‘Poetry and art for mental health’
Depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts and eating disorders may not sound like subjects for art, but a recent exhibit at the Reach gallery proved that art is a powerful medium for educating and talking about mental illness. Hear and See: Poetry and Art for Mental Health featured the work of 14 poets and the same number…
Not a ‘mirage’
Karen Scott Booth, head of Rockway Mennonite Collegiate’s Grade 10-12 visual arts program, exudes pride in the work of her students. “Mirage: An exhibition of visual art,” held at the school on April 24, 2018, showed why. Working in many media—acrylic on canvas, watercolour, printmaking of many kinds, multimedia, industrial design and drama—the evening was…
‘Just doing my best’
Grace Kang can’t remember a time when she wasn’t making art. As a child, “I was always drawing, I was always writing stories,” the 22-year-old says. When she learned that art is not something everyone does or is interested in, “I realized it was a unique way I could contribute to the world.” One of…
‘That’s the Spirit’
Talking birds, paper and rose petal beads, walking jewellery, found-art sculptures. With these and other works, Carolyn Good’s recent show at the WalterFedy-Architecture, Engineering, Construction offices on Queen Street in Kitchener showed off her Mennonite roots of reusing and recycling. Good, a member of First Mennonite Church in Kitchener, has long worked with paper beads…
The Anthrocene revisited
Annemarie Rogalsky, a member of First Mennonite Church in Kitchener, Ont., had a solo show of her landscapes at the Minto Gallery in Harriston during the month of February. Of her images, she says: “I am interested in nature that is accessible to everyone. That is, nature in the city or the bits of parkland…
‘Along the Road to Freedom’ exhibit tours Alberta
On Dec. 2, 2017, more than a hundred people gathered at Edmonton’s King’s University for the opening of the Along the Road to Freedom art exhibit. This was the first of three stops in Alberta that will end in the spring. Featuring paintings by Winnipeg artist Ray Dirks, the exhibit celebrates the stories of Mennonite…
‘Along the Road to Freedom’
Seeking to honour the faith of Mennonite mothers who single-handedly brought their families through difficult and challenging experiences to safety, Winnipeg artist Ray Dirks has created “Along the Road to Freedom,” a travelling exhibit currently on display at Conrad Grebel University College’s new gallery in Waterloo, Ont. The women depicted lost their husbands in Russia…
Art shows feature quilts, paintings and ‘hitchhiking’ wood
A collaboration between two long-time friends and the woodwork of a man with a long history with Mennonite Church Canada are the basis for two exhibitions now showing at the Mennonite Heritage Centre Gallery (MHCG). Collaboration features quilts made by Marj Moore, alongside paintings created by Gus Froese. The works depict landscapes, sky, clouds, trees, grass,…
Salt in the Fire
Over the last year or so, I’ve appreciated the paintings, poetry, and musings of Jan Richardson on her blog, paintedprayerbook.com. Recently, one post caught my attention, “Salted with Fire.” In a space of transition and waiting in my life, with many uncertainties as to what life will look like even a year from now, her…
