All Around Howe Sound: Fluidity in our lives, the land and the sea.

About the Artists:

Jess Hart is an artist living and working on the unceded lands of the shíshálh and Sḵwxwú7mesh peoples in Gibsons, BC. She cr ̱ eates unique contemporary and abstract artwork featuring coastal and urban scenes. Combining techniques of graphic design and silk screen printing, she enjoys experimenting with watercolor, acrylic, resin and mica powder to produce a dynamic style. A veteran musician who has performed across Canada and toured in Europe, she was inspired by screen printing to start painting and exploring new mediums and came to develop an interesting method and outlet for her creative expression. Employing high detail die cut stencils, she layers elements with acrylic, spray paint and fluid paint which are then embedded in a high gloss resin. She creates abstract and realistic works of art with vibrant colours, enhanced by the high gloss, glass like epoxy finish. Originally from Montreal, she is inspired by the Pacific Northwest and the beauty of the Howe Sound, Sea to Sky and Coastal living since relocating in 2010.

Claudia Schaefer is a self-taught multidisciplinary artist who enjoys painting, sculpting, photography, and combining materials in experimental and unexpected ways. With a Master of Science in Botany and Ecology, her background in conservation biology influences how she sees and interprets the natural world through her art.

For the past 25 years, Claudia has been quietly creating and exhibiting work on Bowen Island and beyond. What began with film photography and fibre arts has grown into a practice that includes painting with alcohol and watercolour inks, acrylics, and fluid epoxy resin coloured with vibrant mica powders and pastes. More recently, she’s been exploring sculptural work in resin—glass-like pieces that have drawn comparisons to artists she admires, such as the renowned glass artist Chihuly.

Claudia’s art can be found in private collections from California to Cape Cod, across Canada and in the U.K., and her work has appeared in publications such as Wildflower, Seasons, Canadian Wildlife, Cuesta, and Canadian Living. She was profiled as an emerging artist by the BC Museums Association in their Museums RoundUp magazine.

When not in the bush for biology work or in the studio playing with art supplies, Claudia pours her love of design and community into The Bowen Book, Bowen Island’s treasured phone book and an ode to island life, which she creates and publishes each year. She started the artist’s directory in the book to promote other artists on the island, which led her to be on the founding Committee to initiate the annual Bowen Arts Tour, connecting people with art and those that create it.

Claudia’s contemporary work brings bold, uplifting energy into people’s homes and workspaces. It celebrates both nature and the power of vibrant, intentional colour to improve our mental well-being, particularly in the long, grey and rainy months of our beautiful rainforest home.

EVENTS:

We invite you to attend a free musical performance on the Sp’ák_w’us Gathering Stage at the Hearth Gallery by Jess Hart, Sunday September 21st at 1.30pm

Please join us for our artist party, Sept 20th,  6-8 pm