Artist Statements (All Categories) – Peace Liard Regional Arts Council

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Exhibitor #1 Kristy Auger, Fort St. John, BC

#1a nitati-misiwêsin kîhtwâm (I am becoming whole again)
This piece is about emotional, spiritual and physical transformation. There was a time where I felt completely lost and depressed, but by going through that I learned how to find myself, my culture and identity. Written in the Cree language in this piece (along the vines growing out of the woman) is a poem. It is below:

I felt broken. I was lost. I wanted love and I wanted to love myself (who I was).
nikî-pîkwêyihtên. nikî-wanihon. sâkihitowin nikî-nitawêyihtên.
nikî-nohtê-sâkihison, nikî-nohtê-nahêyimison
(I wanted to accept myself)
My pain showed me my potential and there is learning and growth from Pain.
niwîsakêyihtamowin nikî-kiskinwahamâkon kâ-isi-sôhkisiyân, nikî-kiskinwaham
âkosin niwîsakêyihtamowin. kiskinwahamâkêwin astêw wîsakêyihtamowinihk.
I am now healing – I am becoming whole again and I am renewing.
mêkwâc nitati-nanâtawihon. nitati-misiwêsin kîhtwâm. nitati-oski-ohpikin

#1b wâspison (he/she is laced up in a mossbag)
For most of my life I didn’t really know anything about my culture and language. By my late twenties I made a promise to myself that I would be fluent in my language and know my cultural teachings by the time I had my first child. I wanted my child to have a a wâspison/mossbag (pronounced woss-pissuhn) because that mossbag represents a connection to my ancestors and cultural teachings. I was 27 when nisikos (my mother-in-law) taught me how to sew a mossbag. A couple of years later I made one for my son right before he was born. I had literally finished sewing it when my water broke. He was a tiny newborn when my mother-in-law showed my partner and I how to put our son in the mossbag and we used it almost daily until he grew out of it before he was eight months old. One time I even brought his mossbag to the airport. We were waiting for our layover and Z was extremely tired – he needed to nap. I pulled out his mossbag, and we began to put him in, and he started to whine. As we laced it, then pulled on the string to tighten it – I could feel people looking at us maybe unsure of what we were doing to our baby. But as soon as it was tightened up he fell fast asleep – as he always did. I also put a little song lyric in the piece. It says nipêpîm kisâkihitin, kisâkihitin mistahi. My baby, you I love, You I love, very much. Today I am not “fluent” in my language. I am still learning more all the time about my culture. Now our baby son joins us on our journey of learning. Each time we make even the tiniest step of growth it is a time to celebrate and be content on our path.

Exhibitor #2 Kimberly Ans, Fort St. John, BC

#2a Dead Tree Latitude 56° 13’ 24.798” N Longitude 120° 48’ 22.62” W
#2b Purple Sky Latitude 56° 13’ 32.38” N Longitude 120° 48’ 43.01” W
#2c Square Tree Latitude 56° 13’ 32.544” N Longitude 120° 48’ 43.488” W
Having attended a workshop on landscape painting, I was driving home and noticed a row of trees coming into town that had been planted by the city. These trees were the opposite of what I’d experienced as part of my workshop. They weren’t majestic and healthy, or thriving. I hadn’t hiked to find a beautiful vista and happened upon an inspiring view. These trees were ignored, having been planted and left to thrive or die in harsh, unforgiving conditions. Thousands upon thousands of people drive past these trees perhaps thinking, “Why don’t they take out those eyesores?” It was my goal, in these paintings to honor the overlooked, the forgotten, the less than ideal. To consider each tree, for its own unique character and to create a lasting memory of the trees that have been forgotten. Each title includes not only the literal description of the painting, but the latitude and longitude of where the tree originally existed, to mark having been seen.

Exhibitor #3 Haley Bassett, Groundbirch, BC

#3a Stop
Stop is comprised of Himalayan blackberry canes and steel wire. I chose to work with blackberry for the aggressive and invasive qualities of the plant. The steel wire was selected for its
malleability and cool, contrasting colour. The piece is a play on power dynamics. Each cane is bent nearly to its breaking point, yet contains an enormous amount of stored potential energy,
representing a latent threat. The wire is both the mechanism that binds the blackberry, as well as what makes it so dangerous.

#3b Self Portrait as Patience and Persistence
This work is a holistic self portrait that embodies the influences that lead to my unlikely existence, as well as the play between exterior forces and my agency as an individual. It is composed of
steel wire, red thread and dried grass, which was gathered with my father in the region where I was raised.

The grass represents my remote, rural upbringing, my ties to my family, as well as the colonial history that drove my Métis ancestors to settle in the Peace Region. The shape of the wire
armature is derived from my head and shoulders. The piece is hung at my height and acts as a placeholder for my body. The thread symbolizes every impossible chance and connection that had to occur in order for me to be born. It is the connective tissue that ties every trauma, or stroke of luck that resulted in my existence that is still present in my being. The malleability of the wire, as well as the patience and persistence required to create such an intricate work reflect my agency. This work posits the act of creation as an assertion of my autonomy.

#3c Temporary Self Portrait (diptych) Artist Statement
The traditional self portrait was painted quickly, from a mirror over two sessions, and reflects my emotional state at the time. When he saw it, my father commented that I’d made myself look
twenty years older, which is fitting. The floral sculpture, is a self-portrait in that I asked my family to describe me and then translated their descriptions into flowers using a floriography dictionary. While the sculpture itself did not last long, the sentiments it represents are not bound by time or a physical form. Together they are two halves of a whole. Both contain segments of time. One is a lasting reminder of my self-perception fresh off a deep trauma that threatened to become synonymous with my identity, while the other is a patient and meditative reminder of the love of my family and my wholeness as a person.

Exhibitor #4 Shannon Butler, Fort St. John, BC

#4a Bohemia Turtle Planter
Most of us remember those super cute small animal planters from a bygone era which were widely accepted as kitsch. Kitsch was considered lower class for a long time due to its frivolity and over ornamentation, basically being thought of as too decorated and silly to be taken seriously. With this turtle I embrace unashamedly the idea of the joy of kitsch, but also put my own bohemian inspired spin on it. This turtle is also totally functional and is decorated with locally inspired wheat, wild roses, and bluebells.

#4b Bohemia Set of Mugs
This set of mugs was inspired by the recent “Bohemia” body of work as a whole that I’ve been making during this period deemed forever in everyone’s minds as “Covid-19.” Although super scary, I found myself at the same time very inspired to completely immerse myself in my work during the small amounts of home-studio time available to me every day: 2 hours per day during babies’ nap, and to let my heart and natural inspiration guide the way. Moonlover, Sunkisser, Mary #1, Mary #2, Harvester, and Moth Gal Mugs were all inspired by my rural upbringing along with a precious trip to Sayulita Mexico and all around Bohemian Culture. Like the other pieces they were all hand built with porcelain and paddled into shape, not a typical set, they’re all one of a kind.

#4c Bohemia Moth Gal Bottle
This purposefully girthy bottle/vase was paddled into shape (with a rice paddle from Victoria’s Chinatown) over the course of two days. As potters will know, porcelain isn’t really meant to be handbuilt with, so time is of the essence and you slowly can get your clay to stand on its own and hold its form if you have patience, and I love the challenge and end result of doing it. I left the paddle marks on purpose in thinking that it is wonderful to see evidence of the maker’s hand. I then painted the “Moth Gal” illustration which is meant to be an interpretation of being connected to our third eye, our intuition, nature and our higher self. I hope this piece (as with all my work) can both stand alone as art as well as be functional, carrying flowers – oh what a lovely job to have.

Exhibitor #5 Barbara Daley, Fort St. John, BC

#5a Seasons of a Northern Buddha
I have a stone Buddha on the balcony that I have photographed through the seasons. I made a lino-cut of him and chose six photos through the year. I simplified the background with acrylic paint. Then I interpreted my photos using hand stitching. Throughout the year, Northern Buddha just sits there, doesn’t matter what the weather. I would like to be like him!

#5b Costa Rica

I hand-dyed a piece of linen, and it suggested an aerial view of a tropical coastline. The toucan was hand stitched using chain stitch. The rocks on the coastline were hand sewn on, and the surf suggested with saskiko thread.

Exhibitor #6 Emilie Mattson, Rolla, BC

#6 Reaching

A creative mind owns the fire
A daring energy of self reflections
Through book life and light
In a search for truth

Exhibitor #7 Angela Fehr, Dawson Creek, BC

#7a Perfectly Still
Nothing is ever perfectly still in the meadow, but I find myself holding my breath, trying to catch that heavenly pause when the whole earth hangs suspended on a breath of autumn air.

#7b Richly Washed
A sense of a moment just passed; a sudden downpour leaves a parched earth drunk and sated.

Exhibitor #8 Darby Forest, Fort St. John, BC

#8a Dragonfly Dusk
The painting “Dragonfly Dusk” is done in watercolour, ink and metallic pencil. I was inspired by my first painting of dragonflies, “Dragonfly Dawn,” which portrayed the soft hues of a summer sunrise. “Dragonfly Dusk” has much bolder colours of a late, sultry summer day, after a brief shower, with cattails waving in the breeze. The dragonflies, defined in ink, are profiled in front of the bold colours of the rainbow, the textures of which were attained by sprinkling salt onto the wet watercolour background.

#8b Dragonfly Dawn
Initially, I chose dragonflies from a series of animal photos submitted by the “Flying Colours Artists Association” for a “Points of View” gallery show. Dragonflies are delicate, complex, and transparent, which is why I used ink to define the dragonflies, and soft, blended watercolor hues for the background. The effect is to feel the warmth of the rising sun on a lazy summer day, gazing through the wings of the dragonflies at the edge of a pond.

A Note on the Photos: The original artwork is locked in our local art gallery. We could not access them to take top photos because of Covid-19. Some photos we are sending were taken before we understood that photos would be needed for this exhibit.

Exhibitor #9 Ken Forest, Fort St. John, BC

#9a A Bubble in Time
Every child should experience dragonflies flitting over a pond on a warm summer evening. This scene comes from lounging at the stem of a canoe in yet another river backwater on the Peace. The ebony dragonflies portrayed here really exist in nature. To gift my experience, I started with small recycled blocks of ebony and blood wood from a discard bin at Windsor Plywood. I carved a “relief” pond image and three-dimensional dragonflies separately, then joined them with resin. My aim is to develop a sharply contrasted, real and relatable scene, developing depths of light and shadow without any added colour enhancement. Would, that children in our changing climate future, will gaze on and contemplate such places as they grow up. Perhaps they can, for a moment, step into this carving to have a dragonfly light on a finger tip listen to the sound of whirring dragonfly wings and gaze through cattails.

#9b Wings on the Wind
What I saw, on a June evening while lounging in my canoe in a Wind River backwater, was a pair of Canada geese gliding over rushes to their nesting site. In December, I decided to put what I saw into a carving using natural materials: sheds from moose and deer antler collected below my home on the banks of the Peace River. The shape of the antlers keeps everything simple and flowing. My preference is to embed concepts of “simple” and “flow” and “natural” in my art. Light on a carving is everything. Changing light into the evening during the golden hours is even better. Avoiding, at all cost, the washout of florescent light in favor of natural light is, for me, paramount. Finding the right angle and light to portray a three-dimensional carving in a single photo, has been a challenge. When I reflect on this piece, I often find a place to step into, away from the usual business of our new covid surroundings.

Exhibitor #10 Irene Gut, Fort St. John, BC

#10 Sweet as Honey
I loved creating this mixed media piece because bees are amazing little animals that play a big role in providing my art material. I am working mainly with encaustic medium which is a mix of beeswax and damar resin (a tree sap) that I apply in a molten state to my substrate. I am very happy that I am able to include as much organic material as possible in my artwork.

Exhibitor #11 Joe Johnston, Charlie Lake, BC

#11 Spring

Exhibitor #12 mary mottishaw, Dawson Creek, BC

#12a, #12b, #12c

I am questioning my relationship to the land (environment, land). If I consider it a living being, then how do I respond to it? We have an enormous impact on each other!

Seeing the back of the figure is an intentional device asking the viewer to look with me; we face the same way, together.

I used the grid as a way to place the piece in my local landscape, where the Peace River Block is mapped into one-mile squares.

for “the gift of feathers”
Once I stated my intention to use found feathers, they were everywhere! Each feather is hand tied to the grid with blue thread to allow it movement.

for “sustain”
The banks of the river are collaged with bits of copied articles from the local newspaper reporting both drought and flood in Dawson Creek and the surrounding area. Both have been experienced in the last 10 years. Hand stitching is used as both a personal touch and to denote the passage of time.

Exhibitor #13 Delena Nelson, Fort St. John, BC

#13 Snare of Darkness
I was commissioned by a wife to create a piece of artwork that would hang in her husband’s recording studio. The art was to capture a feeling that would tie into his world. I engaged myself with his music and was influenced by his art form in this visual way. “Snare of Darkness” was created. A charcoal and acrylic ink pour on canvas. You can check out the music on You Tube @Smotherbox

Exhibitor #14 Dustin Popesco, Groundbirch, BC

#14a Rita Tasky
This piece actually taught me a lot about eye placement and correct proportions and how subtle touches can make or break a drawing. In the rough drafts, the subject’s head was either too small or too big or too hidden. The rice bag also didn’t look right, so this picture went through quite the development process until I arrived at this finished drawing.

#14b Jungle Courage
I once did a realistic elephant drawing for a friend, and it came out so good that I decided (with careful encouragement from my mother) to do another one for this exhibit except with a different kind of animal altogether.

#14c Lightning God
I was inspired by Greek Renaissance art and decided to do something similar.

Exhibitor#15 Isam Sharkiye, Fort Nelson, BC

#15a In the Round
I work in copper which is easier to cut into straight lines for squares or rectangles. But I really wanted to create something different which is this piece. I am happy to introduce the copper work of Syria to Canadians.

#15b Florals in Copper
Flowers are my absolute favorite thing to work in copper and the first thing my uncle in Syria taught me to do as a young boy. They are a happy image to me. I am happy introduce the copper art of Syria to Canadians.

#15c Wreaths in Copper
I started this design idea with the joined oval motif on the boarder and went from there. I was really happy with the wreaths as this is a new idea for me. I am happy to introduce the copper art of Syria to Canadians.

Exhibitor #16 Peter Shaw, Dawson Creek, BC

#16a Little Field

#16b September Sky

Exhibitor #17 Eliza Stanford, Fort St. John, BC

#17 In Situ
I have had a life long habit of looking down at the ground or beach for possible treasures. Often the “finds” are not just single objects to pick up, take a closer look and even possibly take home, but the treasure is in the arrangement of materials as we see them. Even shifting one’s view slightly to the right or left can change the composition, but the beauty is in all the possible compositions that nature provides us.

Exhibitor #18 Barbara Swail, Dawson Creek, BC

#18a, #18b, #18c SOLASTALGIA
In SOLASTALGIA I am looking at changes to the landscape and environs of my neighbourhood. Changes that leave me sad and nostalgic for the way it was. Changes that have been swift and intense. Change is inevitable of course. But some change is more difficult to accept, such as the loss of the star-studded night skies, the industrialization of the landscape, the sudden appearance of acres of gravel and chain link fence, the disappearance of narrow country roads and wooded wind breaks, the absence of animals, and quiet. In ecological terms, these are all evidence of environmental degradations. In SOLASTALGIA, I have focused on the emotional experience of loss of place.

Exhibitor #19 Sandy Troudt, Fort St. John, BC

#19a Autumn Interrupted
At the height of the autumn colour, an unexpected early snowfall interrupted the season. The morning light illuminated the scene in a spectacular fashion. I tried to capture that beauty in an abstract manner.

#19b Golden Glow
Winter is a season of constant changes. When the snow arrives unexpectedly early, and the sap is still running, the colours in the aspen trunks are often unusually beautiful. Dawn’s arrival leaves intriguing patterns of light and darks, both warm and cool.

#19c Renewal
I was attracted to this scene by how the colours in the distant trees, the new field and the grasses in the shadow were highlighted as they began to assume their spring hues.

Exhibitor #20 Payge Fortier, Dawson Creek, BC

#20a Flowering Tea
I wanted to share a feeling of calmness and living in the moment with my work “Flowering Tea.” A visual encouragement to wait in real time for the blossom to open up and share its delicate beauty. It was engaging to look deeply at the subtle light changes on the glass, and I was intrigued to study how the light refracts through the transparent surfaces.

#20b Sentinel and #20c Steadfast
My way of communicating with the landscape visually is through vibrant colours, strong lines, and contrast. I am most inspired while being in a natural environment. I create these works to share through my own eyes, the diverse and sometimes unnoticed beauty we live amongst. A weathered stump or gnarly little tree standing strong in constant battle with their harsh environments. With this goal in mind, I hope to convey the importance of our landscape and inspire its preservation for everyone to benefit from.

Exhibitor #21 Pat Harper, Arras, BC

#21 The Prospector
A prospector’s life. Days that turn into weeks, weeks that turn into years and years into decades. Time spent studying the rocks and finding the minerals that eventually become cell phones, computers and all the wiring that brings power to our homes. It all starts with a prospector. His devotion inspired me.

Exhibitor #22 Mary Parslow, Dawson Creek, BC

#22a Sophia
A beginning piece for a series of original prints exploring the concept of wisdom, specifically the wisdom of women. The print is developed using layer upon layer of monotype and linocut prints paralleling the layers of knowledge, intuition and mystery contained in the wisdom of women.

#22b Tide Rising
A Planetary SOS – A two plate original print exploring the concept of global warming and rising tides. The lines and shapes move gently across the page suggesting a calm and a peace in the water. Each plate is the same and rendered upside down expanding the idea of the slow unnoticed encroachment of advancing water. It escapes our consciousness and mirrors the current reality.

#22c I am Beside Myself
The Covid-19 situation has caused us to be alone at home. We are learning to be beside ourselves in a new way. This hybrid print of linocut figures on a monotype places me soundly beside myself with a need to reinvent a new solitary reality for the time being.

Exhibitor #23 Tracy Krauss, Tumbler Ridge, BC

#23a Love, #23b Kindness, #23c Gentleness

All three paintings are part of a conceptual nine piece series called “Fruit of the Spirit.” Each 12″ canvas represents one character trait as outlined in Galatians 5:22 of the Bible. I tried to conceptualize each one in as non-objective a way as possible.

Exhibitor #24 Janet Loiselle, Dawson Creek, BC

#24a A Wheel that Rolls No More

I am again drawn to history of the past. Painting this wagon wheel was a true test of my abilities. Because of the composition, it takes awhile to get your focus on what you are looking at, or so I have been told. As an emerging artist, I was experimenting with ways to paint the wood inside the rusted rim to feel old and worn and authentic, but also reflect signs of renewal with the wild daisies growing in and around the old wheel.

#24b A Ray of Sunshine

This particular painting was created because I can associate with its every detail. Being raised on a farm in Rolla, a much younger me had plenty of time to check out old buildings and barns. I would lay in the garden looking up at the sky while pulling nasturtiums off the plant and sucking out the sweet nectar as the sunflowers would sway in the warm wind.

Exhibitor #25 Amy Gothard, Fort St. John, BC

#25 I’m Yours

This piece is an exploration of colour and emotion as I attempt to connect with my subjects and express their experiences.

Exhibitor #26 Sherry Reynard, Fort St. John, BC

#26a The Save
This was an experiment just for me. A larger piece than I was use to and I tried to loosen my realism style a little bit. This was the end result and I was very pleased with it.

26b Watching Waves
My son and his family moved across the country to Newfoundland and this was one of the first photos taken when they arrived. This is my granddaughter standing at Cape Spear. It is one of my favourite pieces. I can almost feel the wind blowing her ponytails.

26c Thoughtful
I took this photo while on vacation last year. We were visiting Lake Louise and a young family asked me to take their picture. I took a family picture for them but also took a few of their daughter. I asked permission from her parents to paint and submit the painting and they loved the idea. This piece was completed last week and is the first in a childhood series of 5. I will be putting a word in every piece that describes childhood.

Exhibitor #27 Wayne Sawchuk, Rolla, BC

#27a Running out of Time
The Peace River is being dammed, and soon this piece of the river will be flooded. You can see an image of an hour glass in the photo, and it serves as a metaphor for the time-bounded nature of the dam’s inevitable tragedy, ultimately destroying, or at least changing forever, this amazing place. The boat is there to provide a fortuitous and much needed sense of scale.

#27b Packstring and Gataga Glaciers
Our ecotourism business takes us and the packstring into some amazing places in BC’s northern Rockies. Here the packstring rests on the upper Gataga, not far below the glaciers. I loved the alignment of the herd with the slopes of the mountains – a very synergistic system.

#27c The Wolves Came at Night
A snow angel on a wilderness lake. A pack of wolves. A visitation. What was the wolf thinking?

Exhibitor #28 Ovvian Castrillo-Hill, Fort St. John, BC

#28 Grace Received
One of the easiest and best ways to attain peace and balance is to have an attitude of gratitude! This sculpture depicts the joy and acceptance of blessings, wellness and enlightenment. It is the submission to knowing the joy of being in a state of grace. As a narrative, it can also be interpreted as a person who has received joy from the universe.

Exhibitor #29 Frances Obie, Fort St. John, BC

Peace River
When flying, I always try to get a window seat in order to be in a good position to take aerial photos. I find observing the layers of atmosphere, geographic patterns and compositions to be a great way to pass the time. “Peace River” started from one of these photos, taken when approaching the Fort St. John Airport. The river, viewed from above, looked like a mythical creature, spanning time and distance across the region – it had a powerful presence which gave the landscape identity.

Also evident from my aerial viewpoint was the changing shape of the river and the land surrounding it. There were signs of usage, development and industry. I was looking at a composition in the process of morphing – there was a story being told and the narrative consisted of natural forms and human intervention.

“Peace River” is an observation and interpretation. Change is represented by the collaged fragments of my original photo, cut into pieces, altered and repositioned. The flowing lines of the topography are the journey, the acquiescence of the natural environment through time. The geometric superficial lines suggest the imposition of structure and industry. Most importantly, I have tried to communicate the sense that the river has a nontemporal consciousness, character and spirit which will endure, despite its changing shape and the ongoing changes to the land and life surrounding it.

Exhibitor #30 Margaret May, Fort St. John, BC

#30a Charles Bridge, Prague
This is part of a series of paintings of places in Europe showing iconic locations that I visited in 2016. This painting is of the historic Charles Bridge in Prague, Czech Republic, a stone bridge completed in the 15th century and, for hundreds of years, providing a link between the old town and Prague castle. Viewing the bridge in the late afternoon, I was struck by the majesty of the historic landmark and the beauty of the reflections on the Vitlava River.

#30b Parliament Buildings, Budapest
Another in a series of European landmarks, this picture features one of the most notable buildings in Budapest, Hungary, the Parliament Building, seen here as we approached on a boat tour down the Danube River. The building seems to stand alone, looking out over the famous river with the sun reflecting off the imposing facade.

#30c Brussels in the Rain
Another painting in my series of European landmarks is the Grand Place of Brussels, Belgium, considered one of the most beautiful city squares in Europe. This view features the historic “King’s House” on the right. We arrived in Brussels late on a wet afternoon and walked to the Grand Place in the rain. In spite of the gray day, the light reflected off the wet pavement as people hurried across the square to find shelter.

Exhibitor #31 Rosemary Landry, Fort St. John, BC

#31a, #31b, #31c
I am a potter and delight in creating in clay. Over the years I have learned not to fall in love with a piece of pottery until it comes out of the final glaze kiln. If a piece of pottery cracks in the firing process, I accepted the fact “that there was another piece where that one came from” until I learned about Kintsugi…..the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with glue and a dusting of golden powder.

The images in my submitted works were inspired by several photographs presented to a group of artists as a challenge to interpret in their own style. Bas-relief or low relief carving is my first venture into creating a sculptural image on a solid background using simple tools. The challenge was in creating a foreground, middle ground and background on a solid slab of clay. This ancient technique has sparked my interest to explore the skill further.

Exhibitor #32 Caily Oldershaw, Pouce Coupe, BC

#32a Andrena’s Thistle
Local wild Andrena bee, also known as a mining bee, collects pollen from a Peace Country thistle beginning to blossom.

#32b Autumn Gaze
Intense sunlight streams across her face on a late fall afternoon. The warmth of the sun is contrasted with the cool breeze of winter ahead.

#32c Ascend
Honey bee ascending from a cherry flower under a canopy of spring blossom.

Exhibitor #34 Karl Mattson, Rolla, BC

#34 Lost
“Lost” is a 12 foot-tall welded sculpture made entirely from salvaged materials from Mattson’s farm and industry scrap yards. A wood stove doubles as a diving bell, and she has air supply tanks and communication devices. Her head (the bell) has been lit on fire at a few different exhibit locations, with fire marshal approval, with crowd interaction. Each time the sculpture it lit on fire, it becomes a new work of art. The work ties in with other recent work of mine, including “LIFE PODS” (“‘Life Pods” – beautifully awkward objects made from found industrial and farm materials that are also survival chambers, equipped with oxygen tanks and communication devices. – Border Crossing Magazine). Like “Life Pods,” “Lost” is meant to challenge the viewer with ideas around resource extraction, environmental degradation, and the sometimes bleak vision of humankind’s complacent march into a future of uncertainty.

Exhibitor #35 Crystal Behn-Dettieh, Fort Nelson, BC

#35a Elemental Culture

#35b Keh-Ta

Exhibitor #36 Melissa Klassen, Dawson Creek, BC

#36a Creation
This piece was created after a time of extreme introspection regarding life’s purpose and the role that we play in how our story is written. This piece was originally intended to be a quick 20 minute study on how newly purchased paint plays on the surface of a canvas. In those 2o minutes, it grew larger that it’s intended purpose and became a composition alluding to nature’s magnificence, and, in contract, my petite existence. The focus of weather and our inability to harness control on how clouds and storm systems behave (when we as humanity feel all-powerful in so many aspects in life) fascinates me.

#36b Amphibian Fog
This piece is a rumination on how subterranean earth, surface vegetation, and atmospheric domains are all interconnected, and, further, how they interact with the ethereal realm.

#36c Phoenix
This large abstract piece is to be interpreted, or enjoyed, as you see fit. There was no intended subject when creating the piece, and I simply enjoyed depositing paint onto canvas in a free and therapeutic way.

Exhibitor #37 Marilyn Farrow, Chetwynd, BC

#37 Alluring Aspens

… prominent lissom stature
… stark white skin among conifers
… supple bending against brisk winds
… varying hues throughout the day
… casting stretched shadows on the landscape
… soft pale glow in the moonlight
… sounding out a gentle song from fluttering leaves
… like a sentinel in the Peace

Since our home is nestled in the midst of an abundance of aspen trees, I feel the allure of the trees as they show their ‘personalities’ each day through the changing light and seasons. When creating this piece, I used a technique called inlay to layer various colours of clay to give a three dimensional view. “Alluring Aspens” is a wall hanging.

Exhibitor #38 Curtis Henry Dickie, Fort Nelson, BC

#38 Saviours Sent from Above

Saviours – the Thunderbirds, Ravens, and the little ones inside the woman, and the little one in the Thunderbird in mid-transformation.

Years ago I had a strange dream. I was hunting with my dad, and we were looking down a hill. We saw two moose fighting, then when I looked away and looked back again the fight evolved and had other giant Thunderbirds in mid-transformation, bears, wolves and other animals in a fury of feathers and fur.

This piece is a reflection of that dream.
Starting off in the bottom right corner,
A woman, with a baby bear cub inside her, or a baby with a bear spirit inside her.
The woman is pinned down by a large mother grizzly bear. Directly to the mother grizzly’s left is her cub.

On the mother grizzly’s head is a Thunderbird, and on her back is another Thunderbird in mid-transformation, transforming from a human figure into a Thunderbird. This Thunderbird has a baby Thunderbird inside her as well.

The grizzly cub is behind his mother facing off against the other birds on the left side of the panel. Throughout the panel you can see the birds coming to save the woman from the bears.

Throughout the panel you can see eyes on the birds which is depicting the dream, as in the dream the animals were evolving from eyes of the other animal.

Some tribes believed in supernatural beings sent from above, and Thunderbird is a common legend in tribes throughout North America. Some tribes believed in reincarnation and a long time ago native people could transform into other animals or beings from above.