An annual showcase of local artists’ treasures will be featured at the Farm Studio & Friends Fifth Annual Summer Art Show & Sale.
Set for Aug. 18th, it will be held on Pat Matheson’s picturesque farm near Sylvan Lake, and this year about 25 artists will be setting up displays of their work for the public to have a closer look at.
Matheson said the afternoon promises to be an enjoyable time for folks to drop by and check out what local artists have been up to.
“There will be pretty much everything there – paintings including oil, acrylic and water colour, glass, pottery, raku, handbound books, textiles including everything from quilts to woven rugs, silversmithing, jewellery, wood and metal,” he explained of the array of items that will be available to look over.
Some of the artists confirmed to join in include Betty Schnell, Betty Matheson and Debbie Weiers (watercolours); Larry Reese and Bobbie Seright (oils); Caroline Butler (acrylics); Candace Meyers (silversmithing); Eilleen Hatten (jewellery); Lissa Braseth (glass) and Arne Handley (pottery) among several others.
Hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For more about this year’s show and sale, call 403-748-2557. And to get there, drive 1.5 km west then 1.5 km north of the Aspelund Rd./Hwy. 20 intersection. It’s also about 10 km north of the Sylvan traffic circle. Watch for signs.
“I often do a couple of sales here a year in the studio, and I would think with these grounds here there is so much potential,” he said, referring to how the annual summer art show and sale has grown over the years. “There is ample parking and there is no admission fee.”
As to the artists, they set up between 8 and 10 a .m. anywhere they like in the yards.
“Sometimes, depending on who’s here, we’ve even had some spontaneous jam sessions that have really added to the ambience of the day,” he said.
Matheson, a gifted artist in his own right, fires clay in the ‘raku’ technique.
An interest in art surfaced at an early age, and he went on to formal studies in visual arts initially at Red Deer College. But clay, as was already mentioned, wasn’t at the forefront of his thoughts.
He set his sights on continuing his education in Calgary with a focus on printmaking, but couldn’t get into that program. There was room in ceramics, however. It proved a pivotal season in his own artistic journey.
After he wrapped up studies in Calgary, he returned to Red Deer and began working at RDC. He later decided to pursue further education, so headed off to Regina for a Master’s degree and followed that up with another teaching stint at the university there. After several years, he returned to Central Alberta and settled on the family’s farm in 2000.
The raku-firing method originated centuries ago in Japan, and features hand-molded pieces that are removed from the kiln while still glowing hot.
Matheson then places them in large metal containers filled with bunched-up newspaper, which promptly burst into flame. The containers are then covered and the pieces of clay are smothered in smoke.
After a few minutes, they are placed in water and brilliant, shimmering colours and designs are the result.
These days, he’s in semi-retirement and loving it – particularly the freedom to take his art further than he ever could before.
“I’m working lots in the studio and I’m just having a great time.”
Check out www.patmatheson.com.
