 The PCAC newsletter is published and emailed to members on a Monday every two weeks starting September to the end of May with a break during the Christmas season. It is normally published here on the weekend following its being emailed. NOTE: A reminder that you must be in HTML mode to have the underlined links work in this email. In Outlook under Format Text  Monday, November 25, 2024 Dear members: Although mostly rain at our level, higher-up snow is building up for winter sports and a white Christmas. Meanwhile, there'll be a lot to look forward to - in Kelowna the good old Tree of Life is shining bright! On Saturday, a sizeable crowd gathered at the opening of Artists of the Okanagan, the latest exhibition at the Peachland Art Gallery which runs until January 19 in the new year. What is most noticeable about the exhibition (as you will see from the slideshow when you click on the link above) is the variety and quality of the works. Local artists have become so confident they are broadening their experimentations, and photographic artists into the realm of abstraction - bravo!!! Families will be welcomed on Friday, December 6 from 5 to 6 pm when the art gallery will be open to the public during Christmas Light-Up for some lively caroling and refreshments. The next Open MIC has a great lineup of talent ready to perform a week, Thursday, December 5 at 7 pm in Our SPACE. Tis the season to be jolly! A special guest from the Yukon will open the show with her unique offering. The programme will have a Christmas flavour and at the finish, a "carols-by-request" sing-along with some hand-held instruments for sound effects accompanying Jingle Bells and the Little Drummer Boy! Tickets are available at the above link. The cover charge is $5 for PCAC members and $7 for non-members. Performers and children under 12 are free. A reminder about the Peachland's Candy Cane Lane and Gingerbread Street Walks next Saturday, November 30. Simply follow the candy canes! There'll be gifts galore with maps available (see the map above). Visit wheelchair-accessible locations such as the Community Centre, Peachland United Church, Passion 4 Art at the 50 Plus Activity Centre, Art Gallery, Chamber of Commerce, 1898 Little Schoolhouse, and Wellness Centre. You'll be more than ready for Christmas! If you'd like to learn the craft of Stained Glass, the Okanagan Folk School offers a five-hour course on Saturday, January 12, 2025, from 10 am to 4:30 pm under instructor Shauna McKenney at her Peachland home studio. McKenney will teach you the basic skills and techniques of Tiffany-style-stained glass (copper foil method). You'll have plenty of one-on-one time! Classes are small! You'll learn about safety, glass selection, pattern preparation, glass-cutting and fitting, copper foiling, soldering, and finishing. You'll choose six main patterns and a large variety of coloured and textured glass to take home a beautiful unique sun catcher. The Lake Country Art Gallery will hold its 2024 Under 200 Exhibition next Saturday, November 30, ending December 21. Some of our Peachland Community Arts Council (PCAC) members will be showing in this exhibition where all paintings are sold for under $200. If you are shopping for Xmas presents, this will be an exhibition to visit. The Okanagan College and Okanagan College student Union are collaborating on a travelling art exhibition titled Reflections on Belonging covering identity, community, and belonging. Having worked under principles of equity, diversity, inclusion, and social justice, they hope viewers will be inspired "to build a community where everyone can truly belong and thrive." The exhibition has been open since November 15 and carries on to Friday, November 29 in the foyer of the Library on the Kelowna Campus at Okanagan College. This unique project has had artists work with community members to produce works expressing their experiences of discrimination by using a range of creative media. A publication, Belonging: A Reflection on Creative Resistance and Resilience, captures and documents the community workshops. The project led by Vernon and District Immigrant and Community Services Society and funded by the Canadian government allows artists to express, through various media, their experiences battling discrimination. Katja Ewart, a Bachelor of Fine Arts student at the UBCO campus, has a current exhibition at the Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art titled, Happiness Only Real When Shared. Her work uses layer upon layer of screen-printed textile works to convey those fleeting moments in life that are indelibly imprinted in our memories. The showing will end this coming Saturday. I'm sorry if you missed Mark Rucker's exhibition, The Alterpiece. Rucker, a Peachlander, ended his exhibition on Saturday - please forgive me for not mentioning it in the last newsletter. Rucker's large-scale interpretive work was inspired by a medieval three-piece painting the 16th-century Isenheim Altarpiece by Matthias Isenheim. Rucker's The Alterpiece (note the intended misspelling) with its large "modern perceptions of persecution and spiritual transcendence" is over six feet tall and six feet wide. It was created using natural wood, canvas, oil paint, and steel. Click on the second link above and discover Rucker's rationale behind reinventing Isenheim's work. The Alternator Centre has a call out to artists for submissions for the 2026 season. They welcome submissions "from under-represented artists of all backgrounds including, but not limited to, Indigenous, Black, and racialized persons; refugee, newcomer, and immigrant persons; two-spirit, LGBTQ+ and gender non-binary persons, persons with diverse abilities, and those on low-incomes or living in poverty." The deadline for 2026 submissions is March 17, 2025 (midnight). If you are interested in presenting your work, contact them. I can think of several of our member artists who would be applicable. PCAC member Peggy Collins informs us that her Penticton art group has, currently, a Mastrius online art show, Gratitude, that celebrates "the beauty and power of gratitude through art." It features 217 paintings from members and mentors that explore gratitude in its many forms, whether through appreciation of nature, personal experience, or relationships that have enriched our lives. All artwork is in a 16" X 16" format (priced for every budget) and continues until this Wednesday, November 27. The fall season at the Kelowna Film Society ended last Wednesday with the screening of a Turkish film, The Crossing, a well-acted, cinematographic film with an unusual storyline. There will be no more films until the Winter season begins in late January. See you next year at the flicks!!! This newsletter will be the last until Monday, January 6, 2025. December is a hectic month as everyone prepares ahead for Christmas. I too will be spending my time doing the same. I'd like to wish you all a very happy time with your families and friends over Christmas and Hanukkah. See you in the New Year! Have a jolly holiday season!!! Chris Christopher Byrd PCAC Director / Peachland Art Gallery Facebook Photographer: Fine Arts America NB: Should you wish to unsubscribe from the newsletter and bulletins please send an email to [email protected]t  |