Black light art, things to do with cedar blocks and more…

By David F. Rooney

This Friday the Visual Arts Centre will be opening four new exhibitions that really deserve to capture your interest: Fabulous Light, a whimsical solo show of works by Peter Blackmore, Anything Goes 3-D, which shows what artists can do when given a plain cedar block, Recent Works by Rachel Kelly and The Landscape Reflected by Jennifer Hedge.

Fabulous Light is the offering from the talented Peter Blackmore. Peter  is one of those artists who has a true sense of curiosity and a thirst for novelty. He quenches that by exploring the effects he can create using different materials and techniques.

“I like to recycle so I used discarded crayons from Downie (where he works his day job) and I used hairspray to achieve some interesting day-glo effects,” he said Sunday.

Hairspray? Why not? The pieces in his show can be viewed under normal light, but hairspray and the crayons also show up under black light and the effects are very interesting. I can’t say too much more about Peter’s show without ruining the surprise.

Painter Rachel Kelly’s exhibit, Recent Works, explores the natural work around and, too. Rachel’s works are often inspiring, bright and lively and in the case of her large triptych Sir Donald, which she has produced for Mica Heliskiing’s new lodge, very, very bold.

It was also a real departure from her usual style. Where other works of hers are flowing and free, Sir Donald captures the mass and edges of one of our region’s most iconic mountains.

“This was really fun,” she said. “I’ve always liked drawing rock formations.”

The third show that is opening on Friday is The Landscape Reflected, a collection of works by Jennifer Hedge. The Duncan-based artist is a frequent exhibitor at the Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre and has gained a following for her moody paintings of rainy landscapes. This solo show includes some paintings that are certain to attract attention, including Denizen, her images of ravens, and the large triptych, Out of Time.

The fourth show is Anything Goes 3-D. This is a really fun exhibition that shows what you can do with a simple block of wood. Local artists were given a block and challenged to use it to create a work of art. They were allowed to do anything they wanted and the results are astonishing from a pile of shavings to fascinating multi-media pieces.

The works in Anything Goes are also being sold through a Silent Auction as a fundraiser for new flooring in the Visual Arts Centre’s galleries. Artists are donating all or 50% of the sale proceeds to The Centre. The auction will run until the end of the show.

Here are some images from the show: