Cobble Hill Hall will be transformed into a showcase for 17 Visions Artists Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 19 and 20 for their Autumn Show and Sale.
Using display screens for the hung art and tables for jewelry, the group, which has been presenting studio tours and gallery shows for more than 20 years, will once again show how impressive the art scene is in the Cowichan Valley.
Visions Artists are from Lake Cowichan, Duncan, Cowichan Bay, Cobble Hill, Shawnigan Lake and Mill Bay.
Guitarist Brad Prevedores will play both days of the show, and food will be available in the dining area. It’s an art event you shouldn’t miss.
Who’s on deck? Painters Bev Robertson, Sue Coleman, Roger Jackson, Linda Yurgensen, Anna Milton, Charlotte Haggart and Carolyn McDonald will be there plus pencil and pastel artist Donna Birtwistle, photographers Nathalie Mansey and Brigette Furlonger; jewelry designers Karen Bottcher, Jo Kimm, Lynn Williams and Susan Whyte, potter Lyndsay Hunley and glass and clothing painter Terry Harrison.
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I’ve had a couple of emails already about my big Books, Books, Books story.
Artist/author Sue Coleman writes that she was “surprised to have a phone call from Volume One book store. They read an article by you that mentioned my book Return of the Raven. We were away this weekend so didn’t see the paper. Awesome and funny at the same time as a second book The White Raven is due to be delivered either tomorrow or Thursday.
“Not sure if you had the chance to read the first book but the second is about our hero’s evil brother. Lots of fun to write, transformations, melting Easter eggs, a car that can run with no engine, a young humpback whale in serious trouble, and a little icy pool suddenly becoming an overflowing hot spring cooking everything around it. In the middle of this chaos is our hero and his eagle side kick out to save the day.”
Part of the Visions Show in Cobble Hill (mentioned above), Coleman will be giving away a couple of copies as a door prize.
The other author is Cobble Hill’s Joanna Weston, who said she, too, has written other books besides A Summer Father, featured in last week’s story.
It’s great to catch up on what these writers are doing now.
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The Cowichan Valley Arts Council’s fall intensive speaker series runs weekly to Nov. 6, covering a range of fascinating fields including curating your family stories, bas relief coin design and Chinese visual art, according to CVAC publicist Susan Down.
These lunchtime events take place at Portals Studio in the Cowichan Community Centre starting at noon. Admission is by a suggested donation of $5.
On Wednesday, Oct. 23, it’s Vision of China: The Art of Stephen Lowe.
Born in China, Stephen Lowe worked in the Chinese tradition and his love for the natural beauty of the country shines through. He immigrated to Canada and from his art studio in Victoria, shared his vision of China-sensitive watercolours. In his short life, he has held 23 one-man shows, including exhibitions at the United Nations in New York.
The speaker at this session is Lon Wood, who has kept his eyes open during a 35-year career as a reporter, editor and columnist in B.C.
On Wednesday, Oct. 30, the lunchtime show is about Creating and curating a show using your family history.
Artist Fran Benton used her father’s war memorabilia to create a show with drawing, sculpture, printmaking and a film. Dad’s War (which opens Oct. 28 at CVAC) is a very unusual art show about the nature of Remembrance Day. The show is viewer friendly with opportunities to be involved with the materials. Benton will talk about how to create an exhibit that is personal.
She has degrees from Camosun College, Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, and the University of Victoria.
“These schools taught me to embrace the wonderment of the world and respond in kind. I taught art for many years and that experience reminded me to always be on the lookout for new and innovative ways of art making and appreciate finely crafted works and ideas. My current practice includes sculpture, painting, ceramics, and video,” she says.
The series winds up Nov. 6 with Mint Condition: Designing Bas Relief Images for Coins.
Angela Pistrucci, an artist living in the Cowichan Valley who specializes in portraiture, sculpture, and bas relief, will discuss the intricate process behind creating art for coins.
She was commissioned to design the first Gold Sovereign for Gibraltar. This work and her others are on permanent display at the Italian Mint Museum in Rome, Italy. She is carrying on the tradition of her ancestor, Benedetto Pistrucci (1783-1855), an Italian coin engraver, probably best known for his St. George and the dragon design for the British sovereign.
