Welcome once again to my blog friends! I sure hope you enjoyed our meander through the 'encounters' gallery in the last post. You can find it here you missed it!
In this post I want to take you through the other 2 exhibits we visited at the gallery. They offer a diverse array of art indeed, so come play and explore and appreciate these beautiful creative expressions with us.
We will begin in the cute little outdoor courtyard in the center of the gallery, which often sports flower arrangements and natural art. It is probably one of my favorite places to visit in the entire city and offers a refreshing reprieve from the hustle and bustle outside.
This piece was created by Dylan Ranney and is called 'refuge' very appropriately. You can watch an interview with him about this piece if you so wish here.
Hi Ryan!
Sadly I got these pictures just in the wintertime and not in full bloom, because this art piece is not just the secret fort built into the middle of it. It also includes flowers of all shapes and sizes, that cascade over the fort and on all sides. He planted the flowers ingeniously, because the ground cover gradually gave way to taller plants and drew you into the heart of the installation.
I found such joy here when it was in full bloom, and still I find peace when it is in the darkness of wintertime. This exhibit is only open until springtime sadly, but maybe we will get to see it begin to bloom. I am glad I got to experience this natural refuge in the middle of the city regardless!
Now, we leave the cute little court yard and right across the hall there is another beautiful and refreshing exhibit.
We were really lucky with our timing here, because both of the other galleries were closed when we arrived for set up, but by the time we looked around and did some crafts they had opened! Truly a blessing as well because this piece is pretty incredible.
Now, this made me curious. I had to look up what Gwaii Haans actually is. I got the idea that it was a nature reserve/park on the coast, but where, and why?
I am glad I asked! This little piece of paradise exists on an idylic island of the coast of BC named Haida Gwaii and home of the Haida first nations. The island used to be called the Queen Charlotte Islands and is somewhat famous in BC.
The park Gwaii Haans is located on the southern tip of the island and is a heritage site created to protect against logging in the 1980's. It includes land and marine ecosystems and is the front of many nature conservation efforts, as well as a tourist destination for some. Let us see into this beautiful island through the eyes of Joice M. Hall, an artist based in Kelowna.
I apologize for the poor quality photos of high quality photographs. Something about some photos on a wall is really artistic aha, and 
This incredible installation is in fact 15 feet across and is created with stunning detail. The vivid colours, the realism and even the spirit of the place are captured in this monumental piece. Standing in front of it, it felt like I was on the island and immersed in the beauty of it.
As you can see this huge acrylic painting was done on 9 seperate panels, and consists of 3 different views. One, of the coastline and islands from farther back. The middle is an enchanting and mossy green forest scene, and on the bottom we have a peak into BCs marine life. If the goal of this painting was to give us a glimpse into the magical BC island Haida Gwaii then it was a success!
No matter where you look at this art the detail is incredible! The shadows on the trees, the light on the water, the reflection of the islands in the calm ocean waters. The moss really capture my interest. How in the world do you get such beautiful texture with only paint? I feel like if I reached out my hang I could feel its softness.
I find that one of my favorite parts of this piece are the totem poles, which are in fact flat and painted to appear 3d. I thought they were real carved totem poles until I got up close. That's pretty impressive!
I really like how she added them to this piece, because in capturing the spirit of the place they could not be ignored. The totem poles are a really important part of Haida culture, as I remember from school. They represent all sorts of things and are prolific on the island. She really did capture the entire essence and beauty of the island in a one huge and awesome painting.
Here I am viewing this masterpiece. It ought to be a serious accomplishment for the artist and a huge milestone in their journey. I hope one day I can paint realism well enough to capture a forests beauty like this. I think that the painting can speak even more about a place then just a photograph, because it allows the artist to really capture the feelings of the place. You can see the galleries page for this piece here.
We have one more exhibit to view, which I will cover in another post very soon. I feel like these two installations compliment each other, both are about natural and sacred spaces. The next one doesn't fit that theme entirely so I will leave it for another post.
