Amelia Douglas Gallery presents art from Douglas College community
By Cheryl Minns, Arts Editor
Avocations celebrates the artistic works of 20 Douglas College students and staff, showcasing their ceramics, jewellery, paintings, and photographs in the Amelia Douglas Gallery. The exhibit runs from October 29 to December 11.
“I would encourage all Douglas College students to come to the Avocations exhibit and see how others express themselves through their art,” said Rose Gindl, a student in the Music Diploma program whose artwork is in the exhibit. “It just may spark an idea and cause you to step out onto your own path to creativity.”
For the exhibit, Gindl submitted three 16” x 20” canvas prints of photographs she had taken in Molson, Washington. The ghost town photographs include “a rundown homestead amongst a green meadow; an old, broken down, and rusted wooden wagon wheel; and the remains of an office that once housed the town lawyer.”
“I chose these pictures as they each focused on one specific thing in the ghost town,” she explained. “Many of my other photos were busier and had more detail, so I felt these ones would be easier to view and simply enjoy.”
The theme of Avocations is to show the art that Douglas College students and employees create outside of their field of study or occupation. Although Gindl is in the music program, she finds that her photography relates in some ways to her music.
“Music and photography are both creative pursuits. One can receive immense joy and pleasure from performing or listening to music and also from capturing the perfect photograph,” she said. “Being creative in these ways can feed your soul, and I believe we all need to let our inner selves shine through our art.”
Kathleen Katon Tonnesen, a psychology student who studied Early Childhood Education as well as Performing and Fine Arts at Douglas College, submitted three of her paintings to Avocations: “Gypsy Jazz King Nirvana,” “Jeffrey-Sweet Time,” and “Wildfire!”
“They are all aspects of raw human potential honed by fire,” she said.
When asked why students should visit the exhibit, she said, “To be inspired to express themselves, and to be motivated to attain their own authentic potential.”
To see more of Tonnesen’s artwork, check out her online portfolio at Katon.MyArtChannel.com
An opening reception for Avocations will take place at 4:30 p.m. on October 29 in the Amelia Douglas Gallery, located on the fourth floor of the Douglas College New Westminster campus.
Avocations will be on display until December 11.
