Hi everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful week and are adjusting well with the time change. The mornings are a little lighter, but the evenings sure seem to come earlier now.
How did the Art Crawl go? We hear so much about the Art Crawl well in advance with all the advertising and information available, but I was curious as to how this three-day event was for the artists and visitors after it’s all over. I canvassed some local artists in Halfmoon Bay and the response was heartwarming.
Ruth Rodgers said, “The Art Crawl went surprisingly well, given the circumstances. Folks were really attentive to the health protocols, everyone wore masks, and provided contact tracing without prompting.” Ruth had about 60 per cent of the usual number of visitors to her studio with very satisfactory sales of both paintings and books. She said that it was a “heartwarmingly positive” experience. Now that the Art Crawl is over, Ruth will turn her attention from painting to writing and has another historical fiction plot simmering. Her first book, Those Who Wander, is sold out but she has ordered 20 more just in time for Christmas shopping. The sequel, Those Who Stay, is available to purchase from Ruth directly or at Talewind Books in Sechelt. Contact Ruth at [email protected].
Chris Ainslie from The Mink Farm Gallery shared some thoughts. “The Art Crawl went well, all things considered.” Chris said that the numbers were down significantly as was expected. The last few years the Gallery has had between 800 and 1,000 visitors but this year, there were close to 300. Chris noted that “the people who did come were very enthusiastic and excited when they got into the building. Visitors always love what the inside of the Gallery has going on and I try to change things up every year.” The Gallery is lucky to have enough space to have larger groups of people with social distancing still possible. Chris feels that people were happy to get out and do something social yet being distanced at the same time. Chris would like to give all the credit to Linda Williams and the Sunshine Coast Art Crawl committee for still being able to make this event happen. Visit chrisainlie.com to view some of his amazing creations.
A new participant in the Art Crawl this year and fairly new to the Sunshine Coast is Zaan Classens. Zaan and her husband Carl moved to Halfmoon Bay from South Africa in March and began building her dream studio in their level garden area on their property. Zaan’s art is diverse as she loves to explore the unique possibilities of each medium. She primarily works in oil paint, bronze sculpture and digital photography, and has explored black and white photography, collage, pastel, charcoal, ink, pencil, mixed media and textiles. Zaan said, “I have participated in many art exhibitions over the years in South Africa but never experienced the same excitement and pure joy that I did during this event!” Her heart is full and although the three-day event can be difficult with long hours and continuous conversation, she said that even days later, she feels “high on life!” Zaan is most grateful to be a part of the artist community and a very happy resident of Halfmoon Bay. Visit Zaan’s website to view her incredible creations: zaan.co.za.
Thank-you to the artists for their input and thank-you to everyone involved to make this event on the Sunshine Coast so successful and amazing!
Have your “Say at the Bay,” please contact me before 5 p.m. on Mondays. [email protected].
Be kind, be gentle, be safe.
