High energy, interactive, maybe even rambunctious. These are good words to describe the organized chaos of the Imagination Network, a pop-up art studio presented by Deer Crossing the Art Farm.
A space, formerly a restaurant at Sunnycrest Mall, Gibsons, has been transformed with paint and collage, costumes and shadow puppets by its visitors who range in age from the very young to senior residents of Christenson Village.
“It was very interactive with the group we had in this morning,” said Sandy Buck who was helping two youngsters draw and cut out their own puppets. She pointed to a huge butterfly painted on the wall and a trunk overflowing with costumes. “They dressed up and performed in front of the camera telling their own stories.” They were a class of preteens and they were videoed by Joah Lui of Roberts Creek, artist in residence for the day and the woman behind the camera. “I’m using video as a tool of engagement,” she said.
Teens are not the only visitors to the art studio, Lui tells Coast Reporter. She’s expecting a group of seniors to stop by and tell their stories. The stories of the elderly provided the genesis of this art program. Those who saw the Imagination Network’s creative show at Christenson Village during last October’s Art Crawl will not be surprised to see the stories presented again in funny, touching ways.
Using a process called Time Slips, the residents were asked to comment or make up stories about the bizarre images they were seeing. The giant butterfly painted on the wall of the studio comes from a photo of an elderly man who appears to have sprouted wings while walking past the butterfly – it provoked much discussion from the viewers in story format. The comments have been posted on the wall of the studio. And who could forget one of the most popular images dubbed The History of Eyeballs?
Goosey Gander, Where Shall I Wander, depicts a woman trying to fit a very large goose into a small car seat. The stories that evolved from that one include such nuggets of wisdom as “You have to be sure to carry snacks with you when travelling with geese.” Lui showed a prop, a fabric goose, that she will use to elicit more stories, and before she is finished demonstrating, another group of visitors enters the studio. They are not the expected seniors but a group of special needs people, many of them young adults. Without missing a beat, Lui brings out her story-telling goose and quickly divides the visitors into three groups to do art work, stories and puppets.
The pop-up art studio is for fun, while a more serious program is underway in connection with Douglas College in which researchers will study and validate the outcomes of such projects for those with memory loss.
The art studio is open Monday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Sunnycrest Mall and runs until March 10 only. There will be a big finale on that day from 4 to 7 p.m. All are invited.
