Texada Artist Studio Tour
The Tour
The Texada Artist Studio Tour (TAST) is a biennial presentation of the artists of Texada Island, BC.
The art tour is held in mid-summer. Guides for the art tour are free and include a map of the island with studios clearly marked, with descriptions of the artists and their work.
The natural surroundings of Texada and living an island lifestyle inspires these west coast artists in a unique and personal way. In a fabulous range of mediums, these talented creators present the opportunity to see and purchase unique creations, often not found elsewhere.
The following artist pages give you a preview of what you can expect to see when you join us for this rare opportunity to meet with the artists, many of them in their own studio spaces, and learn more about them, their work, and what inspires them to create.
Guests can travel between studios in their own vehicles, or can take advantage of the Free Studio Tour Bus to pick them up from the ferry and return them there after the tour. Visitors are encouraged to come for both days as there’s a lot to see.
Texada Island
The island’s history dates from the mid-1800s when mining resources were first discovered here. The terrain is rugged and pristine along most of the island’s 50 km length, and yet it is home to a rich agricultural history that is still ongoing today. It has a unique geology and is home to a rare porphyry known as Texada flower rock. Texada is the largest island in the Salish Sea and is located off the northern Sunshine Coast and is a 35-minute ferry ride from Powell River. Texada comes alive in summer with a full roster of events almost every weekend.
There are two towns on the island, Gillies Bay and Van Anda and an average permanent population of about 1100. There are two stores, two museums, a weekend farmers market, and a variety of accommodations and eateries. Camping outdoors is easy at multiple locations and there are no predatory animals on Texada. The island has one of the most magical sunset views on the coast with its long-distance view up the Salish Sea towards the north end of Vancouver Island. Ferries from Westview Terminal at Powell River sail throughout the day. Powell River is accessed by ferry from Little River Terminal at Courtenay/Comox on Vancouver Island and from Earl’s Cove at the top of the southern Sunshine Coast.
See https://texada.org/ for more details on what the island provides.
Alfred’s interest in art began at an early age. By his teens, he was sketching and painting, by day and by night, from shore and from canoe, in Algonquin Park. He studied painting under Canadian artist Alex Miller at Seneca College, King City, Ontario.
Amanda Martinson, a longtime resident of Texada Island, has been creating artworks of all sorts for many years. She is known for her oil and watercolour paintings. Although, exploring many subjects, her mainstay has been landscapes.
When Fran and I moved to Texada Island in 1992 we were both making glass beads, and had plenty of glass scraps and a small annealer kiln. I started putting the tiny glass pieces in the kiln after assembling them to look like images and patterns. The results were fun and appealing to me. I glued magnets or pins to these and started selling them at farmer’s markets. I was hooked.
This talented young artist works in a range of the visual arts including calligraphy and illumination, painting, stained glass, textiles and sculpture. Park on the street and walk down the driveway to the green front door of the house. Charlotte does her work under the name “Septaliger.” She reproduces Medieval manuscripts on homemade vellum, made from the skins of Texada deer. Demonstrations of calligraphy and the Medieval technique of making paint from pigments. Check out the teabag art.
Danusia started her adventure with clay at Surrey Art Center where she took classes. For the next decade she belonged to the North Delta Potters Guild. As a member of Frasier Valley Potters Guild Danusia had an opportunity to explore many firing technics including wood, soda, gas, pit, and raku.
Debbie is a self taught artist, acrylic being her medium, who specializing in paintings of structures and landscapes.
Deborah Dumka was born in Northern British Columbia and has lived three quarters of her life in rural communities across Canada, for the most part on the shores of an ocean. She draws on the physical and emotional landscape of rural life to make functional textile work examining our important connections with nature.
Meet gallery owner Doby Dobrostanski. Are you looking for commissioned works, originals or fine art prints? Doby specializes in aviation, automotive, marine, wildlife, murals and landscapes. With over 30 years’ experience he delivers high-quality artwork that matches the client’s needs.
My interest in archeology has me thinking of how someone extrapolates their interpretation of a culture by observing and understanding a fragment, be it pottery or any artifact. The fragments that I create are intended to give the viewer pause for reflection.
Joya is a Renaissance lutenist. She has a BA in Music from the University of York, UK and is currently pursuing graduate studies at Longy School of Music in Boston. Born in Haida Gwaii, Joya found inspiration from the landscape from a young age. Several of her early works were exhibited and sold in local galleries and the museum. Growing up in an artist’s home, she was surrounded by art from an early age. She was further influenced by seeing the works of Miro and Chagall on a trip to France when she was twelve.
Joyce’s acrylic paintings are expressions of joy, part of a healing journey that she would like to share with you. There are impressionist landscapes and florals. Her techniques include loose brushwork and knife work, focusing on the interplay among colour, light and subject matter.
Creating with fibre and fabric has been a passion since Joy learned to thread a needle at the age of eight.
Kathleen is inspired by her West Coast island lifestyle, bright but naturalistic colours, and various ceramic techniques used throughout art history. She has been focused on hand building and glaze development for the last two years. She is always concerned with how her products feel in the hand, wanting texture to feel luscious, and contours to be a natural fit. She creates functional and sculptural ceramics in her small batch, ceramics studio in Van Anda.
Lori has had a rich career as both artist and teacher. She taught art and math to high school students for twenty-seven years, some being at the first year university level. In 2010, Lori was recognized for her strong voice for the visual arts and her classroom practices by the British Columbia Art Teacher’s Association with the Award for Excellence in Art Education, Graduation Level. Through out her working career Lori has never stopped making art. She has explored the art of painting using a variety of media and styles to create works alive with personality.
I first discovered my love for photography in high school where I spent all my spare time in a wet darkroom. For those who have not experienced it, there is a special thrill that you get the first time you see one of your own images gradually come to life in the developer bath. From that very moment, I was hooked on photography.
Sandy McCormick of Texada Island is inspired by the look and feel of beach glass. She is captivated by its colors, patinas, lustres and textures. Each piece is different in size, shape and thickness. Styles of printing indicate its age and former use. “Each piece tells a story.” She began collecting beach glass in 1974 after seeing a friend’s table adorned with sea glass and lit from below. “The glass just sparkled and that’s when I started my own collection.” Sandy produces one-of-a-kind works of useful art. Her custom works include wedding centrepieces and birthday, anniversary, wedding and memorial mirrors on driftwood. “Custom work is fun because you include the customers own keepsakes to make it really personal.”
I often incorporate my art into functional objects or architecture so it will be frequently encountered. I strive for art which changes throughout the day, lighting conditions and use. In this way I work to create art which continues to surprise and inspire long after the basic function of the object has become habit.