Rick Stiebel/News Gazette staff
If you’re looking for a unique gift that showcases the work of local artists in a multitude of styles, The Stinking Fish Fall Show should check all the boxes on your list.
The works of 16 artists in a wide range of mediums, including ceramics, metal art, paintings, photography, prints, mosaics, outsider art and stone carvings will be on display during the show.
All of the participating artists are juried guests or members of the popular Stinking Fish Studio Tour, including Wendy Mitchell. While her work may straddle the border between art and craft, her work is always imaginative and unexpected, said Frank Mitchell, her brother and an artist also taking part in the show. “Wendy is driven to create, not produce,” Frank noted. “For her, if the results prove attractive and useful to others, that is a bonus.”
Growing up on a farm in the Interior, Wendy’s work was initially limited to utilitarian garments for family and friends. After she turned 40, however she embarked on more artistic forays with the guidance of an experienced Nova Scotia quilter. That work appealed to Wendy in part because it utilized used materials and garments, which appealed to her urge to re-use and recycle. She then took to exploring paper making and printmaking before falling in love with spinning, which she describes as magical.
She was also enamoured with the camaraderie spinning weaves into the work from sharing ideas, knowledge and gossip with members of different spinning groups, Wendy noted. She is always quick to sing the praises for the many local artists and artisans who have been instrumental in her artistic evolution. Always in search of new directions, Wendy has explored other crafts in recent years such as basket making, sculpture and bookmaking, all of which lend themselves toward her fibre work.
Some of the other artists taking part in the Stinking Fish Fall Show include potters Marlene Bowman, Ann Semple and Alice Mclean, as well as Beverley Petow’s metalwork, and Morgan Saddington’s sterling silver and copper jewellery. Painters Robert Chabot, Elaine Morton, Jocelyn West and Angela Menzies will be joined by Detief Grundmann, who works with wood, and Rick Lawlor, who uses found materials to create humoured boxed art and eclectic furniture. Work by Bonnie Coulter that employs an unusual 2D technique is also in the mix.
The Stinking Fish Fall Show takes place this Saturday, Nov. 25 and Sunday, Nov. 26 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Metchosin Hall at 4401 Metchosin Rd.
