Thirteen weeks of work will pay off this weekend at the Pemberton and District Museum. On Dec. 14, the Pemberton Art Club is unveiling Gold + Grit, a collection of paintings by local artists tackling themes of resilience and balance in beauty.
Keita Selina, the club’s founder, says the group discovered the show's theme as they were getting to know each other in the first few weeks of their collaboration.
“It's really great when you can find two sort of complimentary, somewhat opposing ideas to explore... there's always lots of things that come out of those kind of explorations,” she says.
Gold + Grit will be the club’s third show since its creation last year. Selina says she’s happy to be able to provide local artists with an outlet for their talents.
“Some people do believe that they're creative, but a lot of people feel very shy in sharing the work,” she says. “So I feel like, if I can create a space like this, it helps people to feel confident in the creativity.”
The show features work from Selina and local artists Nikki Dumba, Claire Fuller, Cora Fuller, Jill Gotto, Emma Hall-Leah, Alissa Powell, and Lani Williamson.
“It's a real mix of professional, semi-professional and beginners,” says Selina. “And that's exactly what I want it to be, because everybody's got a different perspective and that's only going to create more interesting work.”
Fuller is a project manager at Clear Course Consulting. She was looking for an art class for her daughter, Cora, when she happened across Selina's Creative Cupboard.
"This has definitely shown me how I can squeeze art into my life," says Fuller.
"Our lives are so busy, and we're constantly, especially as working mothers, we're constantly jamming stuff into our schedules," she notes. "But what I find with art is helps me pay attention and it does make me stop thinking about other stuff, and it gives me a brain space activity in a different way."
Fuller and her daughter are bringing one piece, each, to Saturday's event. Visitors can expect 19 original pieces—about half of which are available for purchase. Selina is bringing one painting—her biggest, ever—while other club members have made between one and six pieces, each.
Part of the fun of the show, says Selina, is any artist can be asked about another artist’s work.
“Everybody knows each other's work and their whole process because we've been in each other's presence to create it,” she notes. “Sometimes I find it's easier to talk about someone else's work than it is your own.”
Fuller, who moved from England to Pemberton a decade ago, is grateful for the time she's been able to spend with experienced artists.
"I think it's really wonderful that there are artists in the valley here who are putting their time in to supporting people to just reconnect with art," she reflects. "Because there's a number of them, and it's so generous of them to share their skills and their time with people in the community."
That community of artists wasn't always present in Pemberton. When Selina moved to the village, there just wasn’t much of an arts scene.
“I just really think it's special to bring people together,” she says. “And I just really want Pemberton to have some more of that, because that's what I missed as a teenager.
"And now I have my own children here, and I want them to be able to have somewhere to go to put their creativity and grow in that way.”
The Dec. 14 event runs from 3 to 5 p.m. and will provide food and non-alcoholic drinks. More information, including free tickets, is available on eventbrite.