By Nicola McGarry
I felt so lucky to be working at Valhalla on the day Zu walked in the store. She told me about her idea for the Art Adventure Quencher: to get a group of women artists to go on an adventure together, inspire one another and then put on our own exhibition. She put the invite out to me and I was in.
The gang of girls was Zuzana Riha, Natalie Harris, Jess Leahey, our amazing chef Tara Harris and myself Nicola McGarry. To have the opportunity to watch how each of us work, what grabs our attention and then being able to talk and exchange ideas is an incredible way to really boost and refresh my creative thinking.
I asked Zu to explain why she had created the Adventure Quencher.
“My love for the outdoors and art has led me to the idea of experiencing an inspirational setting that would enhance and grow my creativity,” she said. “I often go for long solitary walks to inspire and energize myself, as many of us do, but I wanted more. More inspiration, more ideas, take it to another level. The idea of experiencing art, nature and adventure with a few like-minded friends in a new experience which none of us had ever done before, was both exciting and intriguing. I decided to ask a few local artists who inspire me, and who would complement one another. With simple group brainstorming and a little bit of planning we were off to Hazel Hut for our first art adventure.”
The plan was to ski tour, shred and take in gorgeous alpine and mountain views, while sharing our artistic inspirations, techniques and visions.
Participant Jess Leahey described a weekend of fuelled by the arts and exploration, and, “hot coffee, paintbrushes, good food, long walks, saunas and cold beer.”
“With the skiing somewhere between high avalanche hazard and a turd sandwich our rainy artist retreat to the Hazel Hut turned from a lady shredder ski hustle, to a slow, old growth, meandering snowshoe holiday,” Leahey said.
We actually felt like we got a little gift with this weather, we had idle time to really get arty. We all realized slowing down felt really good for creating and thinking creatively. We saw that we were happy doing whatever came our way because there is material for ideas and exploration in everything.
Artist Natalie Harris was keen for the trip. “It was less about where we were going but who the group was. To be amongst artists that I admire and getting to see each step of their creative process was definitely something I wanted to be a part of.”
This is what we all found, it just really worked because there was no agenda, no ego, no competition just lots of fun and support to do exactly what you felt like doing and we were all curious about each other. Now we have parted from our adventure to head to our studios/work spaces and make art inspired by our time together as artists, friends and adventure quenchers.
The show opens May 5 at the Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre and runs until May 26.
***
Also opening at this exhibit:
Golden Girls
Looking Back
The Golden Girls have been painting together for over 14 years at the Visual Arts Centre. This year’s theme is Looking Back. Each member has their own personal interpretation of the theme. Some have explored ideas of what life was like as a child, others have looked at their own art practice from the beginning and how they began as an artist, while other members are bringing out older works which were started but never finished, finally completing them for this exhibit.
Reimagining the Columbia
Juried Group Exhibition
On May 13, there is an International conference hosted by First Nations, and people on both sides of the Canada-US border concerned with bringing environmental and ecosystem values into the Columbia River Treaty negotiations. This exhibition engages artists to discover and interpret the changes in the Columbia River that have occurred, with the coming of settlers, and the dam, and to reimagine the Columbia.
The Salmon Connection
ArtStarts in the Schools
Sue Leach’s grade five students from Columbia Park Elementary class participated in the ArtStarts program this year. Along with Artist Tina Lindegaard, students explored various aspects of the salmon, including life cycles, habitat, and contributions to the food web. This year-long study also included a look at the relationship of Aboriginal peoples with salmon, including ceremonies, art, food preparation, and the impact that hydro-electric dams have had on salmon in the Columbia River. Students have created a series of works in a variety of media, such as felting, banner painting, and clay.
What did you think of this story?
Your feedback after we publish a story helps ensure we're always improving our reporting to better serve you
