Remembering the Joy of Life

Remembering the Joy of Life
Matthew Hildebrandt
May 24 - June 12
Opening Reception: May 24, 5-7

Matthew Hildebrandt, artist:
"In 1906 Henry Matisse painted The Joy of Life, a painting that participated in opening the doors for what would become the Western Modern Art movement. 

That piece was an ode to Cesanne's work The Bathers, and many artists in history have played on the theme of an idyllic age of humanness, where we frolicked naked and free, imbued with an aura of Eden-esque innocence.

...Maybe the whole universe is inside us, and maybe it would be impossible to be anything but this romantic oneness except for the trauma-infused mind's capacity to convince otherwise, and maybe those little birds singing in the tree really are cherubs after all and maybe, just maybe life is, in fact, perfect and maybe that includes you...

And that's a pretty joyful thing to remember.

My work steals unabashedly from artists such as Matisse, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Carr, Morrisseau, Rivera, Hockney, and many of the folk art styles from around the world including but not limited to the stone and wood carvers of the Pacific Northwest, the yarn and bead art of Huichol Mexicans, the Fraktur art of the Pennsylvanian Dutch Mennonites and the stone carvings of the Celtic and Norse."

Tossed and Found 7

Tossed and Found
Annual Group Show
May 3 - 22
Opening Reception : Friday May 3, 5-7pm

Tossed and Found's annual exhibit is more than a recycled material art show: the level of creativity we have seen through the years here leans toward morphing the object and animating what the artist captures in the energy of the item found.

Not only does this type of art showcase display the talent and creativity of the artists, but it also highlights the importance of sustainability: it challenges us to see the potential in everyday items and  to think differently about the materials we use and discard. 

Tossed and Found has built a loyal following and gets great reviews. Most of the artists exhibit their work only once a year and the well attended receptions reflect the playful and meaningful quality of the work presented.

Imaginarium Botanica

Imaginarium Botanica
Melanie Thompson
April 12 - May 1
Opening Reception: Friday April 12, 5-7pm
 

"Using a collection of botanical and found materials, I have made an installation creating an imaginary space, an Imaginarium Botanica. A variety of techniques from basketry, stitch, 3d sculpture, printmaking to paint and cyanotype is used to create the work. This environment encourages viewers to view botanical detritus with new eyes.

This work is partly born from a dire need to encourage the world to appreciate our natural environment with a desire to help saving it."

Melanie Thompson is a Canadian multi disciplinary visual artist. Already a professional basket maker, Melanie completed the Diploma in Fine Arts at ECUAD and continued with additional course work for a number of years. Her practice has a conceptual focus on material transformation and the environment, often including both 2 and 3 dimensional work in installations. 
Melanie has exhibited and sold her work widely. Her work can currently be found at Summer Artcraft, The Pottery, and Nook on Salt Spring Island, BC. It can also be viewed at https://ssartscouncil.com/user/melanie-thompson, www.craftcouncilbc.ca and on her instagram account https://www.instagram.com/melaniethompson1

Drawing from life

Drawing from Life
Dragonfly Life Drawing Group
March 22 - April 10 2024
Opening Reception Friday March 22, 5-7pm

Meeting weekly since 2021 at the Dragonfly artist supply store, the Dragonfly Life Drawing group features a wide range of talented professionals: painters, sculptors, fabric artists, illustrators, woodworkers, metalworkers, and interdisciplinary artists all sharing a passion for drawing the human body from life.The artists: Mike Deas, Bryn Finer, Georgia Henn, Martin Herbert, Jane MacKenzie, April Mackey, Patrick McCallum, Mel Williamson, Sal Wiltshire, Zoe Zafiris.

The artistic tradition of drawing the live figure has deep roots dating from the 5th century BCE, its foundation in the European academies of the late Renaissance and early Baroque era's classical art instruction. Sadly now generally absent from Contemporary art instruction, for many purists life drawing remains an integral element in an artist's mastery of drawing, painting, and most importantly: seeing.    

The exhibition will feature studies and sketches created during the live model sessions, in addition to figure-inspired finished works executed in a variety of mediums by the artists.

The elements and the Elementals

Artwork by the women of the She Said Collective
Exhibition: March 1- March 20
Reception: Friday March 1, 5-7pm

You are invited to the women of She Said Collective’s exciting eleventh art show, entitled The Elements and the Elementals. The elements encompass earth, water, wind, fire, thunder, ice, force, time, flower, shadow, light, and moon while the elementals are magical fairies who also represent nature: gnome, undine, sylph, and salamander.  

Enjoy the artists unique interpretation of the theme, utilizing paint, encaustic, mixed media, and repurposed found materials. Where will your imagination take you in this magical realm?

About She Said

In the spring of 2013 a group of women sat in a circle on the floor of Ahava Shira's studio near the top of Mount Maxwell. We relished our Sunday get togethers.These Sundays were inspirational. We learned to step out of our comfort zones, to share our voices, our stories and intimate journaling. 

As we neared the end of the gathering, Ahava asked each of us to share a dream, a wish, a desire. I stated that I would like to see my art on a wall. Each women expressed they would also love to exhibit their work.

And so it began with Pieces of Her Story, our first show.

Since 2013, we have held a yearly show except for 2021, the year of covid. We have had interactive pieces so that the public becomes part of the creation. One year some of us took to the stage with stories, films, and dancing.

Small Works

Small Works by the Gallery Members
Opening Reception: Dec 8, 4-7pm
Dec 1 to 21

It is a delight to be serving the community a buffet of small works by the members of the Salt Spring Gallery. In the darker times of the year, colour and light will await you at the gallery. You are invited meet your soul in the artist conversation with life.

These affordable works hold surprises and a rich palette of genres for all art appreciators looking for a special gift or to purely contemplate.  

The Beholders Share

The Beholders Share
Opening Reception Friday Nov 10, 5-7pm
Show is on Nov 10- 29 

The Beholders Share project is a three year endeavour to highlight biodiversity loss and global warming through visual metaphors in both 2 and 3-D textile work. Images of flora, fauna and modern technology compete for space in a collage of imagery, materials and techniques. The "Beholders Share" is an Art term that speaks to a viewers role when taking in art. We bring all of our past experiences  to the table thus personal meaning to the work . With enjoyment, bewilderment , disgust or boredom, our brains finish the work- ultimately meaning all Art is collaborative. On the canvas of our environmental crisis we also participate in terms of environmental responsibility and our collaborative or destructive relationship with nature- which we in fact,are a part of not separate from. 

The Beholders Share is an exhibit of sketches - screenprinting, wax resist dying and chalk pastel on heavy watercolour paper. These sketches serve as explorations before moving on to silk using similar techniques. 
The 3-D folded origami- like works- some in silk and some in paper will be alongside the sketches. Over the span of three years the work jumps dramatically in scale mirroring the environmental impacts now being acutely felt, globally. 

Impression 8

Impression 8
October 20 - November 8


The Salt Spring Island Printmakers Society's 8th annual show features new works by 15 SSIPS members. A variety of techniques have been used including dry point, gelli plate, wood reduction, collagraphs and lino cut. Members have also created colourful lanterns using twig frames and printed shades, and a series of mini-prints (4" x 4"). 

SSIPS started over ten years ago as a group within the SSI Painters Guild. Two years ago it became a separate society, and last year it moved into a studio space at SIMS which is now fully equipped with 4 presses plus tools and materials for most non-toxic printmaking techniques.  Workshops, school class sessions, activity days, and mentored studio time are offered to its 45 members and the public. 

For more information please check the website (www.ssiprintmakers.ca) or contact Nora Layard (nlayard@shaw.ca).