A New Gallery in Town

This past weekend the Island Arts Magazine was invited to an opening at Ginger Nine Studio & Gallery in Courtenay. First we received an email from them, then we received a personal invitation in the mail. We had to attend!

Walking into the gallery we were very quickly impressed! The front space houses merchandise such as pottery, masks, jewellery ... even bath products (with their logo on them - a smart marketing move.)

The other rooms are gallery space. A unique "Artist's Emporium" divided into little rooms, houses some of the college student's work.

The owner, Tonya, quickly introduced herself to us and began telling us about her vision for the gallery. Her very impressive business plan, not only offers a gallery space, but also print services and a "Paint your own" ceramic room, used for kids parties, special events. etc. Future plans include a kilm for firing pottery and a drop in studio space for members.

Next time you are in Courtenay, make sure to drop by Ginger Nine Studio & Gallery. You'll be glad you did.The address is 130 - 211 Centennial Drive.
 

Till Next Time ...

From the Prairies, to the West Coast and Beyond...

Susan

DeCosmos Show on Now

We went to the opening of the DeCosmos Fine Art Society's Summer Show last night. With over 100 paintings on display, it is one of the largest shows that the group has ever had. The place was packed as art lovers were taking their time and enjoying all the lovely work.

Just to spice things up a bit, I decided to enter my "Red Hot Peppers", as shown below.

The show is on until the end of July at the MacMillan Art Gallery in Parksville. If you get a chance in the next couple of weeks, make sure to drop by ... you'll be glad you did!










Till Next Time ...

From the Prairies, to the West Coast and Beyond...

Susan

Parade Banners a Success

There's nothing like a rush design job to get the heart pumping!

Last week I was asked to design four banners for the Chamber of Commerce in Fort Qu'Appelle Sask. for their July 1st parade - of this year!!! With only a few days notice, I put everything else aside and got to work.

They wanted the banners for their float vehicle so they had to be quite large. The two side panels needed to be 3 feet x 12 feet, and the two for the front and back were 3 feet x 7 feet. The problem with working in such a large format is that your file sizes gets to be quite huge. For such a project I set the resolution high and work with the files at 50%, and then have them printed out at 200%. Doing a large size format is not new to me, as I have done many highway billboards and those suckers are 10 feet by 40 feet.

By Monday night I emailed the proofs to the client, who quickly approved them Tuesday morning. I uploaded the files via FTP to my printers, "Western Litho", in Regina. By Tues. noon, two of the four banners had already been printed. Now that is great service!!

The client picked them up Friday morning. Here they are on July 1st just in time for the parade. Everybody's happy!

Maybe next year I can get a little bit more notice!?


Till Next Time ...

From the Prairies, to the West Coast and Beyond...

Susan

A Car Load of Paintings

The month of June found us on a road trip to Saskatchewan. First stop was the Grand Forks Art Gallery. They heard we were passing through and pre-ordered some gift cards for their lovely gift shop. The Gallery is stunning as it is in the old court house - a community landmark of historical importance.

Next we headed off to Fort Qu'Appelle Saskatchewan for a two day art show in the old school house, which a group of artists is converting into an Arts Centre.

The gallery space was beautiful. The show was a resounding success and it was great to see many familiar faces and also meet many new folks. I would like to thank everyone who came out to view the exhibition.

A big thanks to the patrons for their purchases. May you enjoy your artwork in for many years to come.

Setting up the Show - 'Scapes' in Saskatchewan

My next exhibition this summer is at the Clock Tower Gallery, 14-5440 Argyle St. Port Alberni, BC with fellow artist Jim Branston. The show runs the entire month of August. The gallery is open from 10 am to 5 pm, Monday to Saturday. Please drop by.

Also from now until the end of October, I have several pieces of work at the Raintree Gallery, 5101 Island Hwy, West. Qualicum Bay.
They are open Thurs. - Sun. 12:00 - 5:00 pm.

Lastly, we have been working at updating my website and online artists gallery. Please have a look.

Till Next Time ...one brush stroke at a time!

From the Prairies, to the West Coast and Beyond...

Susan