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Artists explore the meaning of Canada

Some of Canada’s most iconic symbols are the focus of an art exhibit that is kicking off Canada’s sesquicentennial year.
Okotoks artist Jennifer Stables has submitted some of her paintings to be included in the Okotoks Art Gallery’ s Strong and Free Exhibit, which opens Jan. 13.
Okotoks artist Jennifer Stables has submitted some of her paintings to be included in the Okotoks Art Gallery’ s Strong and Free Exhibit, which opens Jan. 13.

Some of Canada’s most iconic symbols are the focus of an art exhibit that is kicking off Canada’s sesquicentennial year.

Okotoks Art Gallery specialist Katrina Lougheed has asked gallery members to commemorate Canada’s 150th year with artwork featuring common Canadian images in its newest exhibit Strong and Free, which opens with an artists’ reception Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. and runs until Feb. 11 in the small gallery.

“We are aiming for a fun and playful reflection of our country,” said Lougheed. “We are hoping that people will appreciate Canada’s history and also Okotoks’. We have these local artists that are influenced by Canadian and Okotoks’ history in some way and we are trying to bring the two together.”

Among the Canadian symbols members are required to include in their art are a maple leaf, syrup, beaver, moose, Mounties, toques and poutine. Each piece must contain at least two of those symbols, Lougheed said.

“It’s very strict,” she said. “Our goal for the list was to think of things essentially that Canada is known for internationally.”

Lougheed said the exhibit challenges its member to create new work and gives them a venue of which to showcase their talent.

“We wanted another opportunity for members to exhibit and we wanted to connect it to Canada’s 150th,” she said. “We are doing a second show over the summer, which will also be related, specifically, about the railroad, which helped to settle Canada and connect both sides of the country.”

Lougheed’s email to member artists about Strong and Free last fall received some enthusiastic responses.

“We’ve had quite a few artists reply back saying, ‘I’m really excited about this,’” she said. “We’re expecting paintings, stained glass and jewelry. We don’t have any restrictions on what type of artwork it needs to be.”

Okotoks artist Jennifer Stables is eager to share her impressions of the great north through her whimsical paintings.

“I think it’s a really fun theme to do,” she said. “It’s a celebration of things that we can identify with as Canadians and we can either laugh about or reminisce about or have some sort of connection with.”

She submitted the maximum three pieces of art.

One of her pieces from a previous Canadian series is a painting of a moose with mittens tangled in its antlers.

Stables painted two new pieces – one of Canadian wildlife playing hockey on a pond and another of a beaver with a red toque drinking a cup of Tim Hortons coffee.

“When I saw the list I lit up and said, ‘This is for me’,” she said.

“It was pretty much right up my alley, especially because I had created that moose painting over a year ago. I thought this is a perfect fit.”

Strong and Free marks the second exhibit in 12 months where member artists can showcase their work in the gallery.

“I think it’s absolutely wonderful that local people can display in a gallery like the Okotoks Art Gallery because they get world class artists coming through there,” she said.

“The fact that they opened it up to local artist is absolutely fabulous. My heart just leapt when I saw the opportunity. Finding the venues to share your work is sometimes a challenge. It’s nice to have a mix of what is out there locally and a chance for the communities to see the local talent that exists in their backyard.”

Sherry Chanin, a Crowsnest Pass painter, is submitting an acrylic painting she did last summer of two loons on Beaver Mines Lake after taking a photograph of the birds while on a kayaking trip.

“I do a lot of scenes of Canada and when I saw the list it caught my eye,” she said. “I do paintings of birds and nature so I had something that would fit with the theme.”

Chanin’s work is a combination of representational and abstract art.

“I like to see more of the formal elements of abstract painting in anything representational that I do,” she said. “The background is completely impressionistic done mainly with dots and dashes.”

The painter of 40 years said she is proud to contribute her art in a patriotic gesture towards Canada’s 150th birthday.

“I’m proud to be a Canadian and I do think that we have a distinct identity,” she said. “I like the idea of celebrating our history and celebrating what makes us Canadian.”

The Okotoks Art Gallery is open for public viewing Tuesdays to Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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