This exhibition in the North Wing Gallery features work from multiple artists.
Artist Bios:
Marc Arvisais was born and grew up in Ottawa, where he studied at the University of Ottawa. He has been living in New Westminster for 25 years. He is an acrylic painter, although he sometimes works in florescent paints as well. He likes what Michelangelo said “I live and love in God’s peculiar light.”
Jeanine Fynn is a professional opera singer, director, educator, and self-taught visual artist. Her small form watercolours are whimsical and imaginative, and appeal with a colourful minimalist style. As Fat Heart Art Studio, she combines her love of painting with her love of terrible puns in original and print greeting cards.
Bonnie Hammond is the queer, disabled, neurodivergent, feminist your parents warned you about. Not quite nerdy and not quite popular growing up, Battlestar Galactica was the series that saw her transition from dating geeks to actually being one. She went to school for math and tourism, spent a while as a labor activist, and then accidentally started making jewelry for a living. She started with keys and now collects flatware, keychains, old watch bits, tiny teacups, broken jewlery, and dice (drilling holes through the 1 out of spite). She’s a Whovian, a Browncoat, a supernatural fan girl, and the most extroverted nerd you will find. She thinks consent is sexy, has been twice hired to sit in the back at comedy shows due to the volume and infectious nature of her laugh, and is probably allergic to whatever you’re eating right now.
Kirstin is an emerging artist residing in New Westminster (homelands of the Halkomelem speaking people). She grew up in a non conformist creative family that encouraged education, travel, and imagination. Kirstin has two degrees from Simon Fraser University, a Bachelor of Arts in Communications & a Masters in Liberal Studies. She backpacked in Europe for five months in her 20’s, and lived in Berlin for seven years in her 30’s. Influenced by folk art, naive art and wabi-sabi, Kirstin began creating art after the death of her artist mom, Sandra Jane, in 2016. Mired in the hollow pit of complex grief and the Dark Night of the Soul, Kirstin metamorphosed into a creatrix in her 50’s. Mediums of choice are oil pastels, felt pens, multi media, and photography. The photos on canvas in this exhibit were taken on neighbourhood walks with her, now deceased, tripaw dog Gypsy (seen in Gypsy Mist) using a Samsung Galaxy phone (no filters, edits or touch ups). Embraced by New West Artists Collective, Kirstin created Whimsical Chaos, her first piece of multi media art using some of her mom’s bling, and Heavenly Dragon which is made from broken costume jewelry that belonged to her mom.
