Here's the invite to my upcoming show on Salt Spring:
AT THE POINT GALLERY IN FULFORD
WALK IN ENTRANCE ON SOUTH RIDGE DRIVE
IDYLL
a salt spring pastorale
OPENING RECEPTION SUNDAY JULY 11TH. 2-5PM.
Show continues until AUGUST 15TH.
Work by Stefanie Denz, Delaine Faulkner, Karin Jones, Murray Reiss, Bill Rhodes, and Stella Weinert, curated by Margaret Day
An IDYLL is a short highly wrought descriptive poem of scenes of pastoral life, usually bucolic, usually rustic, often mannered and satiric in nature it may also reference a cure for the soul. The perception is of simplicity, the reality is often otherwise.
This show was inspired by an extra-ordinarily beautiful shovel. Once an ordinary old tool it was found and rescued from rusting obscurity by artist Karin Jones. Newly refurbished, its years of honest toil are still apparent but it is now a gleaming black art object. Embellished with gold and silver in the centuries old technique of Damascene Inlay, the shovel now questions all our perceptions of rural life, and in particular those that reference that familiar Salt Spring Island idea of paradise: the garden.
During the last year Karin has added other tools. The result is a highly stylized array of weapons that were once used to tame and subjugate nature, keep weeds at bay and all things within the deer proof palisades fruitful. In their new form they are more decorative than useful, a reminder of other times when overly romantic artists, craftsmen and writers grouped together to pursue a rural life where the spiritual, the aesthetic, and the simple pleasures of good food and good times would always be in balance. A philosophy with eternal appeal as an ideal, it has so far proved inherently impractical as a way of life for everyone.
To complement Karin's work we looked in our own neck of the woods, our south end Salt Spring Island “piece of paradise” , and found both romantic and realistic art treasures of our own.
Delaine Faulkner has scripted writers’ reflections on the garden, including Murray Reiss’s wonderful story poem “ Wild Strawberries” a rumination on the possibilities of his own place and life journey. Stella Weinert’s photographs reveal two people very at ease in their environment. Stefanie Denz’s painting reminds us that a garden offers us all a chance to return to the exuberance, the joy and the serenity of a more innocent time. And Bill Rhode’s ravens fly across cultures, observing all, from a time long before we came to the island. Keepers of secrets, bearers of magic, healers and clarifiers, whether we see them as tricksters or teachers depends, the Coast Salish believe, on whether we have learned from our past experiences.
About the Artists
All the artists in this show are from Salt Spring except for Karin Jones who has recently moved to Vancouver. We hope she will come back often to visit and tell us how our re-creations are doing.
I have enjoyed putting this show together and hope you will enjoy it too.
Any questions please call me at 250 653 0089.
Margaret
The Point Gallery is a privately funded alternate gallery.
Entrance is by donation.
