Annerose Georgeson, Vanderhoof’s local artist, was in in Banff to display an exhibit of her art under the theme of the pine beetle.
The International Union of Forest Research Organizations held their conference from September 15 to 19 to bring forest scientists from around the world to speak on the topic of Forest Insect Disturbance in a Warming Environment, or the pine beetle effect.
Georgeson had her first exhibition of beetle art at the Saik’uz First Nation called “Red and Blue” because of the effect pine beetles have on the colour of wood.
“We three artists were all doing art dealing with the forest and forest insects so they invited us to take part,” said Georgeson. “Each of us made a presentation. Mine was how the Mountain Pine Beetle affected my life and my heart. I used to live in a pine forest but now I live in a clearcut.”
But the clearcut is totally regrowing, which is a positive thing. “Nature takes care of itself pretty much,” said Georgeson. “Right now I’m working on a series of work just about all of the changes in the forest, not just the pine beetle.”
The Mount Pine Beetle infestation has affected over 16.3 million hectares of forest in B.C.
The three artists had never worked together before but Georgeson said they knew of each others’ work. There were over 40 works of art shown at the conference, some of them as big as four feet by six feet.
“I showed current work and I showed quite a bit, they gave us each a separate room to show our work. And we worked together to make a silkscreen work together, we worked with images and produced it all together.”
When asked if Vanderhoof is her inspiration, Georgeson said “Entirely, that’s all I paint.” She goes hiking and walking several times a week to take pictures and sketches of the area.
