Coming Home for Christmas

The Eastend Arts Council’s (EAC) 2012-13 Travelling Exhibit has made its way back to the southwest for its final showing of a year long tour.  

Twenty five artists are featured in the exhibition, most of them from the southwest including Eastend, Shaunavon, Frontier, Val Marie, Hazlet, Swift Current and Maple Creek.  Artists were chosen from the juried art show held in Eastend in October 2012, adjudicated by well-known Saskatchewan artist Donna Kriekle.

While the unifying theme of “Visions of Eastend: Under the Living Sky” is apparent throughout all of the works, this is a diverse grouping.  Artworks include acrylic, watercolour and oil paintings, wood carving, clay, video, photography and metal work.  Several of the pieces are available for purchase.

In addition, some of the artists will be on hand December 14 for a Winter Art Market to showcase additional fine art that they have for sale.  The sale will run from 11 am – 5 pm but a highlight of the day will be brief artist talks beginning at 2:30 pm for those artists who are available to share some brief thoughts about their work with the audience.  Live music by Trea Jensen will follow and cider will be served.

Director Wendy Thienes explains, “Our hope is that people will take some time out of their busy Christmas schedules to stop by to see the show, and the Art Market gives them an opportunity to meet some of these amazing artists as well.  They may even be able to finish up their shopping with some unique items.”

The exhibition will be on display until December 31.

The show has been touring around the province since last November. Other stops on the tour have included the AGES Gallery at Eastend Library, Java Express at Moose Jaw, Shurniak Gallery at Assiniboia, Amber Gallery, Circle Park Mall at Saskatoon and the Prairie Sky Gallery at Maple Creek.

The EAC has two different art shows. The Juried show and exhibition: Visions of Eastend is open to all Saskatchewan artists to participate.  The other show features Southwest Saskatchewan artists. Each of these exhibitions are bi-annual.

Visions of Eastend is the “brand” of the touring exhibition, but each tour has its own theme.  The first exhibition was titled: “Eastend, it’s People, Landscape and Heritage.”

“The committee explored many ideas for the second show, and the titles are to showcase the area,” commented EAC member and artist Trea Jensen. “We have amazing skies and landscapes in Saskatchewan, especially here in the Southwest. We wanted to give artists an opportunity to show us how they see the living sky here in Eastend.  The title could be interpreted many ways.  The sky could be focused, or the landscape under it, what lives under it, what grows under it, etc.”

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