Artists who are part of the WAVE Artists Studio will be paying tribute to their co-founder during their 25th anniversary show titled Body Language: The Figure in Art.
Artist: Barb Foreman
Body Language starts this Friday and will feature a special segment called the Helma Pictures, an exhibition dedicated to Winnipeg Beach visual artist and writer Helma Rogge Rehders, 84, whose vision 25 years ago blossomed into an annual studio tour that invites the public into Interlake artists’ workspaces.
WAVE and Gimli Art Club artist Gayle Halliwell said Rogge Rehders inspires creativity through her art, and that her pioneering idea to hold an annual studio tour has grown into a popular event that attracts art lovers from around the region and has led to a thriving arts community in the east Interlake.
Halliwell said WAVE artists were invited to interpret and create an original work of Rogge Rehders based on a single photo of her. The idea was inspired by American artist Andrew Wyeth, who created the Helga Pictures based on one model.
“Sharon Cory [fellow artist] and I talked about recognizing Helma for her contribution to the arts in this area and the Interlake, and decided it would be perfect to honour her because it’s the 25th anniversary of the WAVE,” said Halliwell. “Sharon planned the Body Language show. She chose a particular photo of Helma and invited all the artists to interpret her in any way they wanted.”
Those who took up the challenge created a rendition of Rogge Rehders that ranges from historical and mythological figures, Prairie muses, dreamlike presences and extraterrestrial visitors.
Halliwell, whose studio is located in Winnipeg Beach, took part in the creative exercise, making a six-piece work depicting Rogge Rehders based on the faces of Eve.
Some of the artists featured in the Helma Pictures exhibition are part of the Gimli Art Club’s Watercolour Wednesday group.
Some of the artists who took part told Halliwell they had a bit of “angst” as they progressed through the project. Others got so excited about doing portraits that it sparked a whole new direction for them.
“Oh my goodness, the artists who talked to me about it shared the angst we all go through to figure out what to do and knowing there are other artists participating,” said Halliwell. “How can this truly embody something about Helma as well as be my own unique painting or other medium? I knew I was going to do linocut printmaking but I wasn’t sure what I’d do with it. But it was an opportunity for us to learn together and experiment.”
One of the portraits features Rogge Rehders as Medusa with snakes in her hair from the Ancient Greek myth of a woman whose face was used to ward off negative energy.
“The Medusa portrait is amazing because Helma is complicated and her mind goes in all directions,” said Halliwell. “With Medusa, you unleash all kinds of things – and that’s exactly what happened when Helma unleashed the idea of the WAVE. Who knew where it would go? And here we are 25 years later.”
Halliwell said the WAVE artists will be holding a special presentation for Rogge Rehders on Saturday, May 30 at 1:30 p.m. Admission is free.
Later in June, the WAVE artists will also be presenting an award called the Helma Rogge Rehders Award for Creativity to a Grade 6 student at Winnipeg Beach School. The recognition is a way of carrying on with Helma’s vision to encourage creativity in others as a lifelong pursuit.
The Body Language show will be held at Gimli Lakeview Resort on Friday, May 29 from 1 to 7 p.m., Saturday May 30 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday, May 31 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Admission to the show is free, and art lovers will have an opportunity to purchase art.
