There was something for everyone at Studio Connexion during the reception for the gallery’s ninth annual Deck the Walls holiday showing.
Nine artists in total have pieces at the gallery right now, including Kate Tupper, Roni Jurgensen, and Tim Andrews.
A variety of styles and mediums are on display, including water colours, engraved stainless steel, oil paintings, metal, and mixed media with metal.
For curator Anne Beliveau, variety for the event was key.
“You try to put together a good variety so it’s not all paintings, or all photographs,” she said. “There has to be a really good mix of things, and I try to respect that the most.”
Some of the artists, like Sharon Bamber and Denyse Marshall, are permanent artists at the gallery, meaning there is always a display of their work somewhere in the gallery. For other artists, such as Tim Andrew, this is the first time they have taken part in Deck the Walls.
Andrew works with stainless steel, engraving images onto the steel using high speed rotary tools.
“I’ve been a metal worker most of my life,” he said. “Giselle (his wife) and I both have a business called the Rave ‘N’ Iron, and we both hand engrave on earrings, pendants, wallets, money clips, things like that.”
Through his work engraving smaller items, Andrew gradually wanted to work on larger pieces. His largest pieces in the gallery is 12” tall by 6” wide, featuring a river in the middle of a forest heading straight to a mountain in the background.
Though many of his works are of a nature setting, they’re not necessarily based on real life images.
“Most of the time I do stuff out of my head that are more imaginative pieces,” he said. “I’ve been doing a lot of travelling over the years between between BC and Alberta, and I’ve been really inspired by the mountains.”
Those who attended the reception were thoroughly impressed with what was on the walls.
“There are lots of different artists with a whole different twist to them,” said Theresa Radley, a resident of Nakusp who attended the opening. “It seems that you get a feel to what Anne is putting out in her gallery, but there are a few different artists today, so that’s very nice.”
One of Radley’s favourites at the showing is metal work created by Kate Tupper. She said she found it fascinating, because it looks like it could be something very light weight, but when a person touches it, they realize it’s heavy duty, which can throw a person off.
She thinks having a gallery like this in Nakusp is important.
“Every little thing like this adds to the community, and we’re all proud of our little town.”
For Beliveau, having the commercial gallery in the village is more than about selling art, it’s about encouraging small businesses in a small community that has a lot to offer.
“There are clothing stores, variety stores, a gallery, so why not spend money here in Nakusp and keep those dollars here instead of going to a big corporation?” she concluded.
Deck the Walls runs from Nov. 24 to Dec. 23.
