Rock Creek artists put on annual show; gallery 2 hosts appreciation day
By Shara JJ Cooper
Art across the Boundary was celebrated over the weekend as part of Arts and Culture week.
In Rock Creek, Riverside Artists held their annual art show at the Rock Creek Fair Pavilion on Saturday. It is the second year they have held the event, and this time they expanded to include more fine art, says Ann Rexin, secretary of the organization.
Visitors could enjoy live music by the Singing Kettles, free snacks, purchase lunch, and see art that included water colors, oil painting, photography, sculptures and more.
Children and adults could take part in mini workshops like finger painting and sculpting.
The club has 11 artists but 13 artists were on display at the event, said Rexin. Two extra artists joined the group from Midway.
Rexin is happy with how the event came together, and said they will probably expand each year. However, what they really want to work on is getting an art gallery of their own.
Ideally, she’d like to see Rock Creek with a smaller version of the Christina Lake Welcome Centre — a place to display art, hold meetings, etc.
They currently have some of their art on display at Kettle River Woodcraft in Rock Creek, but want to have a place to call their own.
“We’ve been working on this since 2009,” said Rexin.
The group meets every second Tuesday during the cooler months — all the members work in their garden in the summer — and in addition to the annual art show, they host workshops throughout the year. This year they are also participating in the Rock Creek Riverfest art walk.
Grand Forks
Over in Grand Forks, gallery 2 held an artists appreciation on Saturday afternoon. The event was for artists and their family and friends. Event organizers said that there are 44 artists on display at the gallery with 79 projects on the wall.
It was acknowledged that the walls might look a little sparser than in previous years but that the membership is growing. The walls weren’t as full because some of the local quilters didn’t have as many large quilts on display.
Grand Forks city councillor Gary Smith spoke at the event. “I see a lot of friends of mine here, and a lot of friends I haven’t met yet,” he said. “There is a lot of fantastic art here.”
