Art Trail joins Canada Day
Among the multitudinous activities that people can take in tomorrow as part of the citywide Canada Day celebrations, there’s a new one setting up in Millennium Park. Prepare to put brush to paint and make art a new part of your nationalistic tradition.
Art Trail is the city’s initiative to connect artists to the masses and connect the masses to art. Visitors can make brushstrokes on works led by five painters.
“The idea was just to add another cultural aspect to Canada Day,” explained Nicole Deering, the recreation projects assistant with the city’s recreation services department. “A lot of the events that we have going on in the city are family-based and some of them are sport-based, and some are certainly recreation- and leisure-based. We wanted to focus a bit more on the cultural aspect tying in to the local artists.”
Members of the public are therefore invited to join Judy Schafers, Alexandra DesCotes, Efim Konovalov, Pat Trudeau and Samantha Williams-Chapelsky in the park from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
DesCotes is excited about the prospect of painting with the public.
“It’s my first year. I’m just trying to find little projects to keep myself occupied and motivated to do stuff,” explained the recent grad of the U of A’s Design program. “I’m trying to start painting again.”
She said that she’ll be getting her visitors to contribute to illustrative animal portrait paintings.
“I’m hoping to get five larger pieces out on Sunday.”
The cultural services department is also operating a craft tent in the area for another family-friendly activity.
Memory Roth sure loves entering painting contests. A few years back, she won an honourable mention from the Torrit Grey Competition sponsored by the Gamblin Artists Colors company of Oregon.
A little while ago, she was reading the Edmonton Journal and saw that they were looking for Father’s Day artwork. Leave it to Roth to send something in for that one, and get to second place for it.
“I just did it on a whim,” she admitted. “I painted a painting of my dad and I thought it might be nice if it got any press at all to honour him that way.”
The Ball Player, Roth’s entry, shows her dad in a baseball uniform sitting atop a large boulder in the middle of a field. She said that she always tries to give him creative presents for that special day. Roth’s dad was pleased with the result, she explained.
“He is going to be 80 this year and has just recently retired his glove. My dad encouraged all of us to do our best and to be our best, whether it was on the field or off. He is the most amazing father, the most amazing man, someone who I am so proud of, someone who I admire and love with all my heart,” she later added in an email response.
Harcourt House Artist Run Centre surely has no shortage of members so its annual membership show is always heavily populated, creating a diverse wonderment of talent and technique.
“It’s quite an eclectic exhibition. Because it’s the member show, there’s quite a wide variety of themes and styles and pieces,” explains Douglas Fraser.
The St. Albert painter is one of the fold at the artist-run centre. He says that being a part of various organizations has its privileges, getting exhibited being just one small one.
“I’m not really that active but I do like to support them by having a membership and then participate in the odd show. I’m with VASA too,” he added, referring to St. Albert’s Visual Arts Studio Association. “I’m a member of three or four artist organizations.”
He also carries his VAAA and CARFAC cards.
“It’s part of an attempt to be visible in the art world in a modest sort of way. All of those organizations are also – both at the local level and at the national level – trying to represent the interests of artists in the public sphere.”
The association with other artists helps to keep him motivated to be creative and active.
Symbiosis runs until July 21. The gallery is located on the third floor of the Harcourt House Art Centre, 10215 112 Street in Edmonton. Call 780-426-4180 or visit www.harcourthouse.ab.ca for more information.
Trivia: several of these artists have panels on permanent display as part of St. Albert’s newest piece of public art: the Cultivate Life mural on the parking lot side of the Gaffney & McGreer building downtown.
Trudeau has panel No. 20, Roth has panels Nos. 24 and 120, Schafers has Nos. 123 and 176, and Fraser has panel No. 172. Start in the upper left corner and count them out to the right, dropping to the leftmost panel in the next row down to continue the count.
