Exhibition News!

On NOW in Kamloops!  

B.C. member Janet Scruggs has shared this information...as she has pieces in this exhibition.  Please note the special evening hours on March 15, and the fact that the pieces are available for purchase!

The Return of the Burgess Shale Exhibit

Hectori Trilobite 
Jaynie Himsl

In 2013, then SAQA Co-Rep for Alberta, Patti Morris, curated an exhibit of the critters (fossils) of the Burgess Shale, inspired and assisted by member Deborah Bray.  Member Barbara J. West was then President of the Alberta Society of Artists, and was instrumental in arranging for this exhibit to tour schools and libraries throughout Alberta as part of the TREX (TRavelling EXhibit) program.

Dinomischus
Judith Panson

On that tour, it was seen by a fellow who was connected to the Burgess Shale Interpretive Centre.  After some discussions and deliberations, at the end of its TREX tour, the Burgess Shale Exhibit was delivered to the Interpretive Centre in Field, B.C., with a view to having a permanent home there.

Sadly, this has not happened.  It is reported that the Federal government, the Alberta Government and the Parks Department were unable to agree on how to manage this exhibit, and so Deb Bray has brought it back to Alberta, in the hopes of finding an alternative permanent place for it.

The good news is that there's to be an introductory exhibit!

Deborah Bray and Patti Morris have teamed up with the Bow River Quilters for a one day only return exhibit of this very special project.  If you have never seen it in its entirety, and are in the area, do make your way to the Banff Trail Community Centre in Calgary for a unique, colourful and family-friendly exhibit -- the fossils of the Burgess Shale, interpreted in fabric, fibre and floss.  Enjoy!

It is hoped that this reprise exhibit will stir interest and help find a permanent home for these special pieces.

The artists involved are especially invited to attend this one-day-only exhibit.  Some of them are no longer SAQA members...and may not follow this blog.  If you know them...please pass the word along!  

In addition to organizers Deborah Bray and Patti Morris, the artists who brought these creatures to life include:

From Alberta:

• Bush Eastep;
• Barbara West;
• Diane Duncan;
• Hanne Seidel;
• Ilse Anysas-Salkauskas;
• Wendy Klotz;
• Leslie Barnes;
• Margaret Blank;
• Linda Mackay;
• Susanne Loutas;
• Christine Wiggett.

From British Columbia:

• Terry Aske;
• Katie Stein Sather;
• Jennifer Cooper;
• Catherine Nicholls;
• Mardell Rampton;
• Lesley Mayfield;
• Coreen Zerr.

From Manitoba/Saskatchewan:

• Jaynie Himsl;
• Judith Panson;
• Rena Holma;
• Susan Wittrup.

And...Linda Sharp, no longer a member, whom I cannot place -- with apologies!

I regret, as one of the artists involved, that I am unable to attend because...I will be busy with my booth at the Annual Lacombe Art Show and Sale, Lacombe Memorial Centre, April 20 and 21...So I send my best wishes to all involved for a successful return to the Burgess Shale.