Skip to content

Expo of the Arts attracts sculptors, carvers

When the Exposition of the Arts opens in Sechelt on Mother's Day weekend, May 8 and 9, about 25 artists will show their work - some of them new to the Coast's art and craft fair circuit. This premiere event hosted by Royal Canadian Legion No.

When the Exposition of the Arts opens in Sechelt on Mother's Day weekend, May 8 and 9, about 25 artists will show their work - some of them new to the Coast's art and craft fair circuit.

This premiere event hosted by Royal Canadian Legion No. 140 features guest artists from Chilliwack, sculptor Roland deWilde and glassblower Louayne Rhode, along with Coast Salish carver Jim Yelton and the Coast's own caricaturist and Coast Reporter contributor, Terry Barker.

The idea for the arts exposition, a notch above the usual craft fair, came from Jenny Rücker, a designer of hand-knitted clothing. She was the organizational force behind the annual art exhibits in Madeira Park during the Pender Harbour Jazz Festivals. Along with George Goudy, a former Legion board member, the two sought a venue for unique, highly creative works. But when Rücker was recently sidelined by a ruptured disc and had to wait for surgery, the organizers could not continue. The Legion stepped in to host, as did a new Coast artist, Els Mol. She was once a painter in a traditional European style but now likes to paint and decorate found items. She's excited by this exposition of work and particularly by the featured artists. Vancouver born deWilde experimented with various art forms from pastels and oils to wood carving before someone gave him his first piece of B.C. stone. He then discovered his true calling. After growing up in the Chilliwack River valley's natural setting, he allowed the wildlife around him to inspire his sculptures. He depicts animals and birds: eagles, whales, dolphins, bears, all carved from a single piece of stone. The sculptures will often weigh about 100 pounds and could be two feet across on the average, costing from $900 to $9,000, though he'll be bringing some smaller and less expensive pieces to the Expo. DeWilde's passion is to work on a piece of soapstone, alabaster or marble and create, for example, a perfect orca blasting out of a wave. Currently, he is also pushing into new territory by sculpting abstract Picasso-like people in stone. Rhode has used the torch since 2001. She works with Italian soft glass and an oxygen propane torch to add many glass beads individually to her creations. Among her specialties are decorated hollow pendants and angel hangers of her own design. Yelton lives on the Coast and is best known for his hand-carved talking sticks from red cedar. The sticks represent a symbol of speaking authority and respect for communication. Other local artists with unique specialties will also be showing their work. Almuth Billig makes one-of-a-kind purses out of felted raw hemp, raw silk and linen. Both she and her daughter, Silke Billig, believe in the power of hemp as a material. "It lasts forever and has natural oils, like wool," Silke says.

She will be displaying her naturally-dyed fleece and decorative figurines made from the fleece, along with her jewellery.

Other artists on show include eight members of the St. John's United Art Club who meet regularly on Thursdays to paint in watercolour, acrylic and ink. Also on site will be ceramic artist Cornelia van Berkel, artist Ken Walters, jewellery artisan Peggy Collins, Valerie Haines, Maggie Hampson, Sue Kannakko and Vanessa Pybus-Renkers. The Expo of the Arts runs from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on May 8 and from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on May 9 at the Legion Hall at 5591 Wharf Street in Sechelt. There'll be affordable gifts there for mothers, from $10 to $1,000, Mol says. Admission is free to allow everyone to come and view the work.