A couple of weeks ago Alan and I took a short trip up the Sunshine Coast on his birthday to spend two nights at West Coast Wilderness Lodge, near Egmont. I intend to assemble my best photos of that and the exciting zodiac ride up Jervis Inlet to Princess Louisa Inlet but for now I’d like to focus on art and artists we found on the drive up and back along the beautiful Sunshine Coast.
First stop had us lunching, as tourists do, at Molly’s Reach of Beachcombers fame, in Gibsons. Afterwards we walked across the road to Gibsons Art Gallery and I was pleased to find a good selection of pottery by D’Arcy Margesson, Liz de Beer and Jack Olive. All live in the Gibsons area but we didn’t have time to visit their studios. I could live in Gibsons!
A little further up the coast we stopped in Roberts Creek, specifically because Georgina Brandon has a show of her recent drawings in the local café. She has been posting these delightful drawings of ‘Things that have been on this planet longer than humans’ on Instagram. Of course I chose the Western Grebe. Georgina was in the ceramics department with me at ECIAD many moons ago.
A few kilometres up the road, away from the ocean, we found the idyllic rural home and acreage of Creek Clayworks. Potters Elaine Futterman and Mike Allegretti were away but their knowledgeable gallery sitter allowed us to see the immaculate salt kiln, workshop and gallery. We were happy to come away with an attractive little bowl.
With a brief stop to see the totem poles in Sechelt we trundled northward and found the seaview property of Karen Henry on Redrooffs Road. We enjoyed a cool glass of lemonade with Eric Metcalfe and Karen who were holidaying in this quiet rural spot for a few days.
Two days later, as we drove South again, we stopped in at another Redrooffs home just nearby. Retired Charles H. Scott Gallery curator Greg Bellerby and his wife Allyson Clay live there full-time, although Sally travels in to Vancouver to teach Art at SFU’s downtown campus during the Winter months. They have built a fine new studio on the footprint of an old garage behind their seventies house. It’s brand new and has wonderful light. My photo shows these two standing in front of it. Allyson has a show opening at the Gibsons Art Gallery right about now.
I was happy to notice their collection of pottery and in particular a collaborative Falcon Eric and I had made as a wedding present for them.
We ended our getaway with a nice drive back down to the Langdale ferry, enjoying a White Spot supper on board before the final 3/4 hour drive home to Port Moody.
Since then I’ve been busy making plates for another Raid and firing my own work. Next blog will show those. But it’s worth noting that the little getaway got us away from dreadful smoke resulting from BC forest fires and even one in Richmond peat. Since we’ve been home the poor air quality continues and the province has declared a state of emergency for the next two weeks. Those poor folks who are expecting to be evacuated or who have actually lost their homes… Worrying times.
