1205 Lieb B.indd - Bowen Island Arts Council

L
ieben
Promoting and Celebrating the Wealth of Art and Culture on Bowen Island
A Publication of the Bowen Island Arts Council
Winter 2005
An enduring balance of form and function
by Jacqueline M. Massey
C
ATHERINE EPPS CHOSE THE NAME, Many
Moons Pottery to represent the work
that she loves because it underlines what
she is aiming to achieve with her art. She
recalls hearing people fondly referring to
something treasured, something that has
“stood the test of time” and been around for
“many, many moons.” This is her hope for
the pottery pieces she crafts and sells – that
as objects of both beauty and utility, they
will serve a purpose and be cherished for a
very long time.
Relatively new to Bowen’s shores, Epps has
more than 25 years’ experience as a ceramic
artist. Catherine says she was drawn to the
medium of clay because it meant she could
work with her hands and “create a vessel I
can use”. She found working in the studio a
very grounding experience, but at the same
time exhilarating.
Inside
Editorial
2
President’s message 3
Poem 4
Isabelle Landry
5
Art Gallery News
6
Montaigut-le-Blanc
7
Announcements 8
“When I prepare to throw a pot, I become
more centered. It gives me energy,” said
Catherine. She realized that spending endless hours creating in her studio was not
only something she likes to do, it’s something she needs to do.
“It’s a therapy for me.”
Over the years, Catherine has developed a
style of stoneware that features bold patterns
and blends visually distinctive form with
functionality. While her designs are decorative and engaging, some even whimsical,
Catherine Epps
Photo: Bruce Steele
her pottery is durable and practical, made
to withstand regular use. Her influences
include Southwest Native American and
other aboriginal art.
Her 1993 apprenticeship with Vincent
Massey, a venerable BC potter, also helped
define who she would become as an artist.
Massey was “quite the master and mentor,” she recalls. After spending an intense
five months under his tutelage, Catherine
“knew exactly what she wanted to do.” She
cont’d page 4
B I A C
BOWEN
ISLAND
ARTS
COUNCIL
Box 211 Bowen Island, BC V0N 1G0
Phone 604.947.2454
Fax 604.947.2460
Email biac@vcn.bc.ca
Web www.biac.ca
The Gallery@Artisan Square
Phone 604.947.2454
Email gallery@biac.ca
Fall through Spring hours:
Fri. to Sun. 12:00 - 4:00pm
Summer hours
Wed. to Sun. 11:00am - 4:00pm
BIAC Administrator
Jacqueline Massey
Gallery and Cultural
Development Coordinator
Sara Baker
BIAC thanks its members, volunteers
and the community for their
generous and loyal support
of the arts on Bowen.
BIAC also gratefully acknowledges
the financial support of the
Bowen Island Municipality,
the Province of British Columbia
and the BC Arts Council.
BRITISH COLUMBIA
A
RTS COUNCIL
Supported by the Province of British Columbia
Lieben is published quarterly
by the Communications Committee
of the Bowen Island Arts Council
Editor/Copy Editor
Julie Andr
Andrés
Graphic Design/Production
Pat Adams
Contributors
Pat Adams
Julie Andr
Andrés
Gini Grey
Jacqueline Massey
Photography
Bruce Steele www.brucesteele.com
Website
Eric Hudson Checkmate Consulting
Article submissions are encouraged.
Please contact the editor,
Julie Andr
Andrés, at 778.773.4290.
For submissions to Lieben please email
information to refraction@shaw.ca
by the following deadlines:
•Spring: February 1
•Summer: May 1
•Fall: August 1
•Winter: November 1
Editorial
Julie Andr
Andréés
és
Act on the momentum - a mantra for the arts
DURING OCTOBER, KINGBABY THEATRE warmed seats in the Legion for 56,000
collective minutes with their production of David Cameron’s new play The View.
That means approximately 800 people were treated to 70 minutes of halarity – but
because of space limitations latecomers were sometimes relegated to table-top seating. (The play was so engaging, it was still well worth it, but I heard laments of sore
bums and backs.)
Earlier that month the municipally appointed Civic Facilities Task Force (of
which I was a member – it is now dissolved) presented its report to council.
The report’s conclusions were based on feedback from hundreds of individuals
who attended three CFTF public information sessions – many of whom also responded in writing to a comprehensive questionnaire. BIAC’s Community Hall
and Arts Centre business plan was one of the many important documents that
informed task force members.
Also in October, the 2002 Cultural Master Plan, a document reflecting the dedication and hard work of a large group of devoted Bowen Island art supporters,
was amended to our island’s Official Community Plan and BIAC was designated
Bowen’s arts authority.
What do a ‘Supernatural Sex Farce’ and volumes of photocopies now archived on
shelves have to do with each other? All point to a glaring deficiency that has been
part of the Bowen Island arts scene for a number of years. We need a dedicated
centre for theatre, dance and music performances to meet the ever-pressing needs of
professional, amateur and educational groups.
Our new mayor and council have now been elected and inaugurated. The CFTF
has been asked by the new council to re-present their report at December’s Committee of the Whole meeting. Designation of municipal land and a time frame
for planning are needed; a referendum that succeeds in proving community support is likely. At the October BIAC Annual General Meeting before the election,
then Mayor Lisa Barrett admonished the arts-oriented audience for not being
involved enough. “You need to be at the council meetings when decisions are
being made,” she said.
Maintaining momentum with regard to realizing an arts centre was deemed of
primary importance in the CFTF report. If you go to plays or would like to see
your child’s dance recital on Bowen, if an on-island classical music concert in a
venue with proper acoustics and lighting is a dream, if Endangered Species, CD
release performances, Fringe Festival artists or Peruvian music masters interest you
– I could go on for quite a while here – there are two things to do: join BIAC if you
aren’t a member already and then get involved. Lieben and our re-vamped website
www.biac.ca will make sure you get the information you need to do so. October was
www.biac.ca
a highly productive month. Let’s keep the energy going – so that laughing yourself
silly doesn’t have to hurt so much.
Lieben
• Winter 2005
President’s message
Matt Maxwell
Maxwell, President, Bowen Island Arts Council
T
THESE
ARE EXCITING TIMES FOR THE ARTS COMMUNITY
ON BOWEN. There is an abundance of creative energy
manifesting in myriad ways. To name a few: an endless
array of top-notch artists is waiting to exhibit at the
Gallery; Pauline LeBel’s Voices in the Sound Festival was an
unqualified success; BIAC released a fundraising CD that
sold close to a thousand copies (and is releasing a second
one, under Julie Vik’s direction, this Christmas season);
Kingbaby has produced another zany comedy; the
Bowen Mini Fringe Festival has become an established
annual event; the Bowen Island Film Society (BIFS) and
the Bowen Island Music Association (BIMA) both have
very busy calendars.
Largely thanks to Eric Sherlock’s hard work, an
amendment making the Cultural Master Plan part of the
OCP has been passed by council.
But probably the most momentous event this year has
been the purchase by the Municipality of the Surplus
Lands – we now can begin lobbying in earnest to finally
get some real estate where we can build the Community
Hall and Arts Centre (CHAC). A lot of our work over
the coming years will be to help make this space – one
that can be used for theatre, concerts, dances, film nights,
conferences – a reality. The groundwork has been laid:
the CHAC committee has produced a comprehensive
business plan, the Civic Facilities Task Force has
presented a very well researched report to Council, and
fundraising strategies are being developed. The next
phase involves securing a parcel of land and approaching
all levels of government, foundations, corporations and
philanthropists.
We will only reach our goal if we work with other
stakeholders: BIFS, BIMA, the Bowen Island Heritage
Society, the Bowen Island Chamber of Commerce, Theatre
on the Isle, Bowen Island Parks and Recreation, and so on.
BIAC has a multi-fold purpose: to vision, to coordinate, to
advocate, to be activist. BIAC will play all of these roles as it
works towards the realization of the CHAC.
What can you do to help? Support our fundraising drives,
renew your BIAC membership, work for arts-friendly
candidates and advocate for municipal funding of the
CHAC if/when it comes to referendum.
BIAC’s new president brings a
dedication to creative education
how effective music could be in helping students learn
a second language.
OVER THE LAST FIFTEEN YEARS, Matt Maxwell has
made learning to speak French an enjoyable and exciting experience for thousands of children from coast
to coast. He has released six albums in French and has
given over 1200 concerts in schools, auditoriums and
at children’s festivals in all parts of Canada as well as
in the US.
Matt, who was born in Vancouver and grew up in
Halifax, became fluent in French while living in
France as a teenager. Upon returning to Canada,
Matt went to Dalhousie University, where he received
an honours degree in French. After trying his hand at
carpentry for a few years, he returned to university to
acquire a degree in education. He graduated in 1981
and taught French at the elementary level for four
years. It was during this time that Matt discovered
Inspired by the success he was having using songs
in his classroom, in 1984 Matt decided to record an
album of original French songs for young people. This
recording, Comment ççaa va?
va?,, met with instant success,
selling ten thousand copies within several months of
its release. Inspired by this turn of events, Matt left
his teaching job to work full-time as a professional
musician. This first album was followed by the release
of Quand tu seras grand in 1985, the Juno-nominated
Le loup du Nord in 1987, Veux-tu danser? (1991),
Galaxie (1995), Children of Planet Earth (1996) and,
most recently, Cré
Crééer
er un monde de paix.
While his songs often deal with the themes common to many performers for young audiences, such
as dinosaurs, extraterrestrials, monsters and the like,
Matt also tackles more serious issues, especially those
involving social justice and the environment. His
3
Lieben
• Winter 2005
Matt Maxwell - cont’d from page 3
most recent recording, Cré
Crééer
er un monde de paix, deals
almost entirely with ecology, albeit in an upbeat and
non-preachy way.
During all his years on the road, Matt never lost his
deep interest in education. In 1996, he went back
to university (OISE/UT) to study for his Masters in
Education, which he completed the following year. In
2000 he completed his PhD, with a focus in holistic
and aesthetic curriculum.
Matt continues to write songs which he performs with
his wife Wendy for the highly successful second-language program she has developed. He spends the rest
of his time overseeing the operation of the publishing
firm that he created with Wendy to market this program across North America and in other territories.
Catherine Epps - cont’d from page 1
made a commitment to
making a living from what
she loved to do best.
became another successful
component of her pursuing the life she dreamed of
living.
Along the way Catherine
worked as a studio techniIn 2004, with her partner
cian for the Vancouver
and four-year old daughter
Potters Guild, helped
Madeline in tow, Cathmanage programs at the
erine moved to Bowen
Roundhouse CommuIsland. She soon found
nity Centre and attended
herself working at the
a number of ceramic
Village Bakery, as a step
symposiums and pottery
to getting to know the
workshops. She became
community. It was also a
Distinctive pottery by Catherine Epps
adept at packing up her
chance for the community
Photo: Bruce Steele
pieces into 15 or more
to be introduced to her
rubber crates and schlepping them around in the back
work, set on display and offered for sale locally.
of a station wagon as she set up shop at craft shows,
Participating in the annual Christmas Craft Fair at the
festivals and market settings such as Granville Island.
community school, getting to know other artists on
Her determination, along with the allure of her art
paid off. She forged relationships with customers who
couldn’t get enough of her mugs, bowls and pots and
began accepting consignment orders. Escents Aromatherapy fell in love with the vessel she created for
diffusing essential oils and soon she was producing 80
of those a month for their retail stores.
Catherine moved to the Sunshine Coast in 1998,
where she and her work were warmly welcomed. She
set up her studio and local shops were soon displaying and selling her stoneware. Many Moons Pottery
became a popular stop for those touring artist studios
up and down the coast. Catherine began offering
classes of all levels to children and adults and this
4
the island, mingling with other moms and getting to
know residents soon convinced Catherine that coming to Bowen was a good decision.
It dawned on her that “this was where I was meant
to be,” she said. The island felt like a place that truly
embraced its artists and responded enthusiastically to
their work. She had, in a sense, come home.
In addition to the Village Bakery, Catherine’s work is
available at Gifts on the Pier at the Bowen Island Marina
and at V0NIG0. She will be opening her new studio and
gallery in December and plans on offering classes for adults
and children beginning in January
January.
Lieben
• Winter 2005
Playfulness rediscovered
by Gini Grey
I ssabelle Landry has a variety of artistic tal-
ents. She is an actress and yoga teacher, makes
déécoupage
dé
coupage boxes and frames, and more recently
has added screenplay writing to her repertoire.
“Everything in my life is centred on creativity,”
comments Isabelle.
Despite the fact that her whole family is artistic, including her grandparents, aunts and uncles, Isabelle
didn’t discover her own creative
talents until she was 26. She recalls,
“During a three-day course called
‘The Awakening’ I realized I was
an adult since the age of four and
never did things like art. This course
opened my eyes to a lot of my life
patterns. It was then that I decided
that I could learn to play now.”
Isabelle began playing with portraits, first in pencil and then in
color, but she wanted something
more dimensional so she started
Isabelle Landry
Photo: Bruce Steele
to work in découpage. Similar to
collage, découpage involves applying cutouts to surfaces, but instead of using different
pictures, one image is used as a theme. Everything
from animals to super heroes have adorned her boxes
and picture frames. What was first begun as a hobby
and used as gifts for friends gradually grew into a
part-time business.
Another of Isabelle’s creative outlets is acting. “Theatre has been in my family,” she says. “My mom was
involved with Pheonix Theatre in Victoria when I
was in high school so I helped her with all her plays
– with the lighting, sound, makeup and masks, and
costumes.” It wasn’t until Isabelle’s adulthood that she
decided to come out from behind
the scenes. After a one-year intensive acting program she started her
career in theatre. “Until a few years
ago I was doing plays in Vancouver,
but since moving to Bowen I have
switched my focus to film and TV.”
It was through acting that Isabelle
was introduced to yoga. Movement
was one of her required acting
courses, and although she hated it
at first she eventually discovered the
deep emotional healing benefits of
movement and she began to study
yoga. She became so inspired by it
that she is now a yoga teacher.
Another passion Isabelle is moving into is writing screenplays.
She has written two so far – one is
in the process of being produced
while the other is currently being
reviewed by a producer. Looking at Isabelle’s diverse
artistic expressions we can appreciate her motto in life:
“The world is a playground and we are here to play
– smile and laugh out loud!”
5
Lieben
• Winter 2005
The Gallery @ Artisan Square
Isaac
by Lisa Barrett
Current and Upcoming Show
Shows
December 9 - December 31:
Gifted – the Gallery’s annual open invitational show
and sale of works by Bowen’s wealth of artistic talent.
Opening reception Sunday, December 11, 2-4 pm.
January 13 - January 29, 2006:
Group show featuring the photographs of Roger
Willoughby Price, the digital art of Ted Darling and
paintings by Tish Townsend.
February 3 - February 26:
Miniatures Fundraiser – the 2nd Annual Valentines
show and event. Gala evening Saturday February 4.
March 3 - March 26:
Multi-media visual art exhibit and musical event by
John Bottomley.
Other Gallery Features
In the new year we will be hosting an eight week adult
(18+) acting program with actor Jackie Minns and
director Nina Rhodes called The Art of Acting: Fostering
Self Esteem for Professionals and Non Professionals on
Wednesday evenings beginning January 18th.
The Gallery’s new Online Retail Gallery will be
available to all local artists as another marketing
tool. This was made possible through part of a
$9500.00 grant secured by Gallery coordinator Sara
Baker, from the Gaming Commission for Gallery
programming and projects. Interested artists can
contact Sara at 604-947-2454.
6
A child, a man,
an angel, a child again?
We meet, we love
we lose, we miss.
Riding your bike
faster, harder, faster
downhill, uphill, downhill
trees streaming past so fast
you can’t see them.
The wind in your eyes
the wind on your skin
the wind in your hair
black, shiny black.
The ecstasy of a moment
and then another...
the heart-stopping effect of your smile
on another.
Art and life and love
and the wind and bats
flying above in the
black, shiny black.
In memory of Isaac Tait
who left us in November of 2000.
Lieben
• Winter 2005
Montaigut remembered
by Pat Adams
“FLEXEZ VOS JAMBES!” There was a sense of
urgency in the directive.
“What’s he saying?” yelled Stella over the din of the
exhaling bellows.
“He says to bend our knees at the count of trois,” I
hollered back, my eyes wide with awe and terror. I
kept a death-grip on my French-English dictionary as
we descended, wobbling precariously thirty feet or so
over the crop-stubble of the farmer’s field where our
landing was imminent.
For the past hour we had been drifting in a balloon,
eye level with church spires, above the French countryside. We were embedded in the pannier, the size
of which would barely hold my laundry let alone accommodate four butane cylinders, le pilot
pilot, Stella and
myself. The only elements preventing our plumetting
from the skies like a care package were the sturdiness
of the wicker under our feet and the judgement of the
young man, known to us only as le pilot, to whom
we had entrusted our very lives and the equivalent of
about $80 in French currency.
We had voluntarily permitted ourselves to be
wedged between butane tanks, exposed to open flame
and taken aloft several hundred feet above the earth’s
surface in a contraption with no steering device, in
the charge of man with whom we could not communicate. What was I thinking?
In truth, my thought processes seemed to have been
severely skewed. For the past three weeks I had experienced France in a way that no tourist package could
hope to provide. I had thrown caution to the winds
– hence the impetuous exhuberance at the prospect of
a balloon ride. I had signed up for a summer art course
offered at Montaigut-le-Blanc – a quiet hill-top hamlet
nestled in the Auvergne, selected by Paul and Babette
Deggan as a site for their art workshops.
Paul Deggan is an artist and instructor at Capilano
College. Wanting to spend time both in Canada and
in France, the Deggans acquired the property in the
Auvergne in 1985 and created an art school in order
ensure their chosen lifestyle was fiscally possible. Paul’s
talent as artist and teacher coupled with Babette’s
Ink and wash sketch of Montaigut-le-Blanc
by Pat Adams
organizational and cuilinary skills proved a winning
combination as the school grew in popularity. In time,
the course offerings expanded to include not only art,
but French, creative writing, cooking and photography.
In his book, All Our Summers Are French, (now out of
print, but available at the Bowen library) Paul amusingly
describes the early years of setting up the school.
The Deggan’s vision and their efforts created a learning destination which offered us – its participants – an
existence free from care and far from our collective
mundane responsibilities. The Deggans invited us in
to experience their own “Brigadoon”, where our only
mission, if we chose to accept, was to paint and savour
the ambience of provincial France.
While I attended, the schedule consisted of classes in
art or French in the mornings, with afternoons free
for us to sketch or to explore the neighbouring villages. In the evenings we chatted in the balmy night
air, sipping wine amidst the lavender or else imbibing
in a glass of “pression” at the pub, conversing in our
halting French with the polite and tolerant townspeople of Montaigut.
Excursions afforded us visits to view medieval frescoes,
Norman cathedrals and Gallic tombs. We marvelled
at lace makers and puppeteers, and rummaged
through markets, cheese caves and castles. We walked
through sunflowers, smelled lavender, tasted crêpes,
drank wine, witnessed fireworks by a cathedral wall and went up in a balloon – all the while attempting to
capture what we felt with pen or paint. The associated
disparate memories, suffused with wonder, adventure,
humour and camaraderie remain vivid in my harddrive of recollections, and I shall always be grateful for
that surreal warp of time.
cont’d page 8
7
Lieben
• Winter 2005
Montaigut-le-blanc - cont’d from page 7
Montaigut-le-blanc
This year, after having been in operation for the past
twenty-five years, the Deggan’s school at Montaigutle-Blanc closed its doors. Approximately 2000 participants in art, French or ElderHostel programs had
passed through their portals. Among those invited to
teach along with Paul were noted artists Kiff Holland and Rick McDairmid. As well, Audrey and Paul
Grescoe came several times from Bowen to conduct
writing courses.
Become a member of
BIAC!
B I A C
BOWEN
ISLAND
ARTS
COUNCIL
Support the arts on Bowen by becoming a member of the Arts Council.
Benefits of membership include:
• having the quarterly newsletter,
Lieben, mailed to you;
• receiving weekly arts and cultural
email updates;
• sponsorship and insurance for
members’ events.
An annual membership is $20 for an individual, $30
for a family and $40 for an organization. The more
revenue that is generated through memberships, the
more funds there are to invest in promotional tools
and sponsorship for our atists and arts community.
You can get a membership form from our website:
www.biac.ca or call our office at 604-947-2454 and
we’ll send you one.
Lieben
Lieben was the name given to
the home of Muriel and Einar
Neilson, who, in the 1940s, dedicated its use as a haven for artists,
authors, and intellectuals. The
pristine ten-acre property, located
in the Scarborough/ Eagle Cliff
area was generously willed to the
province as a natural park. The
photo, used in our masthead,
depicts the interior of the Neilson
house, now no longer standing.
8
Now Paul and Babette Deggan have relocated to
Bowen and will bring their special magic to our
island. Paul will be offering evening classes in life
drawing in the new year as well as one-day weekend
workshops in drawing and painting. He invites feedback indicating your interest. Contact him, email:
bpdeggan@yahoo.com or phone: 947-9221, or view
his website: paulbabettedeggan.blogspot.com
The Gallery @ Artisan Square
The Bowen Island Arts Council’s Gallery features
fourteen exhibits each year including talented Bowen
Island artists as well as innovative off-island artwork.
The Gallery is located in Artisan Square, a short walk
up the hill from the ferry dock.
BIAC’s website
In addition to the monthly calendar of event listings,
Bowen Island artists and arts and cultural organizations can have a free profile listing on BIAC’s website.
This includes:
• a photo of yourself or your work
• a brief description of you and/or your work
• a link to your website
• your own full page for a nominal fee
Please go to the Free Listings page at www.biac.ca for
more information.
Support the Performing Arts
Centre
BIAC’s Community Hall and Arts Centre (CHAC)
committee has created an extensive business plan
to realise an arts facility on Bowen Island. Close to
$30,000 has been raised including an upcoming gift
of $10,000 from Doug Berry as part of his inn negotiations. To make a tax-deductible donation, please mail
it directly to the Bowen Island Arts Council, P.O.Box
211, Bowen Island, BC V0N 1G0 and indicate that it
is for the Building Fund.