April Cuffy
Castlegar Art Walk Editor
Castlegar Art Walk 2014 runs until September 14, featuring more than 30 local and regional artists and artisans, displaying work at 26 venues around Castlegar. Maps for this self-guided art tour are available at the Castlegar Visitor Centre and the Castlegar News office. For more information, please visit www.castlegarculture.com/culture-guide/castlegar-art-walk.
Each week, The Castlegar News is featuring biographies from different artists in the show.
Artist Name: Kari Burk
Venue: Castlegar & District Public Library (#3)
Medium: “Book Art”
Current City: Castlegar, B.C.
Contact: castlegarculture.com/culture-guide/muddy-tutu-organized-grime-garden-art
BIO and Artist Statement:
I live in Castlegar (AKA “awesomeville”), B.C. where I own and operate Muddy Tutu Organized Grime & Garden Art. However, I was born in Calgary, Alberta in 1962. In 1986, I graduated from the Emily Carr University of Art and Design’s Interdisciplinary Studies program. Mainly I work in illustration, photography and painting.
I am also the author of 15 self-published poetry books; creator of the comics “Actionation” and “Edgar;” and a recipient of two Columbia Basin Trust/Columbia Kootenay Cultural Alliance grants. My latest book of poetry, “Change of Plants,” will be available in August 2014 through Controlled Burn Publications.
This year, I am featuring photos, paintings and poems from my forthcoming book “Snapshot of a Soul Place in the land of special needs,” in the Castlegar Art Walk series.
The creative opportunity at the heart of art is what I enjoy. A balance usually happens where my artwork gives back to me as much as I give to it. The developmental process involved in making this book was akin to creating a garden—plenty of worthwhile heart and hands work, resulting in a lovely harvest!
Artist Name: Sandra Donohue
Venue: Kalawsky Chevrolet, Buick, GMC (#12)
Medium: Paintings (watermedia)
Current City: Robson, B.C.
Contact: castlegarculture.com/culture-guide/sandra-donohue
BIO AND ARTIST STATEMENT:
In 1997 I began painting and I am mostly self-taught. I paint images of florals, landscapes, and still-life, in watercolour, acrylic, oil and pastel. Light and colour have been the focus in my work.
This year’s paintings for Art Walk are mainly nature/landscape oriented, with a lot of inspiration from a trip I took in February to Ft. Simpson, Northwest Territories. In 2013, I experimented with “frost paintings,” which are done outdoors in sub-zero temperatures to capture actual frost designs as you paint. Sometimes they are successful, but lots of time they aren’t. These types of paintings have to be simple and done very quickly. I found it was actually too cold (between -40oC and -20oC) in Ft. Simpson. The paint turned to ice on my paper as soon as I applied it, not allowing the (necessary) frost crystals to form. When I returned home, there were still a few mornings when the temperature worked for me, and I was able to get some successful paintings.
For the Castlegar Art Walk 2014, my paintings can also be found at Central City Shoes (with the Robson Painters) and at the Doukhobor Discovery Centre (with the Selkirk Weavers Guild).
