More than 20 artists will be showing off their work under one roof in Nanoose Bay during the annual Nanoose Bay Studio Showcase.
Running April 28 and 29 at Nanoose Place (2925 Northwest Bay Rd.), the event will see a variety of art pieces on display: from paintings, photography, decorative and functional pottery, art glass, forged metal creations, wood items, bonsai trees, and some impressive quilt work.
Deanna Corrigan of Rivers Edge Gallery is one such artist.
In addition to painting in watercolour and her encaustic work, she’s a quilter, and this year has an art quilt juried into the Canadian Quilters’ Association’s national Quilt Canada show in Vancouver on May 31, June 1 and June 2.
“It’s certainly an honour,” said Corrigan. “It’s very, very exciting.”
This will be the second time Corrigan will have had an art quilt in this show, with a previous work in the 2016 show in Toronto.
Though Corrigan didn’t want to reveal too much about her latest piece, her 2016 quilt will likely be on display at the studio showcase.
Called Olympic Beginnings, the quilt is a representation of the arch under which athletes would enter the stadium in ancient Olympia, which Corrigan and her husband visited, she said.
“We took a picture of that arch,” said Corrigan, and then divided the image up into sections, where each section would have a lighter, darker of mid-colour cast to it, called a fractured landscape. Corrigan used many different pieces of fabric (divided into light, medium or dark) to create the stones of the archway, sections of field and sky, and added threadwork to outline the stones and create blades of grass.
The quilt emphasizes one of the focuses of Corrigan’s work, which is the use of colour and value.
“It’s so important. Before I start any art piece, I can spend a lot of time choosing the colours that are going to go into it, from the different fabrics,” said Corrigan. “Every shade is important.”
While nature is often her subject in her work, whether in watercolour, encaustic or quilt work, Corrigan said another important part for her is the motivation for doing a piece.
“Is there some emotion involved? What feeling does this piece give you, or what does it bring forth?”
That’s perhaps a question to keep in mind while taking a look at the many art pieces on display at the Nanoose Bay Studio Showcase.
Corrigan has been involved in the showcase and studio tour often over the years, and said the variety of the artwork created in Nanoose Bay is impressive.
“It’s very nice to be able to... go into one building and get an idea of what different people are doing,” said Corrigan.
“And then, hopefully, that promotes people going out and seeing studios they are interested in during the Thanksgiving tour.”
The showcase takes place Saturday, April 28 and Sunday, April 29, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Nanoose Place Hall (2925 Northwest Bay Rd.).
Entry is by cash donation, with proceeds going to Nanoose Community Services.