ARTS &LIFE
A28
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Tuesday, March 17, 2015 The Parksville Qualicum Beach News
Do you have local aRTS newS? contact: Jessica Skelton email: reporter@pqbnews.com Phone: 250-905-0028
MARCH AT THE MAC
First Nations art and Tales for the Telling Stories passed down for generations accompanied by relevant art exhibit JESSICA SKELTON reporter@pqbnews.com
Gisele Maria Martin is one of several artists bringing First Nations and First Nations-inspired work to the McMillan Arts Centre this month. The Tla-q-qui-aht First Nations storyteller will speak on March 27 as part of the Tales for the Telling, Stories for Adults series. “I’m excited,” she said. “First Nations art is very meaningful.” Martin, who has been sharing her culture with others in one form or another since she was 13, said many of her stories were passed down through her family. In fact, she remembers her father telling one particular story so many times that she can still “hear his voice” in her head “almost word-for-word.” However, Martin also said that she may throw in a few contemporary stories. “I usually like to improvise,” she said, adding that she gets “inspired” as to which stories to tell based on the audience. “It should be a great show and the MAC gallery team has worked hard to ensure there is a relevant show in the gallery at the same time,” said Tales for the Telling founder Marva Blackmore. Vancouver-based artist Andre Prevost is one of the artists whose exhibit was inspired by First Nations art. His series of paintings depict totems found along the West Coast. “It’s a nod to the masters,” he said, explaining that he only creates exact replicas of the poles. “I don’t feel I have the right to interpret them,” he said.
“It’s not my heritage.” When it comes to these representational pieces, First Nation’s artist Qwaya Sam said it’s all about respect. “It’s an expression of individuals,” he said. “It’s neither here nor there for me.” Sam has silver and copper jewellery on display at the arts centre and helped officially open this month’s exhibits. Like Martin, he is excited to share his art with everyone. “It’s important,” he said. “My message to people is my culture is here, it’s alive. We’re not going anywhere soon.” Sam is also a carver and he regularly works with another of the MAC’s featured artists, mask carver Francine Champagne. Champagne also has a select few First Nations-inspired pieces in her exhibit, but she said a majority of her work is not meant to be representational. “These are mine,” she said regarding those masks. “They’re my own stories, my own design.” Champagne is currently working with Sam on a commissioned totem pole at Vancouver Island University. While Prevost, Sam and Champagne’s work will be on display throughout the month, Martin’s show will start at 7:30 p.m. on March 27, with doors opening at 7 p.m. Tickets for the storytelling are $12 for general admission and $10 for OCAC members, and are available at the MAC. You can also find them online at eventbrite.com by selecting the Parksville location and searching by date. Any remaining tickets will be available at the door, but people are encouraged to purchase in advance as the storytelling evenings are very popular.
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Qwaya sam, right, and his son Qwaya Jr. performed a traditional song as part of the McMillan Arts Centre’s March opening reception on March 7. sam, a carver and jewelry maker, is one of the several artists bringing First nations and First nationsinspired work to the MAC this month.
CURREnTlY AT THE GAllERY@QUAliCUM ART sUPPlY
Eagle tree and other local scenes on display ‘It means a lot to a lot of people. It’s the tallest one around and you can see it from everywhere’ JESSICA SKELTON reporter@pqbnews.com
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Pauline Pike with her watercolour painting of Qualicum Beach’s eagle tree, which is currently hanging in the Gallery @ Qualicum Art supply.
Qualicum Beach’s eagle tree lives on thanks to Pauline Pike. The local artist recently finished a watercolour painting of the landmark that she started over 20 years ago. “That’s the eagle tree as it was then from West Crescent before they did the first trimming, I think,” she said. Pike said the work began as a sketch she completed in the early 1990s while she was doing paintings of the Qualicum Beach Memorial Golf Course. At that point, however, the sketch moved to Pike’s studio and sat unfin-
ished as she focused on other works. It came back to her attention only recently when she was commissioned to do another image of the eagle tree for someone who had moved away from Qualicum Beach. “It means a lot to a lot of people,” Pike said of the tree. “It is the tallest one around and you can see it from everywhere.” While the artist has noticed that many people’s feelings haven’t changed over the years, the tree itself definitely has. “I was surprised at the difference between now and how it was then,” she said. “It hasn’t had that many branches in years.” Yesterday, the town of Qualicum Beach held a “waterfront tree celebration of life” for community members to honour the rotting eagle tree before it is cut down. According to an arborist’s report, the tree has been dead for some
time, likely from a phaeolus infection. “I thought now’s the perfect time to bring it in,” said Pike of her painting. The eagle tree work is one of several pieces in Pike’s new show at the Gallery @ Qualicum Art Supply that features mainly local scenes in watercolour and acrylic. Pike is a regular feature in the space; in fact, she has shown her work in the Gallery for around nine years, changing her paintings every three or four months. “I’m fortunate to have been in the gallery that long,” said Pike. “It just works. It works for me. It’s works for Bonnie.” Pike, who retired from teaching painting nearly 10 years ago, continues to be a prolific artist. “It’s sort of a way of life,” she said. “No matter where I go, I have my sketchbook.” She also shows her work at the Old School House Arts Centre, The Reflecting Spirit in both Tofino and Ucluelet and her home studio, The Sketchbook.