The Estevan Art Gallery and Museum鈥檚 annual exhibition of local artists opened over the weekend as the EAGM鈥檚 Member Show opened along with the Estevan Art Council鈥檚 Adjudicated Art Show.
The member鈥檚 installation is in Gallery 2 and features 10 artists from the area, along with a mix of painting, sculpture, photography and fabric works.
EAGM curator Ali King noted the submission process is loose, requiring only that artists are members of the gallery and limiting the submissions to two pieces. She said it鈥檚 a great way for the art gallery to showcase their members while encouraging new membership.
The curator added the open forum also allows people to bring work in progress. Not everything must be polished for public consumption, opening a window into the artistic process of some of the artists.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just to see what people are engaged in right now. What鈥檚 great is we鈥檝e got quite a few people in the show who exhibited last year, but they鈥檙e exhibiting new works. It鈥檚 nice to see how people are progressing in their work and how they鈥檙e doing,鈥� said King.
But there is a selection of artists not only new to the Member Show, but relatively new as artists themselves.
鈥淚鈥檓 thrilled,鈥� said King. 鈥淛ayne Himsel and Jo Ann Fahlman, they鈥檙e two brand new artists.鈥�
Himsel and Fahlman both hail from Weyburn, and the EAGM Member Show includes artists across southeast Saskatchewan. King said she stumbled across Himsel鈥檚 work at the Art Farm, an open artist collective held near Weyburn annually.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 always see submissions from other communities but we鈥檙e always very, very happy to see them,鈥� noted King.
鈥淛o Ann鈥檚 a really interesting artist. She just started painting a year ago, and she鈥檚 self taught. She hasn鈥檛 done it in any serious way (before). She鈥檚 extremely prolific. She has produced a lot of paintings, and she鈥檚 learning all the time, so her style has changed a lot. It鈥檚 wonderful. She has just really discovered this passion she has.鈥�
Fahlman has a show upcoming in Saskatoon, noted King.
鈥淪he has a lot of exciting things going on, and all this, from one year ago.鈥�
On piece by Alyson Haukeness deals with her and her family鈥檚 experience with flooding.
鈥淚t was obviously a tragic and difficult time for them, so it鈥檚 quite an emotional painting for her,鈥� said King.
Aaron Salamon, whose sculptures last year won him recognition at the Adjudicated Art Show, has another couple of pieces on display at this year鈥檚 Member Show.
Salamon said since the show last year, he hasn鈥檛 had that much time to prepare new works, but the two sculptures featured in the Member Show are examples of what he has been up to.
鈥淭his is pretty much it,鈥� he joked. 鈥淚鈥檝e done a few smaller ones, but this is about all I鈥檝e done in the last year. Next year鈥檚 going to be much better.鈥�
He said he has to devote more time this year but is excited about the prospect. His work will be featured in an upcoming exhibition at the EAGM in 2016.
鈥淚t sounds like a long ways away, but for the hours it takes to do these, it鈥檚 a pretty tight schedule,鈥� said Salamon.
He sculpts from stone, and selects the type of stone that specifically suits the final piece. An eagle he is exhibiting, a piece called Freedom, he said came from a stone that was already the proper shape.
鈥淵ou could say, it wanted to be the eagle. The beak was already sticking out. I just had to form it a little bit and clean it up, take off some defects,鈥� he said.
鈥淗e is an emerging artist, who again, hasn鈥檛 been practicing long,鈥� said King. 鈥淭hese are people who have no formal training but are interested in doing something creative with their time, and this is a great platform for them to show their work.鈥�
The Member Show will run in Gallery 2 until Dec. 19.聽
