Pynelogs is springing into a 2013 summer season that promises to offer all the varied artistic treats the gallery has come to be renowned for.
The centrepiece of this year’s endeavour will be all about glass, metal and collaboration, as the gallery gets set to host Columbia Valley Glass: Breaking Borders from May 27th to June 9th.
“Every year we host something a little different, mostly to educate our valley on a different type of art,” said Pynelogs Art Gallery manager and administrator Jami Scheffer.
“Breaking Borders is a collaboration of glass, metal and mixed media. It’s a new group show and collaboration, and a lot of it is local.”
Twenty glass artists, mainly from the Columbia Valley, will produce up to five pieces each, and all will collaborate on an ambitious centrepiece: a 20-foot long wall height creation called “The return of the feathers,” which will bear in mind themes of wings, flight, sky, mountains, rivers and fish.
Artists involved will include kiln-cast glass specialist Leslie Rowe-Israelson, blacksmith Scott Bellows, Julie Gibb, Gordon Webster, and a multitude of artists from Bavin Glassworks.
The season is kicking off with an old standard season-launcher: the Art from the Heart show, which this year features young artists from the five elementary schools in the Rocky Mountain School District’s Windermere Zone.
“It runs for three weeks and supports all of the elementary school kids in the valley, and it is a good way to open up the doors and get the fresh air, sunshine and to remind everyone that we are open,” said Ms. Scheffer.
Over about five weeks in the fall, the gallery is hosting the War Brides exhibit, in which artist Bev Tosh will be putting on display portraits of the newly-married women in the wake of World Wars I and II.
“It is just a story of the war brides that came across on a one-way passage to be Canadian wives,” said Ms. Scheffer. “It is quite moving and quite powerful, and we are hosting it here from October until Remembrance Day, which is the big day for that.”
“All the events are equally important and they all have their own special qualities, because once we get through our community shows, which are coming up at the end of June, then we start into our featured artist shows, where we feature local artists in the gallery,” noted Ms. Scheffer.
Though the March membership month at the art gallery has now passed, the annual membership drive is still underway. Those who purchase a one-year membership at Pynelogs stand to gain discounts from local businesses, as well as a chance to win a trip to the Tinhorn Creek vineyard in the Okanagan.
Pynelogs has updated its gallery hours this year, and will now be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
On Wednesday evenings, Pynelogs will stay open until 9 p.m.
The Pynelogs Cafe will open for the season on Tuesday, April 30th
The Whazzup at Pynelogs column is expected to begin running in The Valley Echo by late April.