Touching Earth Bodies Exhibit Opens

The new exhibit at the Comox Valley Art Gallery opened on Friday, May 18th and runs until June 29th.

Touching Earth Bodies offers a dialogue between three bodies of collaborative and individually-produced work by Victoria-based artists Lindsay Katsitsakatste Delaronde and Valerie Salez. The three projects, In Defiance (Delaronde), In the Shadow of our own Dust (Salez), and Touching Earth Bodies (Delaronde and Salez), explore the power of self-representation, rejuvenation, and healing through ceremony and connections to the land. 

Visit the Gallery's site for more information about the show and the community make art workshop on June 2nd.

The writers and their work...

We were fortunate to have six local writers donate their time and talent to the Garden Gala. Here's a little bit about them:

Harold Macy is a longtime Merville resident. His most recent publication is The Four-Storey Forest (Courtenay, Poplar Publishing, 2011). In 2014, Orion Magazine published a piece Harold wrote about the unique character of Merville. Place Where You Live...

Natalie Nickerson began her reading by acknowledging that we were gathering on the unceded territory of the local First Nations. She chose to read a wonderful array of poems that surprised and delighted.

Berni Friesen selected a compelling scene from an unpublished novel. We're looking forward to seeing the whole book in print!

Cornelia Hoogland read from her beautiful collection Trailer Park Elegy, which has been nominated for a major poetry prize.

Judy LeBlanc read a gorgeous story from her collection of short fiction from Oolichan Books - A Promise of Water. 

Marlet Ashley introduced us to some of the eccentric characters in her recent novel, The Right Kind of Crazy, set in Cumberland, which is hot off the press, and now available in local bookstores.

Sunshine, sea breezes for the Garden Gala

The weather looked iffy on Sunday morning, but by noon, the sun appeared. Some walked down the hill from the gate, some preferred to get a ride, and when the readings began a little after two p.m. we had a good-sized crowd, gathering in the garden to hear local writers read from their work.   Our backdrop--seashore and coastal mountains. 

Garden Gala coming up...

We're gearing up for our Open House and Garden Gala on Sunday, May 6th, from 1 - 4 p.m.

Six local writers will be reading from their work--Harold Macy, Bernice Friesen, Cornelia Hoogland, Marlet Ashley, Judy LeBlanc, and Natalie Nickerson. Plus, there will be refreshments generously provided by the Comox Valley Writers Society. Local musicians Patrick Desjardins and Kel Kelly will share their talent, along with Margo McLoughlin, playing the magical hang, a percussion instrument from Switzerland.

Spring view of the garden...

What's in bloom?

Several varieties of hellebore are still blooming along the paths near the house.

Changing skies

The views from the beach in front of the McLoughlin Gardens look north towards the cliffs of Savary Island and beyond to the mainland of BC. It's safe to say that the skies over the islands and mountains are always changing.

Rita McKeough in Courtenay on September 30th

The Comox Valley Art Gallery has just announced that artist Rita McKeough will be at the Gallery to give a talk and tour at 3 p.m. on Saturday, September 30th on the last day of her exhibit Veins/Listen/Cul de Sac. 

Anne Simpson, Writer-in-Residence at UBC

Our first writer-in-residence, Anne Simpson, returns to the West Coast this fall as writer-in-residence at UBC's Green College.

Of particular interest to those of us who live nearby are the public events that Anne is hosting and participating in:

At Green College, Anne will organize and host three public panel discussions under the general title of “The Arts and Sciences of Living Now.” The first will be on "Women, Fiction, and Politics," (Thursday, October 12, 2017 at 5pm) the second on "Poetry and Ecology" (Thursday, October 26, 2017 at 5pm) and the last on "Palliative Care and the Arts" (Thursday, November 16, 2017 at 5pm).

Anne will also give a reading of her work on (Tuesday, September 19, 2017 at 5pm) in the Coach House at Green College, under the title of “Self and No Self: Poetic Undoing.”

Lace cap hydrangea - late summer colour

After a dry summer, the gardens are looking parched. The lace cap hydrangea, however, adds a gorgeous splash of blue and green.

Rita McKeough Exhibit

If you are passing by the corner of Duncan and 6th Street in Courtenay, you might think a flock of birds has descended nearby. Birdsong is audible, but the source is the installation in the windows of the Comox Valley Art Gallery, cleverly designed to encourage you to step forward and explore.

Visit http://www.comoxvalleyartgallery.com/themes/veins-opening-artists-talk/ to learn more about Rita's exhibit, on at the art gallery until September 30th.