Art Beat: Threads of meaning run through Madeira Park

A showcase involving dozens of contributors opened with a public reception at Madeira Park’s FibreWorks Studio and Gallery on Sept. 17, featuring works in a medium at once familiar and surprising: paper.  

“Paper is a fibre, but not one that a lot of people consider when they’re working [in traditional fibre arts],” said Alexis Bach, executive director of FibreWorks. Bachs curated the Interplay show, which invited artists to contribute artworks inspired by lines, light and shadows that use paper as their primary medium. A jury of FibreWorks society members chose works for display. The final selection includes artists from the Sunshine Coast, the Lower Mainland, and as far away as the United Kingdom. 

Some pieces, like Rosemary Burd’s 3:47 pm i, began as digital photographs but were enhanced through a wide array of techniques. In Burd’s case, a print on rag paper is painstakingly embroidered with silk threads to add texture and luminescence. Catherine Nicholls’s homeword stitches newspapers, maps and photos into a patchwork meditation on familiarity and security. golden days, by Pat Wilson, accordions paper adorned with organic motifs to become a three-dimensional starburst. 

“I always appreciate a group show for how artists interpret the theme,” said Bach. “It reflects narrative expression where you can take one absolute theme and it’s never interpreted in the same way because of our own subjective experiences, our worldview and the medium that we choose to express ourselves in.” 

Interplay remains on display at the yurts of FibreWorks until Oct. 30. More details are online at fibreworksgallery.com. 

Leaping off the page 

Coming on the heels of last weekend’s reading of Mary Burns’s Stu and Dick Hit Vegas, the Off the Page series has announced it will present a reading of Vancouver playwright Kico Gonzalez-Risso’s Inquisition on Sunday, Oct. 1. 

Off the Page readings are performed in reader’s theatre format, with subtle movement and an emphasis on characterization through vocal style. The upcoming show will feature performers Wanda Nowicki and Dave Hurtubise. 

Inquisition tells the story of two prominent people — a judge and a high-ranking government official — who have arranged a secret rendezvous. One must make a shocking confession to the other before the rest of the world finds out. 

Off the Page takes place at the Gibsons Heritage Playhouse on Oct. 1 at 1 p.m. Admission to Inquisition is by donation. Further information is available at heritageplayhouse.com. 

Dimensions of creativity 

The Gibsons Public Art Gallery will open two new exhibitions by Salish Sea artists with a free public reception on Saturday, Sept. 24. 

Fae Logie lives and works on Bowen Island.  

Her show of mixed media artworks, Urban Forest Works, will embrace elements of sculpture, drawing and photography. Roberts Creek writer and multidisciplinary artist Ryley O’Byrne will use ceramics, text, video and textiles to explore the process of meaning-making through an exhibition titled Textures of Ritual. 

Both artists will be in attendance at the gallery from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sept. 24. Browse to www.gpag.ca for previews. 

Culture bubbles up in Sechelt 

The Sechelt Downtown Business Association is planning two events that will highlight culture and local artists.  

This Saturday, Sept. 24 at the Rockwood Pavilion, the association presents Oktoberfest, an adults-only (19+) celebration of local food and German traditions. Live music will be provided by The Hook and DJ Buzz, serendating the provision of local craft beers. Prizes are on offer for the best Oktoberfest costume and the most attractive beer stein. 

Two days afterward, the Sechelt Art Walk will kick  off. The one-month celebration of local artists involves more than 70 Sechelt creators who display their works in participating shops and restaurants. Maps are available at Artworks Gallery and Framing or the Coastal Art Gallery. 

According to Theressa Logan, executive director of the Sechelt Downtown Business Association, “the Art Walk creates things for visitors to do during our shoulder season. It coincides with the Art Crawl, pairing artists with local shops. It’s a really great program that we’ve been doing for many years.” 

Further information and an Art Walk map are published online at secheltdowntown.com.