At the garden of Sharon Leonard (left) four artists showed their work last year in Art in the Garden. Leonard is a painter, her daughter Shannon Leonard (centre) is a fine art photographer and Deb Thomson (right) is a potter. Another potter, Lucy Stoppler, showed her work, but wasn’t present. Shannon is not returning this year. (Richard McGuire photo)
For the fifth year in a row, local residents and tourists will have a chance to see the work of some of the best artists in the area in idyllic garden settings on the July 25-26 weekend.
Art in the Garden is back this year in the same locations as last year and will feature the work of 18 local artists, some of them new to the event.
The works on display cover the gamut of artistic media, with paintings, pottery, jewelry and other art forms.
“It’s getting to be known,” said Sharon Leonard, a local artist who is one of the organizers and whose home on the Osoyoos East Bench is one of the venues. “We try to keep it the same weekend each year so people know it’s the end of July. People were asking about it this year. I think it’s getting to be a regular event, which is nice.”
There are two Osoyoos venues and one each in Keremeos and Cawston.
Besides Leonard’s home, potter Katie Foster is also featuring the work of several artists at her studio and home in a semi-rural setting located south of Osoyoos.
Keremeos artist Bonny Roberts will host several local artists in her garden and for the second time in two years, Forbidden Fruit Winery is also a venue.
There are several new artists in this year’s event, though most have shown in previous years.
At Roberts’ location, artists Myra Hammond and Bev Smith are returning this year. Joining them will be Wendy Provins and Allie Arnst.
At Forbidden Fruit Winery, owner Kim Brind’Amour will again be showing her work, once again with Gabrielle Villecourt, Nathan Venables and Allyssa Allison.
At Foster’s location, painters Gay Ross and Ilene Steele are back. Joining them this year are Ronna Matlin and Jane Scheffler. Scheffler has participated in the past, hosting a venue, but she was not in last year’s show.
Leonard is again including the pottery of Deb Thomson and Lucy Stoppler. Joining her this year are Sue Neville Terada, a painter who is now legally blind, and jeweler Ariel Boulet.
New this year is a passport that will be printed in the Osoyoos Times and will also be available at the venues. People can get them stamped at each location and then enter them in a draw if they have all four stamps.
Leonard said people have two days to get the stamps and this will encourage them to visit all the locations.
Some of the artists, including Leonard, will also be selling prints of their work on canvas, which she said are more affordable than original paintings.
Some have evolved in their styles. Foster is now focusing more on fine art with her pottery and will have fewer utilitarian pieces such as plates, Leonard said.
Some of the venues will offer refreshments and Forbidden Fruit will offer wine tasting.
For Leonard, the last six months have been hectic preparing for the show.
She’s been busy getting her own work ready for the show, weeding and maintaining her garden, setting up her studio, preparing signage and advertising and promoting the show on Facebook.
“It’s a really nice way to view art outside on a nice day,” she said. “We’ve all got fairly nice gardens.”
The locations are at:
• 4405 – 37th Street, Osoyoos (Sharon Leonard, Deb Thomson, Lucy Stoppler, Sue Neville Terada and Ariel Boulet);
• 8705 – 22nd Avenue, Osoyoos (Katie Foster, Gay Ross, Ilene Steele, Ronna Matlin, Jane Scheffler);
• 620 Sumac Road, Cawston (Forbidden Fruit Winery: Kim Brind’Amour, Gabrielle Villecourt, Nathan Venables, Allyssa Allison);
• 423 Vanderlinde Drive, Keremeos (Bonny Roberts, Myra Hammond, Bev Smith, Wendy Provins, Allie Arnst).
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
