Adventure photographer Angela Percival doesn't consider herself an artist. "I just love to take photos of cool stuff in great places with fun people," she says.
Percival's Foyer Gallery exhibit, which runs from now until April 4, is a collection of both large and small black-and-white prints of the majestic mountain scenery that surrounds the well-known mesmerizing mountain adventure town of Chamonix, France.
Although Percival has many incentives to shoot, she says, "My biggest inspiration comes from being outside, but it can be anything from crazy weather to just travelling, big-mountain scenery or surf trips in Indonesia, but most often it is being in the mountains with just really great light."
She admits that, for the amount of time she spends in ski boots, some days she actually does very little skiing. This series was inspired by creative suppression while waiting for the -20 C winter mountain environment to co-operate and then taking advantage of a brief break in the weather.
Since grade school, Percival has been interested in art, but gravitated toward photography six years ago. Her work is constantly evolving and she says, "Someone is always raising the bar in the photography world and I have a long way to go. Literally every day, I am blown away by other photographers' work."
Percival, who is passionate about an entire list of things including photography, skiing, biking, surfing and travelling, is forever on the move. She says she is always growing and learning.
"I actually think I am addicted to both. Definitely, lots more to explore in photography and now with the invention of DSLR cameras, there is another monster of endless possibilities with video - a whole other world that I am exploring right now."
For information about her work, contact [email protected] All images are gallery-wrapped canvas.
In the cases, Jenny Smack presents a dreamy combination of sand-casted glass pieces along with her distinctive functional and sculptural claywork and new amber fern pendants. The entrancing exhibit, entitled Still Dreaming, profiles Smack's proficiency in clay and glass and her muse with the female figure, featuring organic shapes and texture inspired by forest and sea.
"I often incorporate my surrounding environment into my art, either indirectly through form or by directly pressing objects into the clay. I enjoy texturing my works with rocks, ferns, leaves, and other objects," she says.
Clay expert Smack enjoys the sensation of the wet earth, but she will also let the clay harden and use the medium like a wood carving. Smack also declares that she has a strong affinity for throwing pots on the wheel - "The sensual feeling of slippery, wet clay sliding through my fingers combined with the dynamic of centrifugal force."
Smack accepts that there are some seasonal challenges with this type of medium and summer provides incentive and motivation through light and warmth. She affirms that working in a chilly studio in the depths of winter can be uninspiring as well as having sporadic frustrations with kilns and mechanical setbacks. But the flip side that draws her back into immense inspiration is her loving relationship with the act of creating.
The glass work in the show is a mix of enchanted, free-standing sculpture and lively suspended panes from a more recent endeavour, created during an intensive two-week course at Pilchuck Glass School in Washington State.
She isn't sure what her future plans are, but Smack has recently been experimenting with abstract painting and wants to explore this medium.
For more information about Smack's work, contact www.members.shaw.ca/jennysmack
Smack's and Percival's work will be on display at the Library Foyer Gallery until April 4.
