This is the second in a series about the artists of Pratt Road, an historic road that used to be a country track. It’s easy to imagine how it once was when you turn into the idyllic acreages of people who call it home today.
It was a sunny day when I visited Rule’s Roost with its colourful stand selling farm-fresh eggs and face masks. Artist Susan Rule is known for her colourful signs along Pratt Road, reminding people to slow down, as it is a residential street and a wildlife crossing.
Along with husband John Rule, a well-known drummer (think Colorifics) and daughter Sage, Susan lives in an old logger’s cabin, much added onto. Before viewing her art, I got a (physically-distanced) tour of well-kept chicken coops where 11 varieties of heritage birds happily pecked at my feet. The chickens produce eggs in a rainbow of colours that sell out quickly. Continuing the tour, we passed by a pond to view the “art fence” Susan created, using repurposed wood and old pieces of metal beautifully worked onto the old boards of the fence.
As her father and grandfather were both artists, it was natural for Susan to go into Fine Arts, studying theatre at Douglas College, learning everything from set and costume design to acting. Her career has taken her from Expo 86 in the Canadian Pavilion to the Goh Ballet, to folk festivals. She acted in the Fort Steele Vaudeville – doing 1,000 shows! From the East Kootenays at the Wild Horse Theatre and Keycity Theatre in Cranbrook, she returned to Victoria as a single mother, and worked at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. After two years she and her daughter moved to Commercial Drive with John. His gig at the Gumboot in Roberts Creek 17 years ago led to their move to Pratt Road – an ongoing labour of love in renovations and improvements.
Working in a variety of media, some of Susan’s work could be called folk art with her colourful and creative use of found objects. One of her inspirations is Maude Lewis, the maritime folk artist known for bright colours and sunny images. You might recognize Susan from the many Driftwood Players productions she’s been in, doing everything from set design, to costumes to acting. Acting is a passion of hers and she told me of the favourite actor she worked with, Gordon Pinsent, “a humble man who would talk to everyone. We told each other ghost stories.”
She’s volunteered a lot of her time as an artist, including producing banners for Gibsons. Remember the salmon project? Susan created four colourful fish, one of which hangs in the Seaweeds store. Other projects include working with students from Cedar Grove School to create two murals. She did the set painting, décor and makeup for the school’s Jungle Book play and helped with Romeo and Juliet. A well-known clown, Susan has face-painted generations of children. You may have seen her at Halloween at the museum – one year as Emily Carr’s ghost!
Like so many artists, Susan has participated in the Art Crawl and I left with a couple of her beautiful art cards based on her astonishing array of work. Leaving the quiet of the Rules’ acreage onto Pratt, I was reminded of why she places imaginative signs along the road – some people drive like Pratt Road is a freeway! Slow down, enjoy the drive and imagine this historic road the way it used to be.
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