It's always a good time on Gambier Island. Last weekend's ninth annual art show was no exception.
This year, it included a chance to socialize at a fundraising Bavarian barbecue with entertainment from musicians Bobby Bruce, Tom Terrell and Randeesh.
The community centre bulged with examples of how islanders have developed their artistry, and in amongst the ceramic herons and the paintings of the Twin Islands, the visitor could catch glimpses of what island life is all about.Take, for example, Carol Whittaker's latest paintings, Gambier Ceiling Numbers 1 and 2. This vertical perspective of treetops and sky puts the viewer on the forest floor looking up. Whittaker's impressionistic landscapes have matured over the last few years to become truly outstanding.
Daphne Dawson's acrylic, Winter Cottage, also revealed a bit about island life. Surrounded by a midnight dark sea and sky, the rustic cottage with all its lights blazing glows yellow. It's isolated here in winter, says Dawson, who spends seven months of the year on Gambier. One year, she decided that she would really like to learn to paint and she approached resident professional artist Gloria Masse. The small painting group that she helped to found has now grown into a group of about 12 who meet to paint and critique each other's work. The class includes the current chair, Peter Huw-Smith, of an association known as the Artists of Gambier Island. At the art show, he showed his pen and ink nude figure studies and pointed to another experimental painting. Two artists, Huw-Smith and Robert Jeffrey (Bobby) Bruce, each with a brush in either hand, applied paint together. The result will not hang in the national gallery, but it is a collaboration that suggests future possibilities. It's all part of engaging the community in art.
"We want to be inclusive," Huw-Smith says. "If you have been watching and supporting artists, you are creative."Gloria Masse's own work at the art show was a touching depiction of beloved pets, Waiting for John. Joley Switzer, who was once an illustrator of biology textbooks, joined the art group a few years ago to learn more. Her arresting watercolour, Salmon in Whispering Creek Estuary, captures the grim dying moments of the fish that Switzer describes as magnificent.Margaret Gabriel's interest in cuisine inspires her food art, in this case peaches, plums, figs and tomatoes. Who knew that asparagus could look so good? Professional artist Morgan Campbell showed his ceramic designs rendered in functional mirror frames, and also his woodblock prints. The colourful Ursula Fritsch did not disappoint with several collage pieces grouped under the title Little Bits Count. Sean Dixon painted paddles in the aboriginal style with images of salmon, heron and orca. Morley Baker covered a wall with new abstract work - leaner, black and white and moving closer to an artist Baker admires, Don Jarvis. Another professional artist and Gambier resident, Monte Monred Christoffersen (see photo on page A1), drew on his Assiniboine roots in rendering aboriginal faces in giant mural style.
This year's show focused on the work of self-taught artist Helge Johansen, who began to paint only after he turned 80 years old and was prolific until his death earlier this year.
Members of the Johan-sen family, three daughters and a granddaughter, were brimming with poig-nant memories as they gathered on Gambier from their Mission and Maple Ridge homes to visit island resident Tina Johansen. They had mounted some 30 pieces, watercolours of campfire scenes, cement sculptures of famous faces and many sketches depicting Johansen's beloved animals. Born in Denmark in 1916, he later operated a small zoo and wildlife refuge near Boston Bar, B.C., where he had built his own home using many colourful and recycled materials.
On Sunday afternoon, the art show spilled outside to listen to the Dylan-style folk blues of Tom Terrell (discovered while busking at a ferry terminal) with vocals by Jamie Elliott. Roberts Creek performer Randeesh interspersed reggae and original music with old standards. Later that evening, Bobby Bruce, the Neil Diamond tribute singer, entertained at a barbecue dinner cooked by professional pastry chef and deli manager Henning Nielsen of Tsawwassen. Once a month, he and 20 volunteers produce a similar feast in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside to serve free to the homeless. Bruce provides the entertainment. Proceeds from the Gambier meal will be split between the Artists of Gambier Island and Neilsen's group, One More Time.
