Shadbolt Centre for the Arts will be alive with

performing and visual artists at the Burnaby Arts

SHOWCASE 2010, Saturday February 6th!

10am – 5pm.

The Shadbolt Centre for the Arts Studio Theatre and Rm 103  will present

continuous performances while artists demonstrate

their skill in a variety of media. The main focus is

interaction with the public and enjoyment of the arts.

Come and spend the day with many talented artists

from Burnaby and beyond!. Admission free!

Information 604 298-7322

Thanks to our ‘cultural compadre” Tamaka Fisher, Abbotsford’s Arts and Heritage Coorinator, for today’s inspiration:

Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
-The Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
Article 27.1

"Escape Into the Light" by Burnaby's Jack Shadbolt

…After 22 days straight of heavy rain and low lying cloud and fog, sometimes artistic inspiration in nature is hard to come by no matter how talented or disciplined.

…but today its blindingly clear and bright …snow capped mountains, brilliant against flawless deep blue skies…the ghost of last night’s full moon still lingering. The bushes and grasses around Deer Lake are sparkling with the first frost and the water is like a mystical mirror reflecting it back, through tendrils of mist that are rising up to disappear into the brilliant sun…

Time to pick up a sketchbook and go for a walk….   

When I first visited the studio of Burnaby artist Tamera Olsen, and stood surrounded by her bold, intense images, I immediately connected with their energy and the story they portrayed.

In early 2004, her partner’s work moved Olsen and their young family from their native Pacific north west coastal environs, to what she terms “the radical, unforgiving landscape” and water starved environment of the Arizona high dessert.

The artist found herself afflicted with a deep homesickness, a kind of soul sickness, known in 18^th century medicine as ‘nostalgia’, from the Greek ‘nostos’ (return to one’s native land) and ‘algos’ (pain or distress) signifying the pain a person feels because she is no longer in her native land.

Olsen’s impassioned narrative and visual documentation of the inner journey which unfolded thereafter, is compelling:

“Temperatures were often triple digits Fahrenheit, causing me to live on the fringe of days” says Olsen. But I came to realize that the desert was far from desolate, rather teeming with life. Up close and personal with it, I found myself as I walked the mesas. “

Tamera Olsen’s story is the story of countless others over the centuries, who, whether by force or voluntarily, have immigrated to a new and unfamiliar land. This circumstance, if faced with curiosity and courage, becomes a catalyst for deepening the spirit and opening the heart.

“Reflections on the Inner Landscape” is the rich and colourful telling of Tamera Olsen’s very personal process of deepening and opening, and the path back to finding peace, balance and congruency between her inner and outer worlds.

The show which runs until December 27th at the Burnaby Arts Council’s Deer Lake Gallery is well worth a look, for Burnaby native and transplanted immigrant alike. Gallery hours are noon to 4pm daily.

Yes, believe it or not that time has arrived again!

The 38th Annual Christmas Craft Fair

at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, 6450 Deer Lake Ave. Burnaby

…opens at noon this Friday November 13th. Come by and get all your holiday gift shopping done in one place, because as always, there is something for everyone on your list.

See you there!

In case you missed it, our latest article in the Burnbay News Leader  can be read here:

http://www.bclocalnews.com/greater_vancouver/burnabynewsleader/entertainment/69419032.html

The Burnaby Arts Council is proud to partner with the Shadbolt Centre in their TIFF Film Circuit series this year.

On Monday Oct 19th, the award winning film “Heaven on Earth” will open with the short documentary film “Oakalla”, created by local film maker and Burnaby Arts Council member Ron Jack, who will be present at the screening for you to meet and speak with.

On November 9 , a short film produced by a local youth filmmaker, and juried by the Burnaby Arts Council, will be the opener for “‘The Necessities of Life.”

Don’t miss these great evenings of works by talented Canadian, independent filmakers.

The fun starts at 7pm at the Studio Theatre at the Shadbolt Centre. Admission is just $9.

.