Sheila Page has had a lifelong obsession with both art and the seaside. In her latest series of large acrylic paintings entitled A Closer Look, Page merges those passions to explore a macro view of the natural world along the seashore by means of large-scale canvasses. As a viewer you are invited to wander the trails, frolic in the tidal pools or jump in a small boat and take a sightsee journey along the coastline to discover the wonders of marine biology and botanicals.
Page remembers travelling from Vancouver Harbour to Eastbourne on Keats Island via the Tymac motor launch from the time when she was very young. Most of the images in this exhibition stem from a closer look at the beach in front of her home on the Sunshine Coast, but some refer to the outer shores of Nootka Island, which Page visited by kayak.
鈥淚n this series of paintings, I would like to draw attention to the importance and complexity of the natural world beneath our feet,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he humble natural objects on the beach have been shaped by the waves and weather into arrangements that reflect the power of their environment. I am attracted to the mysterious tangles of life and death found on our beaches.鈥� As part of her creative process, Page enjoys painting curious subjects that challenge her. For this series she used a limited palette of two sets of complementary colours: pthalo blue/quinacradone burnt orange and arylide yellow/dioxazine violet.
Retirement has allowed the time for Page to develop more creative skills and understanding of art through steady work effort along with studies on contemporary artists.
Artistic flower pots
The cases are alive with form and function as local professional potter Kay Austen transplants her focus to investigate holders for flowers and their historical and spiritual significance in sacred rituals, ceremonials and shrine decorations. But Austen had created these containers as stand-alone artistic sculptural statements reflecting the elements of surface, glaze and form, presented in proportion and stability. Containers for tall flowers were created using coloured, textural slabs of clay suggesting the human form, while other forms were inspired by a trumpet or calla lily shape with a thrown spherical base or flat leaf tray shapes.
Austen鈥檚 creative stimulation for this unique series takes a look back into vessel history. 鈥淔lower holders can come in just about any shape and size: a huge formal floor vase; a simple cylindrical vase for a bunch of wildflowers; a tulipiere, specifically designed to show off perfect blooms of prized tulips, a jug of daisies on the window sill, or even an Ikebana vase or tray, displaying a twig, a blade of grass and a single bloom, all arranged to promote contemplation and introspection and soliciting an emotional response,鈥� she explained.
Her broad inspirations include things like the texture of peeling paint on a barn door or an image of a 5,000-year-old Japanese pot.
Austen is predominantly a functional potter, partly because of her training but mostly through personal preference, although she does allot time for playful experimentation to develop a deeper understanding of form and surface. 鈥淎lthough I keep a sketchbook, many ideas come from unstructured clay play. Avenues to pursue also evolve from mistakes, kiln accidents and even dreams. I still refer back to ideas I was developing in my student days and translate them into completely different finished pieces,鈥� she said.
For more than 50 years, Austen鈥檚 pottery has continually evolved, but her proficient signature style has become the common thread.
Austen is currently exploring an experimental firing called 鈥淥bvara鈥� in which the piece is dipped in a yeast mixture and rapidly cooled to create stunning effects.
