By Don Urquhart, Times Chronicle
The Art Gallery Osoyoos has kicked off its Summer Artisan Market with 24 local artists and artisans of all ages filling the diminutive gallery’s every available space with handcrafted beauty of all sorts.
An annual departure from the gallery’s typical look where artwork is interspersed with significant white space, this is a cornucopia of artistic delight.
Don Urquhart photo
The artisans and artists come from across the local region with a boundary roughly stretching from Rock Creek in the east, across to Keremeos and north to Oliver.
The pieces are of all types – sculpture, pottery, paintings, photography, quilting, jewellery “a little of everything,” laughs the gallery’s Marjorie Trosky as she guides me through the artistic thicket.
“There are lots and lots of originals and these things haven’t been seen in the gallery in the last year, these are all new pieces by the artists,” she adds.
For gallery curator, Claudia Punter, the process is slightly different from other shows, as artists and artisans apply to have their works included in the show and Punter then reviews their work to ensure they meet gallery standards for their particular type of art.
This year features some new artists, including Shirley Trite as well as a new jewellery artisan who also has paintings with acrylic on display. Claudia Punter has a new painting focus with a feature on the fires of last year from her perspective of living on Anarchist Mountain. And Britt Lodoen Saunders returns with an expanded collection of her colourful glass creations.
Don Urquhart photo
The gallery’s first Poster Contest took place earlier this year with Grade 11 Osoyoos Secondary School student Prabhnoor Samra taking top prize. Her work ‘Suburban Sunset’ was made into a limited series of 100 posters which the gallery is selling to raise money. This current show is also featuring some of Samra’s other works for the first time.
The Osoyoos Pottery Club is exhibiting, as well as individual potters. “And then we’ve got our photographers Richard and Gregg,” says Trosky in reference to Richard McGuire and Greg Reely.
Local soap artisan, Nathan Harper has his handmade soaps in the gallery as well.
Don Urquhart photo
The Summer Artisan Market is on from June 4 to September 5. The Gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and starting June 30 to September 5 the Gallery is open every day 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Don Urquhart photo
