Get your name in the draw box for local artist Joy Kuechle’s “Chirpy Chums” that will go home with one lucky person attending the opening reception on March 1 for the Beaverlodge Art Club’s 28th annual Miniature Art Show at BACS. The show and sale is the yearly fundraiser for the Club that was founded close to 30 years ago by pioneer artist, Euphemia McNaught.
The perennially-popular Beaverlodge Art Club’s miniature art show and sale is once again returning to our crimson-walled Main Gallery at the Beaverlodge Art and Culture Centre March 1.
“Tiny Treasures,” this year’s theme, will feature small, affordable artwork by local artists. Even the most art-filled home has room for a pint-sized piece of original art!
Coralie Rycroft, President of the Art Society, explains, “This show and sale is our primary annual fundraiser for the Art Club and helps us promote art in our community and support our local artists.”
The art pieces on display – no larger than 12 x 12 inches – will include a variety of media: watercolour, oil, acrylic, prints, photographs, jewelry and more, all ready to hang, display, or wear.
This year represents the 28th annual Miniature Show that the Beaverlodge Art and Culture Centre has hosted on behalf of the fundraising activities of the Art Club.
Each year there is a tiny treasure offered by one of the participating artists for the opening day draw – “Chirpy Chums” by local artist Joy Kuechle’s (chickadees are her favourite bird to paint) will be going to a new home with a lucky attendee at the end of opening day, March 1. Get your name in the draw box!
An acrylic painting class got Joy hooked and she’s been painting ever since, with inspiration coming from nature, farm life, and the beautiful skies of the peace country.
The Sky’s The Limit
Josh Bourget is fascinated by clouds.
“We tend to think of geographical features to be permanent, but we wrestle to chart the ever-changing skyscapes above us. The sky is full of landscapes; no two are the same.”
And so was born Josh’s first solo exhibit at BACS. “Skyscapes – Forgotten Lands” is an artistic photographic exploration of landscapes created by the constantly shifting veils of vapours above us.
“Many early mornings and late evenings have been spent chasing the light with my camera.”
Having spent his childhood years in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, Josh was introduced to art forms as a young boy in the Matchbox Gallery which he could observe from his bedroom window across the street.
“The owners taught me the basics of watercolour and pottery, and I spent as much time there as possible. The smell of clay and kilns became the fragrance of acceptance and escape.”
Sexsmith photographer Josh Bourget explores the ever-changing clouds above us with his first solo exhibit in the Art and Culture Centre’s Mini Gallery. “Skyscapes – Forgotten Lands” will be on display, free to the public, until March 26.
When he was 11 his family moved to Yellowknife and when in high school his love of the artistic process was reignited.
Again, he was drawn to the smell of clay and kilns. However, it wasn’t until he was married and settled in Sexsmith that Josh picked up the camera in earnest and dove into photography as his chosen art form. Since then he’s developed his art to be purposeful in its composition and expression.
About “Skyscapes – Forgotten Lands,” Josh explains, “In this series of photographs I explore the reinterpretation of the sky as landforms. These are fleeting moments which fade and are forgotten.”
Josh’s photographs won’t be forgotten. All pieces are printed on matte cotton rag archival paper using UV inks, giving longer life to the art, as they are much less likely to fade over time. The pieces are presentable with or without the extra protection of UV glass.
The opening reception for both shows takes place at 2 p.m., Sunday, March 1 (doors open at 1 p.m.) with the galleries open for viewing free of charge until March 26. Finger foods will be served in the centre’s tea room and we’re grateful to have freshly roasted coffee generously supplied and served by locally-operated Rustic Woods Coffee Roasters.
Submitted by Cathrine Gabriel
