10 by 10 at Salt Spring Gallery

March 24th – April 13th

In the spring of 2013 a group of women sat in a circle on the floor of Ahava Shira’s studio near the top of Mount Maxwell. We had been together for several months working through an offering from Ahava called Loving Inquiry. We relished our Sunday get togethers, time to share our writings, to begin work on what came next, and to always enjoy a bowl of soup made by Ahava’s partner Gregory. Every woman had a journal, some large with blank pages and others with lines. These journals became filled up with our own words, our own stories and, yes, even some art. These Sundays were inspirational. We learned to step out of our comfort zones, to share our voices and our stories. We supported each other’s commitment to this journey while at the same time honouring ourselves.

As we neared the end of our time together Ahava asked each of us what we would like now. Did we have a dream, a wish, a desire. I stated that I would like to see my art on a wall. We spoke of this as a group and all decided that an art show would be great. And so it began with Pieces of Her Story, our first show. Besides creating our own artwork for the show we filled a journal with responses to seven questions, each of us having the journal for a block of time, each answering the same questions in words and images and art.

From 2013 until this year we have held a yearly show except for 2021, the year of covid. Every year the show seemed to expand with the additions of stories and poetry. The art filled the walls and sometimes the floors. We have had interactive pieces so that the public could be part of the show, part of the creation, part of the play of creativity. One year some of us took to the stage with stories, films, and dancing.

Every year we would come up with a few ideas for a theme and then agree on one. There has been: Pieces of Her Story, A Festival of Women’s Voices, Pieces of Her Story 2, She Said This is a Love Story, Unwritten Unspoken Unheard, She Said This is Who I am, Inspired by Words, Stories Told in Words and Images, Woman with Conviction. After a while people would call us the women of She Said and we liked that. There are a few of us who have been in every show since the very beginning: Ahava Shira, Sam Barlow, Charlene Woolf, and Premilla Pillay. Some of the women have moved on or are pursuing other ways of expressing their creativity. Every one of them is still a part of She Said.

This year we are celebrating our 10th show aptly entitled 10 by 10. Each artist will work on 10” by 10” panels without a specific theme to work from. The show will be held at the Salt Spring Gallery on McPhillips Avenue March 24th – April 13th, with an opening celebration on March 24th starting at 5:00 p.m. We hope you will come out and celebrate with us and perhaps, as we always wish, that you will be inspired. For the last six shows I have felt honoured to bring these women together, to be open to new members and to see what incredible art that is created from a one line prompt. Every year I am amazed at the art, the creativity and the sharing of our stories.

Sculptures by Janus on exhibit at Salt Spring Gallery

March 3-21

Janus creates singular, subtly emotive sculptures that embrace the symbiosis of anthropological myth and nature into a contemporary voice.

A visual bridge of cultures through the recognition of global similarities in ancient tales. Stories that tap into a collective unconscious and engage our similarities rather than our differences. Discover Janus' narrations through uniquely sculpted, hand held ceramics to large museum or public art bronze installations.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I live with forest, streams and ocean tides. Within the streams I found clay, within the clay I found my voice.

I create images of people who still live out their stories, images of those long past and images of myth that only imagination and the reality of honest experience can tell.