Insight Art Gallery

During a Trincomali Arts Council meeting in the Spring of 2012, we spoke about the mandate of the council to encourage inter-island activities which strengthen a cultural connection between the Gulf Islands. After the meeting, Donna-Fay Digance, of Saturna Island, and I decided we would do just such a thing and began to plan a show for September 2013.  Hopefully this show will be a prototype for more inter-island shows in the Gulf Islands.

One of the difficulties that has faced artists attempting to show their work on different islands is the actual travel to the islands to bring their work and attend the Opening Reception.  Unless people can meet the artists and talk to them about their work, there is not a strong connection or dialogue.   The ferry schedule often doesn’t allow artists to return to their own islands in one day, so they must deal with the extra expense of accommodation where they are visiting.  The Saturna Artists, all Trincomali Arts Council members, chose to apply to the council for help with funds towards transportation and advertising in an effort to really meet and share their stories and ideas.  After due process, the Trincomali Arts Council has chosen to grant them assistance and as a happy result, all of the Saturna Artists will attend the opening.  All involved would like to thank the Council for their assistance.  We look forward to an exciting show and visit with our fellow artists from Saturna.   –  Tish Saunders, Insight Gallery

 

 

My art has always been a personal way of looking at life.  In my drawings, paintings and paper sculptures I am intrigued by shapes, whether they be clouds, trees, water, structures or the human form.  Everything has a shape or a pattern.   My approach to subject matter is:   Exploring with pieces (or shapes) of colour”.    Analysing the subject matter into a few main shapes, I decide to further simplify them and add detail (or small shapes) where necessary.

Shapes have a life of their own, joining with other elements to create and often complete the work.   The final work of art is a re-birth of subject matter, evolved from my visual, emotional and spiritual interpretation of the forms.  –  Jack Campbell

 

I create original fabric art in my studio on Saturna Island. I like to work on themes, created in a series which include landscapes inspired by pristine Saturna Island, dancers and other figures in imaginative “dreamscapes”. The art hangings are created from hand-dyed & painted silks & cottons plus a variety of  commercial novelty fabrics such as tulle, net, lame & velvet.

 

The many layers of collage and appliqué are quilted together using free motion stitching including dense “thread painting” and machine embroidery. Areas are then embellished with paint sticks, fabric paint and other surface design techniques. The work ranges from mini landscapes to large wall hangings.   –    Donna-Fay Digance

 

 

My experience of the natural world compels me to paint. I first moved to Saturna Island to paint the eroded sandstone shoreline and, drawn by the colours,  started painting flowers from my garden.   In Mexico, I was so moved by the beauty and power of the big surf I painted a series of  wave paintings. Influenced by the bold colour of Mexico, I painted a series of tropical flowers on 4’x5’ canvases.

I’m fascinated by the interaction of sea and sky, which creates moments of such remarkable beauty and I am currently working on a series of  paintings drawn from these experiences.

I work in both watercolour on paper and acrylic on canvas and I love both mediums for different  reasons. –  Anne Popperwell

 

 

I am very lucky to live on Saturna, surrounded by emerald forests, on a bluff facing the water and the sky. I wander outside daily, usually with a camera, and I bring home a visual buffet to feast on, in the studio. I am a textile artist, a quilter.

For me, quilting is a mixture of colour play, problem solving, mark-making and craftsmanship. After a period of reflection, I am back in the studio.  –   Andree Fredette

 

 

Moving from a working life in the Cariboo to semi-retirement on Saturna Island in 2007 has been a terrific inspiration for my weaving.  With more time and an environment of lush forest, garden, sea and sky, I am enjoying working with the colours and textures I see and feel around me every day.   I’ve taken many workshops over the years to hone my mostly self-taught skills.

Inclined to be practical, I weave items that are useful as well as beautiful, things that warm the body while feeding the soul. I weave throws, shawls, scarves, tea towels and am now producing simple clothing items on my new SAORI travelling loom.   – Teresa Higgins

 

 

My artwork expresses my perspectives as a life traveller across many real and imaginative boundaries. I hope to communicate the inner and outer worlds we inhabit: their richness, variety, and wonder.

My paintings have won some awards, had some solo gallery shows, appeared in published media and books, and found homes in interesting places. I am drawn (literally) to the human figure and life in all its forms, colours, and varieties of expression. I love to paint.   –  Janet Strayer

 

 

 I’ve always enjoyed printmaking….viewing it and doing it….so decided to try my hand at the most basic and simple printmaking technique of all:  linoprinting.   Finding subjects that can be successfully reduced to one or two colour prints isn’t that easy; these are based on sketches and photos, from Saturna and from travels.

I’ve used a variety of Japanese papers, creating variations by the use of different colours and textures.

These small prints are in the “art for everyone” category, an inexpensive but original creation.     –  Karen Muntean