Taking Part in Gabriola Island’s Annual Thanksgiving Studio Tour

Taking Part in Gabriola Island’s Annual Thanksgiving Studio Tour

I’m excited to announce my participation in another upcoming art event – Gabriola Island’s annual Thanksgiving Studio Tour. The event is organized by the indefatigable Gabriola Arts Council and is free to attend.

The event is quite unique in that artists from around the island open their home studios to the public for 3 days — meaning you can do the tour your own way, at your own pace, and enjoy exploring. Furthermore, many artists go beyond simply displaying their work and also offer demonstrations for a truly intimate, creative experience.

It’s been a while since I took part in an open studio tour. The last was in the spring of 2019 when I was at Braid St Studios, which I’ve mentioned in a recent post. Prior to that, I was part of an open studio tour while living at ARC Live Work Studios in Vancouver — and we had a few thousand people come through.

However, those were somewhat different. This is the first time I’m inviting people into my home as part of a studio tour. And I think there’s something special – and beautiful and vulnerable – about viewing artwork in a home setting.

A Little Bit About Gabriola’s Thanksgiving Studio Tour

The unique 3-day art extravaganza has been a success since its founding and has evolved into one of the premier art events in the Pacific Northwest. Having celebrated its silver anniversary in 2021, this year marks the 26th occasion of the wonderful event. 

You can meet with 65 artists and enjoy their creative works up close and personal in 56 studios spread across the island. With so many studios to choose from, it’s difficult (or impossible) to visit them all. So, it may help to plan your visit in advance using this interactive map of the tour. You can also find the full list of studios here, which includes examples and descriptions of each artist’s work.

The Thanksgiving Studio Tour runs for 3 days, October 8th to 10th, with participating studios open from 10 am to 5 pm. However, Tour Central – the tour’s headquarters – will be open from October 6th through 10th, and it’s got a Preview Gallery where you can view works by nearly all of the participating artists. It’s above Nova Arts and Craft Boutique in the centrally-located Folklife Village.

There’s also a raffle fundraiser for a chance to own an original painting by Gabriola artist Tony Grove, which you can read more about here.

Artwork I Have on Display for the Studio Tour

I’m setting up my house as a gallery and I have one wall with about 20 framed paintings from my popular Little Gems Series, which I’ve mentioned recently (such as here and here). There will also be a variety of large-format mixed-media paintings hung throughout the house. There are about 9 of those, ranging in size from 30” x 40” to the biggest at 48” x 72”.

I’ll also have paper paintings, such as from my Fragments of Life series, and up to a couple hundred other loose Little Gems. So, there’s a lot of art to be enjoyed!

There will also be one finished piece from The Drishti Paintings – the new large-scale series I’m currently working on. The series is very special to me and a culmination of everything I’ve learned in my journey as both a healer and an artist. The paintings embody 3 core principles about healing – which I’ll reveal once there’s a body of work ready for a gallery exhibit.

What I’m Looking Forward To With This Tour

I’m really excited to meet people and connect with not only the people I know and love but with those who take the time and effort to come over to the island. It’s an amazing feeling to see a person connect with a painting that is right for them, and I welcome the opportunity to help people find the perfect match.

Also, something new I’m doing with The Drishti Paintings is offering commissioned works for people who want something for their home or meditation room. So, I’d love to talk to anyone coming through the tour who’s looking to create a visual anchor for their personal well-being.

Attending the Tour (and Getting to My Studio)

For those who have never been to our beautiful Gabriola Island, it’s just a 25-minute ferry from Nanaimo Harbour at the edge of downtown Nanaimo. For those coming from the mainland, it’s located between the Duke Point and Departure Bay Ferry Terminals.

I’m Studio #49 on the tour and located at 1063 Chappel Place. As mentioned above, there is also an easy-to-read online map with pins for all the studios. There is street parking available out front, then you just go through the gate and walk straight to the house.

Original Artwork and Prints for Sale Online

If you are unable to attend the tour, you can browse through my collection on Saatchi Art’s online gallery.

Saatchi Art offers multiple options to suit your personal tastes or needs. You can choose to have your print on paper or canvas and choose from 4 sizes to best fit your room. You also have the option to have it framed in white, black, or natural wood.

The “View In A Room” image on Saatchi Art should give you an idea of its size and let you see what it looks like on a wall.

My Upcoming Art Exhibit with Sarah Graeme

I am thrilled to announce my collaborative art exhibit with Sarah Graeme. Based across the way on Vancouver Island, Sarah is a ceramic artist who uses weaving and basketry techniques to combine plant fibers with ceramic forms. I’m a huge fan of her work and who she is as a person, so I’m very excited about our upcoming show.

The exhibit is being held at the Free Spirit Gallery here on Gabriola Island, and it runs from August 16 through to September 5. The official opening night event is Friday, August 19 from 6 to 8 PM.

An “Interview” with the Gallerist

Free Spirit Gallery Studio & Shop was established last fall by Catherine Hallam. It’s an incredible addition to the island’s art community, encouraging and enabling local artists and artisans to showcase their work. You can see its exhibition schedule for the year on the gallery’s website.

A full year of exhibits is certainly a testament to Catherine’s passion for and commitment to the arts — not to mention her organizational skills! Here are some of the insightful questions that Catherine asked me about the artwork I’m exhibiting in this show.

What ideas, concepts, and experiences does the body of work communicate?

This body of work communicates a visual footprint of my spiritual and healing journey over the past 10 years. The journey of creating each painting here on display taught me something important that has helped me to re-connect and align with my authentic self. Often the painting’s title reveals the message I received and what I learned in its creation. The work imbues a healing frequency, each painting emanating the energetic stamp of the learnings and healing I received from its creation.

What inspirations or traditions guided or influence this body of work?

Before I begin painting, my inspiration and tradition are in my healing practice to go within via meditation, silent time in nature, and journal writing. When I begin to work, I am guided by my intuition and let the painting guide and lead me as I add and take away layers. Knowing that the process and journey of creation is the greatest gift of being an artist. Trusting the finished piece will reveal herself.

How are the methods or techniques you use important to this body of work? Tell us how, or what, the choice of medium or process contributes to this work.

There are a lot of layers in these paintings and also the unique aspect of sand added as texture. I think I use a lot of thick mediums and mixed media because it's just simply so darn fun playing around with the colours and textures. When I look back on this work I also think these paintings are a lot like each of us in the world, that is, we come in as a baby pure innocent naturally happy, and excited about life. 

Then things happen, beliefs are formed, and occurrences and incidences happen and shape us. We grow, evolve, and learn while trying to figure out this thing called Life. For those of us on a conscious healing journey, I feel part of that process and journey of re-claiming our authenticity is taking off some of the layers we never really wanted, and getting back to our real selves. This is what I’ve been up to for the past couple of decades and that is what I see when I look at my work. As for the sand elements, well, I’m always going back to nature to re-calibrate and nourish myself… I just can’t help myself but to add it into these pieces!

Exhibit Statement for Moving; Through, Towards, Within

The title of Sarah’s and my collaborative art exhibit is Moving; Through, Towards, Within. Our exhibit statement encapsulates our individual approaches to – and what we aim to achieve with – our artwork. It follows below:

When faced with uncertainty we can either become fixed, paralyzed by the unknown, or move; through, towards, within.

Through Deb Chaney’s abstract, ethereal paintings, she explores the narratives of her own personal healing journey. Through the process and ongoing practice of painting, Deb Chaney explores themes of authenticity, truth, and connection.

Gathered on plinths, Sarah Graeme’s woven ceramic vessels emanate a sense of delicate balance. In her work, Sarah combines daylily fibers from her garden and smoke-fired ceramic vessels to create work that navigates the uncertainty and precarity she feels in our current environmental and social climate.

Both artists’ work use the process of creating to work through and into the unknown, uncertain, and ambiguous expanse in an attempt to navigate questions without definitive answers.

How do we be in a better relationship with ourselves, each other, and the world around us?

Moving into the expanse of discomfort, through, towards, within.

Original Artwork and Prints for Sale

Original paintings on display at the show can be purchased through Free Spirit Gallery. Contact the gallery owner Catherine Hallam via email or phone at (250) 247-0197. Or, if you’re fortunate enough to be on Gabriola Island, stop by the gallery at 590 North Road.

Prints of some of the pieces in the show are available in my online gallery at Saatchi Art.

Saatchi Art has a range of options to fit your individual preferences and needs. You can choose to have your prints on paper or canvas, and most are available in 4 sizes to fit any room. There is also an option to have it framed in white, black, or natural wood.

The “View In A Room” image gives you an idea of its size and lets you see what it looks like on a wall.

Donating Art for Gabriola Island's Annual Salmon BBQ Auction

Gabriola Island by Deb Chaney (9” x 12”)

I’ve donated a painting to the indispensable Gabriola Island Community Hall to be auctioned off at its annual fundraiser. The painting is called Gabriola Island and I and some other island artists were mentioned in our local paper, the Gabriola Sounder.

The 67th Annual Gabriola Community Hall Salmon BBQ

Our local community centre – the Gabriola Island Community Hall – is holding its 67th Annual Salmon BBQ on Saturday, August 13. The festivities include the salmon BBQ, as well as a raffle, live music, activities for kids, and the silent auction. There’s a beer & cider garden for the adults and play area for the kiddos.

The event starts at 4pm on Saturday and goes until 8pm. Tickets are just $20 for a salmon dinner with homemade salads, buns, watermelon, and more. They’re available at Colleen’s (our local home and fashion store), the Community Hall’s website, and at the event.

Source: Gabriola Island Community Hall

Gabriola Artists and Performers Contributing to the Event

Gabriola Island’s community is an incredible supporter of its artists and artisans. And as a way of giving back and supporting the seat of this small, close-knit populace, local artists, artisans, and businesses have donated their goods or services to the fundraiser’s raffle and silent auction.

The painting I’ve donated is called Gabriola Island. It’s a 9” x 12” x 1.5” original mixed media piece on wood panel. I painted it years ago when I’d come to Gabriola Island on a retreat. Whenever I go away on a personal retreat, I have my beloved old leather satchel full of the art supplies needed to create small paintings. And this is one of the paintings to come from that. The ground layer of this painting is an old nautical map of the Gulf Islands surrounding the Salish Sea, with the text for Gabriola Island visible.

In addition to myself, other artists featured at the auction include Tammy Hugeon and Carolyn Bell.

Tammy Hugeon is a painter and glass artist “creating wild & soulful work” on the island. She’s a self-taught artist and was the BC Glass Art Award winner – twice! Her colourful, nature-inspired work includes mixed media paintings and large-scale sculptures of glass, steel, and wood. You can visit Tammy’s website to learn more about her and her work.

Carolyn Bell is a painter, writer, musician – and more! – based on the island. Her body of work includes a “heroic women” series of abstract paintings of Margaret Artwood, Julia Child, Ruth Bader Ginsburg styled as religious icons. You can see some of Carolyn’s work on her Facebook page, although the most recent update is from 2018.

The live music stage is set to include performances by Paul Gellman, Brooke Gray Harris, Sarah Osborne, Tom MacLachlan, Cursing Cousins, John Gresham and Friends, and Snake Island Railroad.

Original Artwork and Prints for Sale

This section usually has links to where you can buy the original or prints of the painting mentioned in the post. But seeing as my painting Gabriola Island is up for auction in 2 weeks, the original is only available to the highest bidder.

However, you can order prints of Gabriola Island on Saatchi Art or find another original painting in my collection on Saatchi Art’s online gallery. 

Saatchi Art offers multiple options to suit your personal tastes or needs. Prints can be on paper or canvas and are typically available in 4 sizes to best fit your room. You can also choose to have it framed in white, black, or natural wood.

The “View In A Room” image gives you an idea of its size and lets you see what it looks like on a wall. But take it one step further with the “View in My Room” tool that lets you see what it looks like on your wall.

My Painting ‘Keep it Real’ is Featured at Free Spirit Art Gallery on Gabriola Island

Keep it Real by Deb Chaney

I am thrilled to announce that my artwork is now featured in the Free Spirit Art Gallery here on beautiful Gabriola Island, British Columbia, Canada. It’s truly an honour and pleasure to be part of this gallery and artist community. I’d like to take this opportunity to share a bit more about Free Spirit Gallery, the woman behind it, and my first piece of artwork featured there.

The Importance of Art Galleries and the Free Spirit Gallery on Gabriola Island

A gallery is more than just a shop with art on its walls. Beyond displaying artwork, it is a place for people to interact – to inquire, collaborate, and get inspired. And everyone I’ve talked with is excited to have a genuine and professional brick & mortar gallery on the island. 

The Free Spirit Studio Gallery & Shop was established last November by a phenomenal woman named Catherine Hallam. She has 20+ years of experience teaching art & design and has been on the island for nearly 10 years. By showcasing the work of emerging and established local artists and artisans, Catherine aims to provide a mutually beneficial platform to bring artists and collectors together.

The Free Spirit Shop is a retail space for local artisans to display and sell their handmade works. The Free Spirit Studio section – launched a couple of months ago – is a space where artists can conduct small workshops and classes for kids and adults. She’s got 2 printmaking workshops scheduled for July, but visit the studio’s webpage for up-to-date information.

By rotating solo exhibits, Catherine features one or two artists each month on the back wall – which I think is a wonderful idea. Having your work featured is an empowering experience for an artist. You can see the exhibition schedule for the whole year on the website.

There are so many amazing Gabriola artists to be represented. The gallery is a special, beautiful place, and it’s a privilege and pleasure to be a part of it specifically, and the community as a whole.

About My Painting ‘Keep it Real’ on Display at Free Spirit Art Gallery

The painting I have on display is called Keep it Real, and it’s part of my Fragments of Life series.

The Fragments of Life series is about how we often morph and fragment ourselves to survive the challenges and trauma we experience growing up. We become people we are not – and do what we have to – in order to meet our needs. And the series is a healing journey about reclaiming those lost parts of ourselves, our fragments.

Each painting in the series represents a lesson from my spiritual journey. The painting process always helps me stay in the present moment – keeping with what’s real – and embracing, accepting, and loving it. We do this with the knowledge that we have the power and capacity to transform into the next version of ourselves.

The painting is an acrylic mixed media collage on 300-pound cold press watercolour paper mounted on wood panel, and it measures 58.4 x 76.2 x 2.5 cm (23 x 30 x 1.5 inches).

Original Artwork and Prints for Sale

The original painting of Keep it Real is currently available for purchase from Free Spirit Gallery Please email info@freespiritstudio.ca or phone the gallery at (250) 247-0197 to secure the original for your collection. 

You can also purchase giclee and fine art prints from Saatchi Art.

When it comes to prints, Saatchi Art offers multiple options to suit your personal tastes or needs. Prints can be on paper or canvas and are usually available in 4 sizes – to better fit your room. You can also choose to have your unique art piece framed in white, black, or natural wood.

The “View In A Room” image gives you an idea of its size and lets you see what it looks like on a wall.