umbrella somehow compromise the artist? Here’s what PREDA’s Nicole McMul-lan says of promoting art under its newly-adopted logo Peace Country Brand: “Image is im-portant. Artists of the Peace don’t need to be selling their wares internationally to worry about branding.”

“Whether you are just embark-ing on art as business, or headed to the New York Affordable Art Fair, adopting the Peace Coun-try Brand is to your advantage. A brand is the impression that consumers share about a prod-uct. It’s what we think about a product when we hear its name. Branding the Peace influences the consumer to perceive quali-ty assurance, best practices, en-vironmental stewardship, and

made in the Peace Country.“Your product is not what you say it is,” McMullan continues. “It’s what the consumer says it is. All you can do is try to influence their perception. By joining the marketing advan-tage called Branding the Peace,artists benefit from regional, national and international me-dia campaigns and regular press coverage. Above all, add-ing the Branding the Peace logo to your product will make sure your brand image is recogniz-able, consistent, and repeated often.”

Still, with artists being the non-conformists that they sometimes are, the notion of unifying under a brand doesn’t always sit well. Vancouver’s Adbusters maga-zine, the Burning Man festival in Nevada, and Naomi Klein’s famous “no logo” campaign are artist-driven ideas that look for alternatives to the market econ-omy to spread the goods. They eschew branding and logos partly because the hype around these tends to be so insidious as to create a compulsion to buy without awareness of what it is we’re buying.

Some of us have come to be able to use our name alone to sell our art. This is still a brand of sorts. Others, who have not achieved, but wish for expo-sure, must decide if we choose to come under a bigger um-brella.

For more information about the Peace Country Brand, visit http://www.communityfutures.biz/branding.html.

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art of the peace 10


‘Harmonies’

Grande Prairieguild of artists

November 3rd to 26th, 2005Opening reception at 7:00pm

‘The Foothills & Rockies’

Fall Show & Saleby Robert Guest

October 8th to 29th, 2005

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SYMPOSIUMspeakersTheThirdAnnualArtofthePeaceArtsSympo-siumbringstogetherfourguestspeakersrep-resentingavarietyofvisualartsmedia.Withtopicsrangingfrompaintingandsculptingtofilmmaking, photography and marketing, this two-dayevent, hostedby TheDawsonCreekArt Gallery, promises to address everyone’screativepalette.

LaineDahlen

For more than 28 years, Laine Dahlen has taught vi-sual art at Northern Lights College. He sees himself

as a painter on a lifelong mission to master the skills that allow him to interpret the world creatively. His work re-flects traditions of the masters in both their symbolismand imagery. The process through which we deliver such creations is another main focus for him.

Dahlen’s work and teaching look at the role of the artist, who, by definition, is a student of the arts who creates works. He ponders questions like: Can all works, in-cluding what is discovered or rendered in the sciences

or math be considered art? Where practicalapplication and understanding of the arts are taken care of by the muses, Dahlen sees the chemist as possibly channelling a similar muse to create elaborate crystal trees.

For Dahlen, people address these questions as they, in turn, explore their own creativity. As the painter develops his skills, and the sculptor masters his medium, they, as do all of us, ask: “Am I an artist?”

“We tend to be uncomfortable with the definition,” he says. “Perhaps the titles painter, sculptor, dancer, poet, give boundaries and are thereby more comfortable to wear.”

SharonMooreFosterTo what the eye can see, the artist adds feeling and thought. He can, if he wishes, relate for us the adventures of his soul in the midst of his life. Kilmon Nicolaides.

Sharon Moore Foster is one of those artists humbled by the term. Whether drawing or painting the graduate of the University of Alberta’s main goal is acquiring knowledge,

connecting all her senses through the manual labour of art.

In an essay entitled Ground Zero, Moore Foster shared her thoughts around her choice of career as visual artist.

“What is ground zero? It is the place where I begin again, much like the Boy Scout camp-fire songs sung in rounds. Finneghan begin again? Ground zero is the Maginot Line where

by Ellen Corea

Sharon Moore Foster, Bone Goddess - Clay

Laine Dahlen, Untitled - Oil

art of the peace ��

I hold loosely organized chaos at bay. Ground Zero is where I regroup and recharge and re-illuminate my heart. In this space I draw and sculpt.

After I struggle to show up, past the barbed-wire fences and random fox-holes, I engage in the most perilous battle of all, extricating my self from my mind and repositioning her physically in this moment. It is said that the battle of the spiritual warrior is always with the self, building and shaping one’s character through action, trusting the process and remain-ing unattached to outcomes. In Ground Zero, my arena for self-conquest, awarness, single-mindedness, discrimination and perserverance are called upon. The weapons used for recovery and reconnection with my self are drawing and sculpture.” Moore Foster will explore more of the visual arts and her work at the symposium.

DonPettit

For over 30 years, photographer Don Pettit has travelled the rich land-scape of the Peace River Region of Northeastern BC and Northwest-

ern Alberta exploring and documenting his unique vision of this beautiful Canadian Frontier. His lifestyle and images express his active concern for the natural environment.

Pettit loves photography, with its finely crafted cameras and lenses and the way the film is kept cool until just the right moment. Experimenta-tion is important in his work; making little discoveries, strange accidental images that no amount of skill could ever reproduce. The techniques and technology offer some of its richest rewards. Like other technical crafts, photography provides the satisfaction of creatively applying acquired tools and knowledge, won after years of study and practice. Pettit loves

its magic and crisp reliable reality. He appreciates its usefulness, its ability to precisely record, but also to reveal strange, unseen worlds: The infrared and polarized, stopped motion and blurred time, the almost invisible made manifest. Precise focused pulses of light making images. Petit will tell symposium guests about the process of taking an artistic product to the next level, through publishing, marketing and distribution of varied art wares.

AaronSorensen

Aaron James Sorensen is an award-winning feature film director from Dixonville Alberta. His first feature Hank Williams First Nation was the first Canadian film

to ever open in competition at the American Film Institute’s AFIfest in Los Angeles. There, it premiered with such films as Hotel Rwanda and Merchant of Venice. The

same film has gone on to play sev-eral US festivals and recently won the “Best Music in a Feature Film” at the Nashville International Film Festival. The Village Voice in New York City recently cited Sorensen’s film as the Best Undistributed Film of 2004.

Just out of university, he began his working life as a small town school teacher and newspaper reporter in 1989. Sorensen’s varied career include stints as president of the oilfield company CompuTorque Canada Ltd. and elected municipal councillor. As a musical composer and performer, Aaron travelled much of North America with a variety of ensembles. He also worked with the Loose Moose Theatre Company while studying acting at the University of Calgary under visiting director Keith Johnston.

As President of Peace Country Films, Mr. Sorensen is currently overseeing the Cana-dian theatrical release of Hank Williams First Nation, which opened in Toronto on five screens this September. He is also involved as writer/director and co-producer on a script called Meet Pamela with Paramount pictures.

Don Pettit at work

Aaron Sorensen, writer/director of Hank Williams First Nation


by Jody Farrell

Winters Edge - Acrylic on Canvas

art of the peace �4

Edna McPhail greets you at the door with an energy that defies her 82 years. She’s

got a handshake and a look that somehow puts you both at ease and attention. This is one fire-cracker of a woman.

“Never downsize,” she advises as she moves swiftly through her brightly lit condo unit in the heart of Dawson Creek. “I’ve had to get rid of so much, and now I can’t find a thing.” She easily removes a heavy, framed watercolour

from above her bed for better viewing, then is off to dig out little mementoes of her abundant career of giving to the arts.

The few scrapbooks and photo albums she still has document over half a century of ser-vice to the community. She pours over them wistfully, sometimes stopping to laugh at

a memory, or share it with Jim, who sits quietly nearby reading the newspaper. Asked what it’s been like to live all these years with an artist, her husband pauses, and, with

a smile that says more than he’ll betray, simply replies, “Interesting.”

McPhail came to Dawson Creek in 1950 as a teacher. Born in Medicine Hat in 1923 and raised in British Columbia, she wanted to experience the province’s more northern reaches. By 1970, she and Jim had already given enough of themselves to be awarded Dawson Creek’s Citizens of the Year, and still, nearly 35 years later, she’s the person most will credit with continuing to shape and support the visual

arts in this South Peace city.

While McPhail left full-time teaching to raise her family shortly after her marriage to Jim, she never stopped teaching art to children and adults, and still runs the

Wednesday seniors art program at The Dawson Creek Art Gallery. These experiences would keep any single human busy, let alone a mother of four,

and yet, Edna has done much more than teach. She’s been part of the development of many civic projects, including a library, and in 1985

was awarded a lifetime membership to the local curling club for her work at local and district levels. Other awards have recognized

her out-

standing contribution to cultural heritage. Still, it’s the visual arts she feels most passionate about.

One of her proudest achievements came while serving a second term as presi-dent of the South Peace Art Society in 1982. The Society ran a public art gal-lery in a space it shared with the area museum. Cramped quarters and a desire

for something grander spawned an idea to save one of the remaining Alberta Wheat Pool grain elevators.“I was standing there (near the grain elevators), thinking about what we could do, and it just came to me,” she says today. It all happened fairly quickly, as the committee wishing to save and move the elevator and its annex from its original location to its current site five blocks east, learned that the sale was conditional upon their moving the buildings in 40 days. The elevator was reno-vated and opened as The Dawson Creek Art Gallery, and now, 20 years later, attracts as many history buffs as arts enthusiasts throughout the year.

“It was really interesting to watch,” McPhail says of the hours-long relocation of the elevator. “Here it was, this big building slowly moving down the street, and hardly a person batting an eye. The pigeons came right along with it, never moving off.”

We laugh about how blasé we tend to be about the oddest sights: Entire living accommodations are rolling down the Alaska Highway bound for some unknown destination we presume has to do with the oilpatch. “Who really knows what they’re doing out there?” Edna titters mischievously. That’s the true artist’s imagination at work; the one that inspires awe and a sense of the wildest possibilities.

McPhail’s own art - several watercolours and acrylics hang alongside those of such well-known friends and relatives as Robert Guest and Allison Forbes - is primarily landscape and still life. Her mixed media and collage works are housed some-where else. McPhail’s compositions are playful, and her style loose and happy. The titles reflect not only a keen eye for ev-eryday miracles, but a sly sense of humour: She has named a watercolour of ravens feasting beneath a restaurant garbage bin Breakfast at Smitty’s.

It’s the desire to share this sense of wonder that keeps McPhail teaching. “I try to teach them to look at things their own way. Nothing should be a forgone conclusion.” Then, looking up from her fat, weighty scrapbook, with not a whiff of pretense, McPhail adds, “I have also always thought you should leave something to show you were here.”

McPhail was instrumental in rescuing, relocating, and refurbishing an Alberta Wheat Pool grain elevator that became the Dawson Creek Art Gallery and annex.

Watercolours from a series McPhail painted following a visit to the Galapagos Islands.


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art of the peace 16

October 21 • November 27 • Eric Cameron • Peter Deacon • Edward Bader

December 2 • January 8 • Art of the Peace • David Casey • Lori Czoba

January 14 • February 19 • Laura Vickerson • Frank Grisdale • Lorraine Beggs

February 24 • April 2 • George Sawchuk • Reinhard Skoraski • Alberta Society of Artists

April 7 • May 14 • Limitless Potential • GPRC • All Schools/All Art

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T8V 2H3

2005

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6Exhibitions

prairiegallery.com

www.

The Prairie Art Gallery

HOME N’ HANGIN’ HOME N’ HANGIN’

Custom Picture Framing• Artwork• Photographs• Needle Work• Conservation Framing• Sketches• Shadowboxes

Donna SellerPh: (780) 835-3308

Fax: (780) 835-9279Call For Appointment

11840 102 Ave. Fairview, AB

PICTURE FRAMINGPICTURE FRAMING

Lloyd Bast acrylics, watercolours

Darcy L. Jackson fine art portraits

Mila Landsdowne silk art

Robert Church fine wood art

Photos by Fraser Hounsell

Sharpshooter Photos

Quilts by Karin

Jeanne Smith pressed flower pictures

Vicki Bye polished rock art

Nick's Custom Leather

Handcrafted Body Care Products

Local authors' works

tr gallery

Authentic Arts and CraftsMade in Peace Region, BC

Canada

tr gallery212 Main StreetTumbler Ridge BC V0C 2W0Phone: 250 – 242 - 0035e-mail: [email protected]

art of the peace 17

GregGourlay

Grande Prairie artist Greg Gourlay has spent the last six years of a varied education career teach-ing art at Beaverlodge Regional High School. While he’s humble about his own contributions,

others say the path he cuts in exposing students to all facets of the arts is wide open.

He’s been known to delve into anything he feels might create excitement around self-expression. Once, he brought in an aromatherapist to help students explore the link between scent and creation. As an artist, he’s focusing these days on metal sculpture and design in his recently-acquired studio, a log homestead he moved from Huallen to his backyard.

Gourlay spent years touring remote Northern Alberta, including Fox Lake, Jean D’or Prairie, and Wood Buffalo Park, as the arts coordinator for the Northland District Board, helping new teachers design and carry out programs that these days, hardly exist.

He looks back fondly on the “heyday” of art education, when provincial funding in the eighties allowed for some innovative

programs. Gourlay and (Grande Prairie Regional College fine arts instructor) Ken Housego once loaded up a twin engine Islander with bandsaw, wood, tools and paint for a community workshop in Chipewyan Lake.

One real coup for him involved bringing the late Ojibway artist Arthur Shilling to the Peace. A biography published following the

First

Nations painter’s death noted the trip to Northern Alberta as having been particularly important to him.

“My idea is to give kids the opportunity to make something with their hands,” Gourlay says of his role as teacher. “It’s sad when they don’t want to take it home because “Dad will laugh.” I guess just the process has been good though.” Teaching students to use their imagination, to think on a different level is important for him as well. “It really is one of the higher things in life,” Gourlay says of visual arts.

GordonPerret

Gordon Perret is famous in these parts for his clay sculptures depicting rural life, in all its glorious layers. His farmers and grain elevators, pickled gophers and coun-

try store clerk have made for incredibly vibrant and popular exhibits.

What many don’t know is Perret has taught art at Montrose Junior High School, in Grande Prairie, for 27 years. His students’ works are always a high point in the year end “All Schools, All Art” exhibitions at The Prairie Art Gallery. The mixed-media sculptures, featuring fake fur animals or papier mache oversized cereal bowls or backpacks, hint at the humour that has to come through in his example.

“I give them the concept of being original. I want to see something that is about the person.” Perret tries to encourage efforts at being genuine, and discourages what is less so. “If the math teacher looks for the same 25 answers to a problem, the arts teacher looks for 25 different ones,” he explains.

ARTISTSasteachersby Jody Farrell and Sarah Alford

Greg Gourlay with his Pile of Steel sculpture.

Gordon Perret, right, and Store Clerk from his Prairie Pre-serves exhibition.

Studentslearntoseethingsdifferentlythankstoarteducators.

“Ifamathteacherlooksforthesame�5answerstoaproblem,theartsteacherlooksfor�5dif-ferentones.” Gordon Perret


“It’s harder to get kids to take craftsmanship seriously,” Perret says of today’s culture. The immediacy of computer clip-art, while ef-fective for research, sometimes replaces the desire to make one’s own mark, he comments. Still, the new technology makes for new tools, and his teaching now includes courses in video and digital art.

“It’s an important part of training your mind,” Perret says of teach-ing visual arts. “It leads to creating and understanding what is good art.”

Fay Yakemchuk

Fay Yakemchuk’s courses, offered in Peace River through the Grande Prairie Regional College, have attracted a loyal fol-

lowing. She attributes the success of the program to her passionate students. Her students attribute their success to their creative, chal-lenging instructor. Yakemchuk says that becoming a teacher was a natural step for her as she was completing her Master’s degree at the University of Lethbridge.

“Why Peace River? People always ask me that!” She laughs, “I wanted to go home to teach, I wanted to give people an opportu-nity I didn’t have, and honestly, I can’t leave the program, it would have to shut down. It’s the students, they stretch like rubber bands, they have heart, desire, they ask questions, and they challenge me. It’s everything you want as a teacher. Why leave?”

Yakemchuk urges her students to see the details, not only in their work, but also in their lives. In doing so, both their art and their

lives change. “It’s not how you draw, it’s how you see things, when you can really see things, you can’t help but draw well.” She asks her students to see what gets missed in our busy lives. Yakemchuk’s influence extends beyond the classroom. She recalls that her husband found one of their cat’s whiskers on the floor and saved it for her.

The thing about art, says Yakemchuk, “is that there is no right or wrong answer. No one is the same. I tell my students that this is a free for all; it’s the one time you get to take off your hat and be yourself. And then,” she exclaims, “They never see things the same way again! They can never go back. My gosh! I could never go back. You mean I get to make art, use my brain, and my heart? This is what it’s all about!”

artistsdirectory

ART CLUBSARTISTS NORTHBox 399 Sexsmith, AB T0H 3C0780-568-3334 BarbExhibit original artworks. Each artist has their own style.

GRANDE PRAIRIE GUILD OF ARTISTSc/o 9329 - 47 AveGrande Prairie, AB T8W 2G6780-538-0616 [email protected] weekly to paint at The Prai-rie Art Gallery, Sept - May, 7 - 10 pm, Tuesdays. Annual membership fee. Opportunities for instruction and exhibition.

PEACE COUNTRY SPINNERS & WEAVERS780-532-1472 [email protected] guilds from the Brit-ish Columbia and Alberta Peace River region.

PEACE WATERCOLOUR SOCIETYc/o Box 825Spirit River, AB T0H 3G0780-864-3608 Judy; 780-568-4124 SuzannePeace Country artists focusing on transparent watercolours. Semi-annual shows throughout the Peace Country.

PRAIRIE FIGURE DRAWING GROUPc/o 10209 - 99 St. Grande Prairie, AB T8V 2H3780-532-8446 Karen780-532-2573 JimNon-instructional, informal group meets weekly at The Prairie Art Gallery, Sept.-May, Thursdays 7-10pm. Drop-in or monthly fee.

ARTISTSADRIAN-CLARK, Carol9338 - 69 A Ave. Grande Prairie, AB T8V 6T3 [email protected] renderings of florals, landscapes and still life, in co-loured pencil and oil painting.

ASHTON, Ed#37, 8910 - 122 AveGrande Prairie, AB T8X [email protected] artwork in watercolour; Alberta grain elevators, rustic scenes, barns.

BIBI POTTERY (Bibi Clement)P.O. Box 144Hythe, AB TOH [email protected] Potter/Sculptor specializing in wood fire and raku techniques. Director of BICWA Society, Inter-national Residency Program

From Fay Yakemchuk’s installation Gestation of Thought.

art of the peace 19

BROWN, JudyBox 825Spirit River, AB T0H [email protected] paintings reflect the peaceful-ness and serenity of our land-scape.

BROWN, Dennis A. J.408 McNiven RoadLadysmith, BC V9G 1W7250-245-9918djabrown@shaw.cawww.northstarartstudio.comColourful landscapes and sea-scapes in acrylics and waterco-lours.

CLOAKE, Sue9927 - 86 Park Ave.Grande Prairie, AB T8V 0C9780-539-7405Mixed media collage - a combina-tion of mediums creates an intri-cate abstract textural surface.

COWAN, CorinneRR3, Site 2, Box 6Grande Prairie, AB T8V [email protected] watercolour lends itself to a wide range of values and freedom of movement on paper, it is my choice of medium.

CRAIPLEY, SheilaBox 569Sexsmith, AB T0H 3C0780-568-3754Landscape, acrylic and oils in lo-cal landscapes and historic sites.

CRICHTON, HollyGeneral DeliveryGrovedale, AB T0H 1X0780-538-9264holly_crichton@hotmail.comwww.nightofartists.comWatercolours, graphite. Varied subject matter. Commissions welcome.

CURRIE, Gordon1512 - 113 Ave.Dawson Creek, BC V1G 2Z5250-782-6388gcurrie@eldoren.comwww.watercolorpainting.infoWatercolour and mixed media art-ist - scenic nature works of art.

DEMUYNCK, Inez11121 - 16 StDawson Creek, BC V1G 4A1250-782-6363

[email protected]/Artist specializing in cre-ative watercolour and handbuilt clayworks.

DICKSON, Yvonne10015 - 89 Ave.Grande Prairie, AB T8V 2Y9780-532-1629Watercolours with a Peace Coun-try theme.

DITCH, ValerieBox 882Grande Prairie, AB T8V [email protected] working in watercolour with attention to light and detail. Originals and giclée prints and cards available.

DIXON, SuzanneBox 124Pouce Coupe, BC V0C 2C0850-786-5582Folk art paintings, pictures, cards.

DRONYK, Dymphny11306 - 102B St.Grande Prairie, AB T8V [email protected], writing, grants, pro-posals, screenwritting and video production.

DUPERRON, Frances9909 - 92 AveGrande Prairie, AB T8V 0H7780-532-2753Acrylic/oil paintings, landscapes, still lifes.

FARRELL, Jody8508 - 100 A St.Grande Prairie, AB T8V [email protected], oil, acrylic - mostly landscapes, flowers.

GAIR, MiriamBox 7211Peace River, AB T8S [email protected] use semi-abstract form, light, and simplification to create one-ness with spirituality and nature. Work in any media but prefer watercolour.

GILJE, LenaBox 252Wembley, AB T0H [email protected], wedding and portrait photography, original artwork, fabric art.

GOURLAY-MORGAN, JocelynGrande Prairie, AB T8V [email protected] jewellery, sterling silver and semi-precious gems. Custom designs.

GOURLAY, MarilynGrande Prairie, [email protected] media, life drawings. I en-joy the creative process. Facilitate art retreats and teach yoga.

GUEST, RobertBox 1784Grande Cache, AB T0E 0Y0780-827-2346Painter in the Symbolist Land-scape tradition preferring wilder-ness and nocturnal subject matter. HAAKSTAD, Carmen8012-99 St.Grande Prairie, AB T8V [email protected] art.

HART, Louanne4611-94 St.Grande Prairie, AB T8W [email protected] originals, prints and cards of local and international subjects.

HEIMDAL, Tim9804 - 102 St.Grande Prairie, AB T8V [email protected] (interior and exterior) commissions, portraits. Acrylic on canvas. Impressionistic.

HENN, K. MarjorieBox 262Beaverlodge, AB T0H [email protected] and wilderness

themes are my inspiration, water-colour is my main medium.

HERBISON, JanisPO Box 126Hudson’s Hope, BC V0C 1V0250-783-5534www.hummingbirdfineart.comWatercolour, pen and ink realistic paintings. Portraits, landscapes and wildlife. Workshops avail-able.

HOLLER, ColleenBox 363Wembley, AB T0H [email protected] variety of watercolour subjects with a view to contrast, light, colour and form.

HOMMY, BarryBox 298Beaverlodge, AB T0H 0C0780-354-8117 (w)780-356-3741 (h)Artist in watercolour - local landscapes.

HOTTE, Vicki11405 - 97 St.Grande Prairie, AB T8V [email protected] paintings and drawings - rural subject matter.

KAUT, DonnaBox 675Grande Prairie, AB T8V [email protected]“I focus on oil paintings of wild-flowers and berries of Alberta.”

KLUKAS, Carrie10818 - 95 St.Grande Prairie, AB T8V [email protected] paintings on board, ab-stract expressionism.

LAURIN, Ray9637 - 113 Ave.Grande Prairie, AB T8V 1W4780-532-5232With acrylics, I can capture what nature has to offer us which is a panorama of colour.

www.artofthepeace.caart of the peace �0

LE CORRE, Lynn11110 - 95 St.Grande Prairie, AB T8V [email protected] in miniature simplifies the landscape to colour and paint-erly forms.

MAGNETIC NORTH IMAGES(Brian Don Hohner)Box 104North Star, AB T0H 2T0780-836-0021info@magneticnorthimages.comwww.magneticnorthimages.comLandscapes and skyscapes of the north. Pastels. Commissions welcome.

MANHOLT-HOTTE, SherriePO Box 626Wembley, AB T0H [email protected] media painter. Abstract.

MCGUINTY, Kristine12813 - 92 St.Peace River, AB T8S 1R9780-624-2605Harvest Moon Studio: Contemp- orary photographic images, po-laroid emulsion transfers, acrylic paintings and drawings.

MULLIGAN, Helena8709 - 98 St.Grande Prairie, AB T8V 2C7780-538-2009Insights, expressions of everyday life in sculptures, drawings and paintings. Commissions wel-comed.

PALMER, Valerie‘Spores n’ More’Box 6512Peace River, AB T8S [email protected] spore prints: images created from natural spores of fungi.

PETERS, Rika10514-103 Ave.Grande Prairie, AB T8V [email protected] paintings; impressionistic landscapes.

PRESTONE, KeithGrande Prairie, [email protected]

Snow, ice and sand sculpture/co-ordinator. 2D and 3D work in a variety of mediums.

SANDBOE, Suzanne ASA, PWSBox 28, Site 9, RR1Sexsmith, AB T0H [email protected] landscapes, portraits and scenes from everyday life. Original work and commissions in a variety of mediums.

SHILKA, MarianGrande Prairie, [email protected] watercolour, capturing the essence of brief, unforgettable moments in time.

SMITH, Len9110 - 100 StGrande Prairie, AB T8V 2K5780-539-4608Relief wood carving, 3D carving, intarsia, woodburning. Custom artwork and instruction.

ST. ANDRE, VivianPeace River, AB T85 [email protected] and watercolour, abstract and traditional, sculpture and digital imagery.

STEFANNSON, Wendy10509 - 81 St.Peace River, AB T8S [email protected] conceptually, employing photography, acrylic paints and sculptural techniques.

STEINKE, ViBox 10Silver Valley, AB T0H [email protected]“My paintings of scenery and florals are done in oils, acrylics or watercolour.”

STOKES, Jim10417 - 110 Ave.Grande Prairie, AB T8V 1S8780-532-2573Quality, original paintings, draw-ings and prints. Contemporary representational work.

STROM, Brenda10205 - 76 Ave.Grande Prairie, AB T8W 1Y6

[email protected], oil, monoprints of florals, intimate landscapes and hockey players.

SWANSTON, NanRR3, Site 4, Box 6Grande Prairie, AB T8V [email protected] of landscapes, florals, people and close-ups of nature and still life.

SYROTA, Dale7601 - 102 St.Grande Prairie, AB T8W [email protected] transparent waterco-lour painting rendered in a true and unique style.

PHOTOGRAPHYMCKENZIE, Cheryl9102 - 105 Ave.Grande Prairie, AB T8X 1H7780-532-6353cheryl@imagedesignpros.comwww.instantimages.comStock photography site for Peace Country photographers and graphic artists to promote their work.

PETTIT, Don1204 - 103 AveDawson Creek, BC V1G 2G9250-782-60681-866-373-8488don@peacephotographics.comwww.peacephotographics.comPeace Region nature photography, graphic design, publishing, mar-keting, product development.

MembersExhibition

Opportunity

of the Peace

The Prairie Art GalleryDec. 2nd, 2005 - Jan. 8th, 2006

Opening - Saturday, Dec. 3rd

MembersExhibition

Opportunity

• Must be current work created between 2003 - 2005• Maximum of 1 piece• May be offered for sale• Works must be framed (if applicable) and ready to hang• Work has to be at The Gallery by Friday, Nov. 25th.

CONFIRM YOUR PARTICIPATIONDoug Wills, Curator

The Prairie Art Gallery (780) 532-8111

[email protected]


BEAVERLODGE,ALBERTA

•BeaverlodgeCultural Centre512 - 5 Ave.Beaverlodge, AB T0H 0C0780-354-3600 (phone & fax)Hours: Tues. - Fri.1 pm - 5 pm Sat. & Sun. 1 pm - 4 pmGallery, gift shop and tea room.

Exhibits & Events Dave McRae‘High Browns & Stetsons’ ShowOctober 2 - October 28, 2005 Marjorie HennShow and SaleOctober 30 - November 25, 2005

All ArtistsShow and SaleNovember 27- December 23, 2005

Thomas KrejcarJanuary 2006

Grande Prairie Regional College Art StudentsFebruary 2006

Beaverlodge Art Club Miniature Show and SaleMarch 2006

13th Annual Quilt ShowApril 2006

•TheSmallGallery917 - 2 Ave.Beaverlodge, AB T0H 0C0780-354-8117Pottery, fine art, framing & wood turnings.

DAWSONCREEK,B.C. •DawsonCreekArtGallery101 - 816 Alaska AvenueDawson Creek, BC V1G 4T6250-782-2601www.dcartgallery.ca

Winter Hours at the Gallery and The Northern Treasures Giftshop are 10am to 5pm Tues. - Fri. and 12am to 4pm Sat. from September through to May.

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

Exhibits & EventsBody DoubleCommemorating Breast Cancer MonthSeptember 27 - October 22, 2005

Out of the WoodsRegional WoodworkersOctober 24 - November 13, 2005

South Peace Art Society Annual Christmas Show and Gift FairNovember 19th, 2005 - January 7th, 2006

Art AuctionApril 28th, 2006

Please check our website or phone the gallery for a complete sched-ule of 2006 exhibits and events.

FAIRVIEW,ALBERTA •FairviewFineArtsCentre10801-103 Ave.Fairview, AB T0H 1L0780-835-2697; fax 780-835-5561www.fairviewfinearts.comfinearts@telusplanet.netHours: Tues. - Sat. 12 pm - 5 pm Gallery, fine arts gift shop and education programs.

Exhibits & EventsHeather MacNairA New Leaf Show and SaleOctober 1st - 15th, 2005

Paula Fiorini and Erin Stel-maschukThe Space BetweenShow and Sale of new worksOctober 22 - November 12, 2005

Midnight Madness Craft SaleNovember 25th, 2005

Lee Ann Jones and Kerry-Ann SchatzVertuShow and SaleNovember 18 - December 3, 2005

Members ChristmasShow and SaleDecember 9th - 31st, 2005Midnight Madness December 16th, 2005

Valleyview

Falher

St. Isidore

43

43

49Chetwyn

Hudson HopeManning

Fort Nelson

Tumbler Ridge

Grande Cache

whereit’sallat...galleriesofthePeace Peace Region Gallery Events and Exhibitions


Fairview Fine Arts

Funky FurnitureTravelling ShowJanuary 7th -25th, 2006

New Year Open House and Silent AuctionJanuary 21st, 2006

Youth Art Show and SaleMarch 2006

FT.ST.JOHN,B.C. •SonlightGallery9312-100 St.Ft. St. John, B.C. V1J [email protected], framing and home decore. Get the Big Picture

GRANDECACHE,ALBERTA •GrandeCacheTourism&InterpretiveCentreHome of the Palette Pals Art ClubHighway 40 SouthBox 300Grande Cache, AB T0E [email protected] hours October - May Weekdays 9 am - 5 pm Weekends 1 pm - 4 pmWildlife and historical displays, art gallery and gift shop.

Exhibits & EventsPalette Pals Art Club Annual Show & SaleNovember 4th & 5th, 2005

GRANDEPRAIRIE,ALBERTA •CentreforCreativeArts9904 - 101 Ave.Grande Prairie, AB T8V 0X8 780-814-6080Education programs, drop-in stu-dios, artist run studios and cafe.

•McCaffrey’sArtGallery10017B 100 Ave.Grande Prairie, AB T8V 6W7780-832-0146www.desmccaffrey.comOpen 10:00 am - 5:30 pm, Tuesday to Saturday. Wildlife art originals and canvas giclee by art-ist Des McCaffrey.

•ForbesandFriends9918A - 100 Ave.Grande Prairie, AB T8V 0T9 780-513-1933; fax 780-513-1949Gallery of Alberta crafts. Pottery, glass, jewellery, accessories, hand painted silk, home decor.

•PicturePerfectFrame&Gallery9934 - 100 Ave.Grande Prairie, AB780-539-4091; fax 780-539-4554picperf@telusplanet.netwww.pictureperfectfineart.comRobert Guest Gallery, main floor gallery, original art, reproduc-tions, framing & art supplies. Representative for www.fineart-print.ca.

Exhibits & EventsKakwa Falls by Robert GuestLimited Edition prints availableCelebrating Alberta’s Centennial.

Robert GuestThe Foothills and RockiesShow and SaleOct. 8th - 29th, 2005 Grande Prairie Guild of ArtistsHarmoniesNovember 3rd - 26th, 2005

1st Annual Christmas Art Show & SaleDecember 2005

14th Annual Capture the Beauty of the Peace in conjunction with Artists NorthSpring 2006

•QueenElizabethIIHospital,TheCourtyardGalleryLower Level, QEII Hospital10409 - 98 St.Grande Prairie, AB T8V 2E8780-538-7585Original works by local artists.In affiliation with the QEII Foun-dation.

Exhibits & Events

SHOWCASES

Pearl WilsonCollection of CatsOctober - November, 2005

Jocelyn Gourlay-MorganCollection of AngelsDecember 2005 - January 2006

Sue MenardCollection of PotteryFebruary - March 2006

GALLERY

Janet EnfieldOctober, 2005

Ed AshtonNovember - December, 2005

Dale SalesJanuary - February 2006

•ThePrairieArtGallery10209 - 99 St.Grande Prairie, AB T8V 2H3780-532-8111; fax [email protected] A gallery, education pro-grams, art rental and gift shop.

Exhibits & EventsEric CameronPeter DeaconEdward BaderOctober 21st - November 27th, 2005

4th Annual Tempt Your Palette - In Paris themeTrumpeter Hotel and Meeting Centre - October 28th, 2005

Art of the PeaceDavid CaseyLori CzobaDecember 2nd, 2005 - January 8th, 2006

Laura VickersonFrank GrisdaleLorraine BeggsJanuary 14th - February 13th 2006

George SawchukReinhard SkoraskiAlberta Society of ArtistsFebruary 24th - April 2nd, 2006

Limitless PotentialGPRCAll Schools/All ArtApril 7th - May 14th, 2006

Art AuctionApril 2006

•UniqueGallery9929 - 100 Ave.Grande Prairie, AB780-538-2771; fax 780-538-2790Original artwork, pottery, jewel-lery, glassware, giftware.

PEACERIVER,ALBERTA •FrameworksCustomFraming&Gallery9903 - 100 Ave.Peace River, AB T8S 1S4780-624-1984; fax 780-624-1984Custom framing and ready-made framing supplies. Original artwork, prints, posters, photo-graphs, pottery, and other local handicrafts.

Be Included!• Your name in the gallery directory and on the website

• Exposure for your events and exhibits throughout the region

• Magazines for your gallery visitors and customers

visit www.artofthepeace.ca for more information


BEAVERLODGE,ALBERTA

BeaverlodgeCulturalCentre

Ongoing programs in pottery, stained glass, batik, weaving, acrylic, oil and watercolour paint-ing classes for a variety of ages. Please call Sue, 780-354-3600 for dates and details.

Gallery exhibition and gift shop sales opportunities are available. Please call Sue at 780- 354-3600 for further information.

DAWSONCREEK,B.C.

DawsonCreekArtGallery

Adult CoursesWatercolour, sculpture and stained glass classes are being held Octo-ber to December 2006.

Time Out for SeniorsEvery Wednesday 1:00 - 3:00 pm starting in October.

For details and registration infor-mation phone 250-782-2601 or e-mail [email protected].

Opportunities for exhibition in the gallery are available. Guidelines for exhibitions can be viewed at www.dcartgallery.ca

NorthernLightsCollege

The College offers a one-year pro-gram, leading to a graduation cer-tificate in the Visual and Graphic Arts, to prepare the student for a wide variety of career opportuni-ties. In addition, a two-year pro-gram is also offered leading toward an Associate of Arts Diploma. The primary focus is to build a portfolio for job preparedness or to continue education in another institution. Phone 250-782-5251 for informa-tion.

FAIRVIEW,ALBERTA

FairviewFineArtsCentre

Art-Themed PartiesCome and join in on a ‘Friday Night Wine & Cheese Party’ or ‘Satur-day Afternoon Coffee and Biscotti Party’. During the party you will complete a project and get to learn and try out new techniques.

Fairview Fine Arts Centre offers courses in pottery, stained glass, fabric and fibre, painting and draw-ing and children’s programs.

Call the Centre at 780-835-2697 or email [email protected] for program details and registration information.

GRANDEPRAIRIE,ALBERTA

CentreforCreativeArts

The Centre offers many classes in-cluding: - Decorative Arts - Fine Arts - Practical Arts - Physical Activity - Business - Art & Craft Club - Children’s Programs - plus many more!

For more information and updated class information, check out our website at www.gparts.org or con-tact us at [email protected]. You can also call us at 780-814-6080.

CourtyardGallery,QueenEliza-bethIIHospital

For information about showing contact Karen at the QEII Founda-tion office 780-538-7583. Display cubes (showcases) are available for collections or 3-dimensional art.

Grande Prairie Regional Col-lege

The Fine Arts Department Offers students a wide range of ca-reer and learning opportunities in the Fine Arts. These include Diplo-ma, University Transfer programs, and courses in Music, Art, and Drama. Students in all programs may also fulfill their Fine Arts op-tion requirements with FAD credit courses. Non-credit Visual Arts courses include drawing, painting, digital arts, and photography.

Visitor in the ArtsGuest lecturers, who vary from our own faculty to professional artists and musicians, speak to the students on topical areas related to their pro-fession and practice. The lectures are scheduled throughout the year during the college community hour on Wednesdays 11:45 am - 12:45

pm in the Fine Arts Recital Hall, Rm. L106. These lectures are open to the public, everyone is welcome. There is no admission charge. Lec-tures this season include: - Peter Deacon - Mixed Media - Eric Cameron - Sculptor - Jennifer Bowes - Printmaker - Scott McFarland - Tanya Sehn - Sean Caulfield - Clay Ellis - Isla Burns - JP Decosse

Women in the Arts Symposium2nd annual symposium focussing on the role of women in the arts. Two full days in March 2006. Call Lena at 780-539-2215 for informa-tion.

PrairieArtGallery

PD DaysThese great hands-on workshops will allow the teacher or art lover to learn a new technique to teach or enhance their own work.

Masters in the ClassroomJody Farrell, artist and teacher-gives a history and easy workshop on some of the great artists includ-ing Matisse and Picasso. Art After DarkA great program where the public is welcome to take in a session on an art. The ninety minute sessions cover everything from art history to art demonstrations.

Colourful CharactersFull Figure ClayA hands-on workshop where par-ticipants will build full figure clay

sculptures which are kiln fired.Call 780-532-8111 for furthur information on these and other programs or check our website at www.prairiegallery.com.

Art of the Peace ExhibitExhibition opportunity at The Prairie Art Gallery for Art of the Peace members. December 2nd , 2005 - January 8th, 2006. Opening Saturday, December 3rd. Confirm your participation with Doug Wills at 780-532-8111 or [email protected]. (see ad page 21).

TREXThe Prairie Art Gallery is compil-ing a bank of artists throughout the Peace Region. This is a great op-portunity for the Gallery to become more familiar with the artists in the region and what they are doing. Submit your name and contact in-formation with a brief artist state-ment ,no more than 150 words, and a maximum of 3 images which gives an overview of your work. Please note that this is not considered an exhibition proposal. Artist Bank Files The Prairie Art Gallery 10209-99 street Grande Prairie, AB T8V 2H3 Attn: Sue Cloake Millar

Red Deer College Visual ArtsSeries

Series in Grande Prairie is return-ing in summer 2006! Watch for details in April’s issue. For infor-mation call Wendy Meeres at 403-342-3504 or [email protected]

Robert Guest Gallery, PicturePerfectFrame&Gallery

Capture the Beauty of the Peace contest. Amateur and developing artists of the BC and AB Peace. Works must be of local subjects and completed since Spring 2005.

Robert Guest Gallery is available for exhibitions - call Dan Kameka at 780-539-4091 for information and available dates.

education&opportunities


Dale SyrotaPWS, CSPWC

Exhibits with the Grande Prairie Guild of Artists and the Peace Watercolour Society

Dale SyrotaWatercolour Artist

Ph: (780) 539-4046

Marjorie HennPicture PerfectGrande Prairie

Small GalleryBeaverlodge

BeaverlodgeCultural Centre

780-354-2165

P.W.S

[email protected] (780) 568-4124

art of the peace 25

art of the peace 26

EEWorking with a three-dimensional art form has many facets, which require constant attention. I love the challenge of unveiling the secrets from within the stone. Each piece is unique and original.

Stone, being a masculine medium, is contrasted by my personal style of incorporating feminine characteristics into my pieces. I am most recognized for my interpretation of the swan. I appreciate their natural grace and serenity and try to bring this out through my work.

Colour, type and shape of the stone, all play an important role in my final sculpture. The process begins first with the selection of the raw material. My favourites are soapstone and alabaster. Each is very different and allows me to explore alterna-tive styles of carving.

Soapstone is a softer stone, which is easier to carve and enables me to create very detailed pieces. The process of sanding, staining and waxing helps me to highlight different aspects of the pieces by creating natural colour changes and textures.

Alabaster has a beautiful opaque quality to it and I like to explore creating more abstract, less detailed pieces. The translu-cency of this stone makes it a challenge to create pieces which work with different lighting situations. Part of the beauty is the way the light shines through. I try to allow natural elements to be drawn out of each piece I do.

Petula PettmanEnduring MomentGreen Brazilian Soapstone Carving15” tall

Enduring Moment

art of the peace 26


visit downtown.

... you’ll love it!

Simple PleasuresHome Decor & More!

Ph: (250) 782-7920 10301 Unit B, 10th Street.

Lothar Triebel Jewellers Ltd.Ph: (250) 782-4114 932 102nd Avenue

Custom made jewelry with Digital Goldsmith™, a one of a kind computer design system.

Over 40 years of expertise

Dawson Creek

The Centre for Creative Arts offers a number of unique and interesting programs for all ages and skill levels, for artists and those yearning to develop the artist within.

• Drop In StudiosPottery, stained glass, photography

• Decorative ArtsInterior decorating, feng shui, fused glass, pottery,

stained glass, photography

• Fine ArtsDrawing, watercolour painting, oil painting

• Practical ArtsHorticulture, cooking

• Physical ActivityYoga, fusion, dancing, taekwon-do

• BusinessStore layout, merchandising, displays, lighting

• Art & Craft Club Different topic each week, for children or adults

• Birthday Parties A variety of activites

• Kid’s Club After school club for children ages 6 +

• Summer Program Multi art camp for children ages 6 +

• H.A.P.I. Healing Arts Program Initiative Healing mind, body and spirit through creativity and self-expression . A program for groups or organizations

Contact Us9904 101 AvenueGrande Prairie, AB T8V 0X8Ph 780-814-6080Fax [email protected]

THE CENTRE FORCREATIVE ARTS

.the color box. HAIR STUDIO

Kim MillikenPhone: 780-933-9339www.thecolorbox.net

Vela GiftsScented Candles & accessories

• Highest Quality Fragrances • Best Burning Candle on the Market

Phone: 780-832-7999 or 780-831-8074

Shards of Glass Studio• Offering stained glass and fusing supplies• Custom Design Work

Phone: 780-513-0913 or 780-538-4760

CAFE COMPANY

• Breakfast• Lunch

• Catering

8am - 4pmPhone: 780-539-3131

2nd location 10136 101 Ave. 780-513-8554

Trinity Massage TherapeuticsStacey Coppens R.M.T 780-832-1012

• Swedish Relaxation Massage• Therapeutic Assesment & Treatment• M.L.D. • T.P. Therapy • Sports Massage

P U R E PhotographyDistinct portraits on location or in studio.

• Weddings • Pregnancy • Children • Family

For an appointment call Lori-Ann Brough at 780-832-8626

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Documents

art of the Peace | Issue #5