Fragments of Iridescence Exhibition features art by Heather Bosko-Kelly, Heather Dopson, Inna Dubovska, Carol Michie, and Charlemagne Soriano until July 26
The Gwen Fox Gallery is hosting its July exhibition this month. The artists on show are Heather Bosko-Kelly, Heather Dopson, Inna Dubovska, Carol Michie, and Charlemagne Soriano and together they have created a show called Fragments of Iridescence for residents to enjoy until July 26.
If you want a chance to check out a great selection of art from local artists visit the gallery from 11 to 4 p.m. from Tuesday to Saturday or late on Thursday until 8 p.m. The Gwen Fox Gallery is, as always, free to visit.
Heather Bosko-Kelly
Bosko-Kelly is a local jewelry artist who focuses on creative beadwork patterns.
She explained that her art is very personal with pieces in the gallery that represent aspects of her heritage. She has pieces that represent her cultural background and her husband’s and then she also combined aspects of those cultures to create a representation of her children’s heritage. She also creates pieces that reflect specific people that she intends to create for and sometimes makes multiple different versions of those pieces trying to find the perfect fit for the person
The pieces that she has in the gallery this month are earrings and necklaces and previously she’s made keychains and lanyards.
“(My inspiration,) sometimes it’s colour, or especially if I’m wearing something, (people who are commissioning a piece) go, ‘Oh, I like those colours.’ So, I start from there, and then I think about the size, the shape that would fit that person. Sometimes it’s just wanting to take a risk. Some of them are really long that was (what I did) for a black and white show especially. I called that collection the tuxedo collection,” she said.
Her most recent beadwork inspired artistic journey started about two and a half years ago when she wanted to create a lanyard for herself and just started creating.
“People like wearing them. My daughters love wearing them, so I’m constantly making for them, and then I make for myself,” said Bosko-Kelly.
From there, she decided to join the Gwen Fox Gallery and is now volunteering as their secretary.
She has found that she enjoys being part of the gallery because she enjoys being part of the community as a local East Selkirk artist.
“I had never been in the gallery until, last year. People who come in to see me, who know me, will come in for the first time, and people, they’ve lived here all their life, and they’re like, ‘I’ve never been here before.’ So yeah, it is a community I didn’t even know existed,” she explained.
Bosko-Kelly says that until she became a part of it, she didn’t know that the Gwen Fox Gallery had so much to participate in.
With classes, monthly exhibitions, a gift shop, kids’ nights on Thursdays, and special events taking place fairly often the gallery is a pretty busy place.
She encourages residents in the area to take some time and check out what the gallery has to offer.
“There’s always something different to see. Even being here once a week, I walk around and I find something new. And of course, the gallery switches every month and even in the gift shop, we only switch it twice a year, but there’s always something new to see,” said Bosko-Kelly.
Heather Dopson
Dopson is a photographer who doesn’t shy away from a good shot with examples ranging from landscapes to macrophotography on the gallery walls this month.
“It’s a lot of colourful things. It’s popping. This particular group of work, I’ve got different kinds of pieces in this show. This is my first show of so much work. I’ve never done anything like this,” said Dopson.
In the gallery right now she has 33 framed pieces as well as some greeting cards. In addition to her photos, she also has some examples of shadow work in photography that people can check out.
The inspiration for her work is bringing forward things that people don’t regularly take the time to see.
“I like the things that I think are unseen, that people just walk by and might not see. For example, there’s the one. It’s the hoar frost with the spider web. I’ve had lots of comments on that one, and the only reason I saw the spider web is because of the hoar frost that happened two winters ago. And I was like, ‘Oh, hoar frost. I gotta go for a walk in the backyard and see what happens.’ I literally stumbled upon this spider web in the snow. And I was like, ‘What on earth? Beautiful!’” she said.
Dopson explained that she started taking photos when she was in her 20s thanks to a friend’s mom who told her that she had an eye for it.
“She’s since passed, but before she would move from place to place, and said, ‘Take pictures of my gardens.’ And so, I was taking pictures of her gardens every time they flourished or grew from seed to flower. And she said, ‘You just have a beautiful eye. Keep it up’,” said Dopson.
She has continued to work on her photography throughout the years capturing what people might miss in our world.
It was a fateful day at the end of last year that Dopson came into the gallery. Once she was there she chatted with some of the volunteers running the show on that day and was encouraged to join.
“Everyone is super friendly, super welcoming, super honouring. They love what they do. Everybody is passionate about what they do. They love what everybody else does. They’re so supportive of everybody else’s artistic endeavours. Everybody supports each other in their work. Everybody’s passionate about what they do, and everybody wants to see everybody succeed,” she explained.
Dopson encourages other people wanting to start an artistic journey to go for it and to continue doing whatever their art is even if their goals aren’t to become a professional artist.
“There’s just so much meaning in doing something that you enjoy. It takes your mind off things that are more difficult in life. It’s almost the epitome of mindfulness. You’re setting aside something that you have no control over, right? You’re saying, ‘Okay, I don’t worry about the bills today. I don’t worry about the thing that I can’t finish at work, that I didn’t get done, the thing I have to worry about tomorrow, the thing I have to do, or the obligation,’ You’re just setting aside the time. You’re doing your artistic thing. You’re in it, you’re in the moment. You’re mindful. That’s what you’re doing,” she said.
She also encourages residents to check out the gallery this month as a great source of inspiration in our community.
Inna Dubovska
Dubovska is a recent addition to the Gwen Fox Gallery. She’s an oil painter who moved to Selkirk from Ukraine and has many colourful and wonderful pieces in this month’s gallery. With help from her husband, Yurii Dubovskyi as translator, she spoke to the Record about her work in this month’s exhibition.
She explained that her paintings are a reflection of her moods and her feelings. One day she might be inspired by the pelicans on the river and then the next other flowers or animals might be the thing that calls.
“I’m inspired by my surroundings that I see around me. It moves me forward,” said Dubovska.
She explained that she started painting a few years ago when a gift from her daughter of painting supplies caused her to take up the craft. From there, she’s continued to paint.
The gallery this month has many of her large colourful nature inspired images.
She’s been a member of the Gwen Fox Gallery for a little over a year now and she explained that she wanted to become a member to share her work but also because she wanted to see the work of other artists in our community. Dubovska says that seeing others’ work inspires her to create her best work.
Her advice for people who are creating their first art is not to be afraid. It’s a long journey but in the end, you will find your success.
She hopes that residents come to see the show at the gallery this month as she tries to create a positive mood with her art and she hopes that people get to share in it.
She would also like to thank the Gwen Fox Gallery for the opportunity that they have given her to share her art.
Carol Michie
Michie is a painter and she explained that she paints not for anyone other than herself which means that her subjects are varied.
“No two pieces are the same. I’ve only been painting for 10 years. It’s not something that I’ve done all my life. And so, I’m just a really avid student. If I see something I like, I paint it, but then that might be a landscape, and then the next thing I might want to paint a dog, or then I might want to do an abstract or a helicopter,” she said.
Her pieces are done in oil and acrylic paint allowing her to capture moments with colour and depth.
In general, she says her inspiration comes from nature.
“I’m out in Ontario (travelling in) sunset country right now, and that just burns through my phone. I’ve taken like probably 50 photographs of rushing rivers and beautiful lakes and children playing and beaches and sunsets and lots of clouds and that kind of stuff,” said Michie.
Her artistic journey started about ten years ago when she was in Mexico.
“My neighbour invited me to come to an art class with her, asking if I was interested. And I said, “It’s something I’ve always wanted to try. I’ve never held a pencil. I’ve never drawn a stick figure, but as a child, I was obsessed with colouring, so I have a feeling for colours, but I don’t think I have any skills for drawing,” she said.
With some encouragement from her neighbour, she started on her journey. The instructor she learned with didn’t speak English and Michie didn’t speak Spanish but he was encouraging and it turns out that art is something that can overcome language barriers.
“He just waved his arms a lot, and he kept saying, ‘You can, you can, you can,” Well, I was thinking, ‘I don’t think I can but we’ll give it a try anyway.’ I had a lot of fun with him, and he instilled a lot of confidence in me, so that I had the nerve to step out of my comfort zone and throw paint on the canvas,” she said.
From there she’s never stopped creating art and continues to take classes.
Her advice to students who are just starting their journeys is to just keep going and to not undervalue your work. Price it fairly and just see what happens.
“Art is so subjective. You just don’t know what people are going to like or what they’re going to want to buy. My very first show that I (entered). I put in 20 pieces, and I sold six, and I just about fainted,” she said.
She encourages people in the area to come out to the latest exhibit and check out the little bit of sparkle that all of the artists are bringing this month.
“I’ve invited all my friends to come out and see what’s there. It’s a very different show. There are only five of us this month, and it’s quite eclectic,” said Michie.
Charlemagne Soriano
Soriano is a painter who is influenced by modern art movements. Her art incorporates colour and texture to create outstanding pieces that look like they are coming forward from the walls.
“I like texture a lot, so I try to incorporate it for bigger pieces I sometimes do a physical texture. You can touch it and you can feel it the texture of it. And sometimes, I do the texture visually, so it’s kind of like cubism with the sharp edges,” said Soriano.
She has nine pieces at the gallery this month and they encompass paintings in mixed media, a scratchboard drawing as well as ink drawings.
She says that her inspiration comes from a variety of internal and external sources.
“I most of the time do art that I see and feel. Most of the time I build up drawings. I have work here that I called ‘Thirst’. It’s an oil painting. I build it up. I have visually, the items in front of me. And then, sometimes, I just make up something from imagination,” she said.
Her art journey started when a friend of hers invited her to create some art. Being from the Philippines, Soriano explained that they don’t have as much of a tradition of painting as we do but that when she tried it she wanted to continue to create.
She tried creating more and then decided that she wanted to pursue some education in the field. She went to Ontario to study art at Humber College.
“I finished school, and they really did help me improve my skills, and I learned so much from them about how I express myself with art as well,” she said.
Moving to Selkirk, Soriano decided that she wanted to be part of the Gwen Fox Gallery community.
“I’m kind of new here, and at the same time, I really want to pursue art. That’s the number one reason I actually joined the gallery,” she said.
She says that pursuing art can be a very hard path but that people just beginning to create should keep at it.
“I think it’s better to keep on going than to stop just because it’s kind of hard. Just make opportunities for yourself. Try to see what’s around you because there’s definitely something,” said Soriano.
She also wants to encourage more younger artists in her age range to join the gallery because it’s a place where younger people are welcome.
“I would actually just encourage them to like be part of the community, see what Selkirk can offer,” she said.
Keep up with her art online on Instagram at @CHAIXCREATE.
