The Fernwood art stroll June 19th-20th by Deryk Houston
After several months of careful planning, the artists of Fernwood are about to throw open their studio doors to the public on June 19th and the 20th.
I am a great enthusiast of any event that will bring artist and the public together. Most serious art collectors make a point of seeking out the artist and getting to know them. They love supporting the artist and generally are respectful to the galleries interests as well. I believe that a closer relationship between the artist and the client does not harm the galleries in the longer term.
Many artists tend to work in isolation and having the public come into their studios gives them feedback and builds confidence. It also encourages them to describe their art in words and that process helps the artist to find weaknesses or flaws in their ideas, whether or not the artist even cares if anyone else “gets” it.
Organizing the art stroll brings the artists together, giving them the sense of belonging to their community and the opportunities to discover connections with like minded friends.
Artist, CarrolAnn Smedley, has been the driving force to make this years art stroll a reality. She has done another brilliant job of herding the twenty plus artists into a well organized group.
CarrolAnne is a gentle, well grounded artist, and her unusual work proves that no one does a better job of sharing the products of their heart and imagination than she does.
Karolyn Grimes, the woman who played the little girl “Zuzu” in the famous Frank Capra movie “It’s a Wonderful Life” made a special point of seeking out CarrolAnne’s studio when she was here in Victoria last year.
Speaking of movies, artist, Elizabeth Wellburn creates beautiful glass mosaics which inspire titles such as “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” or “Rear Window”. Elizabeth enjoys recycling old broken glass and aged window frames. Sometimes she will incorporate glass objects for clients into her designs as a way to preserve an otherwise chipped or broken glass.
Her daughter, Amy Hall, also works in glass, but Amy uses a torch to melt the Italian art glass. I absolutely love Amy’s Goddesses. They remind me of the fertility goddesses made by primitive hands in ancient times. They are truly collectable works of art and one might expect more to find them in a museum in the cradle of civilization rather than a tiny studio in Fernwood.
Another artist that I find interesting is Dorothy Field. I’ll never forget being up in the wilderness one year in the Muskwa Kechika with a small group of artists including Dorothy. We had just broken out of the trees and into the alpine meadows after several hours struggling up the mountain on horseback. It is hard to put into words, but I can only say that the obvious connection and deep emotions shown by Dorothy to the surrounding, immense beauty of the wilderness….. left an imprint in my mind that will last forever. There is a similar spiritual connection in all her thoughtful artwork and her studio should be well worth the visit.
There are too many artists in the stroll to mention here. Anne Cookson will be showing her photos again. Clive Beal from the Pandora Arts Collective will be represented. Marnie Heuston from “She Said Gallery, Emily Grav from the Paint box, Sharon Chiurchill, Margaret Hantiuk, Kathy Guthrie, and many more…you can go to the web site and browse the artists works http://wonderfullifeinfernwood.ning.com/
It should be an enriching two days of art. Don’t miss it if you can. My studio will be open also.
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