During the month of November, the McMillan Arts Centre is inviting everyone to Celebrate the MAC.
Celebrate the MAC is one of the November exhibits at the arts centre. It includes historical photographs as well as paintings of the McMillan Arts Centre over the years, which are for sale and part of a silent auction. The silent auction also includes items from local businesses and patrons of the arts.
Debra Kuzbik, who is on the MAC gallery committee, said there was a celebration for the MAC’s centennial anniversary about three years ago, but the committee felt more was needed.
“We just thought it was time again since the building is going through some changes and being spruced up as needed, such as paint and landscaping,” Kuzbik said, adding that the MAC is always looking for funding.
“If you have visited the MAC recently you will have noticed landscaping, the freshly painted Oceanside and Nemeth galleries and stairwell and the beautiful new keyboard staircase,” Kuzbik said.
“Although volunteers did almost all of this work, these improvements, and more that are planned, need funding.”
Gallery committee member Geri Rea said Celebrate the MAC is all about reminding people what the MAC is all about what any fundraising money is going toward.
While Celebrate the MAC is part of the November exhibits, Rea said fundraising for the McMillan Arts Centre is an ongoing project.
Kuzbik said the goal of the MAC is to create an exciting and vibrant community space “where we support and create art and sell art.”
For this exhibit, Kuzbik said the Parksville Museum was really helpful in finding the historical photographs.
“They had some information there and then we rooted around in the attic up here and found a box that had these in them, but postcard size. I was able to take those postcards and enlarge them and clean them up,” said Kuzbik, adding that she used photoshop to clean up the images.
Debra Kuzbik with a piece she created from an original photo of the McMillan Arts Centre.
-- Lauren Collins photo
Kuzbik, who is also a photographer, took one of the pictures of the MAC and used photo transfer to create her own unique image. Kuzbik said it was quite a fun process.
For photo transfer, Kuzbik said she creates an abstract image for the background and then converts the picture into a high-contrast black and white which she then gets enlarged and printed.
She said she uses a gloss medium on the canvas and puts the image face down, weighting and smoothing it out, and then waits 24 hours.
“Don’t even peek, just leave it,” Kuzbik said. “Then the work begins because if it has adhered nicely, then you have to wet it and start rubbing off the paper and the toner image stays and the paper comes off.”
Kuzbik said that sometimes there will be big gaps where the background shows through, but she added that it can add to it.
“For most of them that I do for myself, I try to do ‘grunge-y’ and edgy pictures because the process kind of lends itself to that,” she said.
People can check out the Celebrate the MAC exhibit until Nov. 28 when the show and the silent auction ends.