By Marianne Marusic
A new and imaginative show is set to open at the Colborne Art Gallery on Friday July 10 with a reception and artist talk on Saturday, July 11 from 2-4 PM. The show, “Of the Beehive”, is a collaboration of two Gallery members, each bringing different perspectives, backgrounds and techniques to their works.
Artists Heather Stubbs and Rosanne Dolan have enthusiastically incorporated the colourful little creatures into their pieces. Stubbs’ work punctuates the show with a narrative fantasy of the queen bee, while Dolan improvises on the idea of all things related to the bee. The show brings curiosity and entertainment of bees through narrative and artistic license.
Both Stubbs and Dolan are acrylic painters using mixed media for impact and enjoyment. Heather unabashedly adds collage, found textures and items to her paintings. When Rosanne mixes media, she subtly incorporates collage into the paint and uses the occasional texture or item.
Rosanne Dolan has been drawing and painting since childhood and received training at University of Windsor, York University and the Ontario College of Art. An educator for many years in Toronto, Dolan left education to develop her own work in acrylic painting and mixed media.
Heather Stubbs’ start in the arts was through music, having studied voice and piano throughout her youth. After graduating from the University of British Columbia, Stubbs embarked on a ten-year career in music theatre and concerts, touring as a singer, actress, pianist and accompanist. It was after retirement as an educator that Stubbs’ attention turned to visual art. Her late husband, John Stubbs was a founding member of the Colborne Art Gallery and Heather Stubbs’ first art teacher.
“I have a particular fondness for fantasy and whimsy”, commented Stubbs. “Making all my paintings about the queen bee proved a delightful challenge. A queen bee spends her days laying eggs in the hive, and I conjured imaginary situations in which to place her. So, I created fanciful relationships the queen might have with others.”
“My extensive training in figure and still life has led me to delight in aspects of both the natural and man-made world,” stated Dolan. “I adore the physicality of bees. My works in this show play with an interpretation of selective bee anatomy and the often-contradictory bee world which is both insular and far reaching.”
“Of the Beehive” runs from July 10 to September 6 with new works by fellow Gallery members: photographers Ken Solilo and Ian Davis, textile and mixed media painter Eileen Myers, watercolour painter Wrex Roth, painter Ed Hagedorn, collage and mixed media artist Margaret McDonald, multi-media artist Helen Van Poorten, gemstone jeweller Jaimie Deziel and fibre artist Marta Smith. Joining gallery members for this show is multimedia artist, Rebecca Bruneau with her felted bees, and bee crafter, Whitney Lake with beeswax candles and honey.
The Colborne Art Gallery is located on the Apple Route at 51 King Street East, Colborne. Gallery hours are 12 – 4 p.m. Friday and Sunday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Saturday, or anytime by appointment. All artworks are for sale and admission is free.
Learn more at http://www.thecolborneartgallery.ca
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
