Those Who Stay launching October 3rd (Copy)

Just a last minute reminder that the sequel to my first historical fiction book, Those Who Wander, will officially launch on Saturday October 3rd, via a Zoom presentation from 4:00-4:40 pm PST. Those Who Stay follows many of the characters from the first book, but focuses on Grace Joe, a fictional mixed blood character, as she struggles to find her identity in the face of many challenges presented by the British Columbia health care system in the 1920s-1940s. The online event will include a slide show and reading, and time for a Q & A. Hope to see you then!

The first book explored the early days of Vancouver and the Sunshine Coast in British Columbia through the eyes of Clara Lyell, Halfmoon Bay’s actual first white settler, concluding with her involvement in an unsolved murder that took place in Halfmoon Bay in 1922. The sequel takes us further up the Sunshine Coast to Pender Harbour and inland to the Chilliwack area in the Fraser Valley. Whereas the first book’s characters were affected by BC’s residential schools, this book places Grace in a segregated ‘Indian’ hospital.

To register for the launch, contact Emily Kammerle at ekammerle@hotmail.com. A link to the online event will be sent to you on the day of the event. If you need instructions for downloading the Zoom software (it’s truly simple), contact Emily for assistance.

Books ($25) are available from me at the studio (contact me at rodgers.ruth@gmail.com to arrange pick-up) or at Talewind Books in Sechelt.

Elder College Presentation

This morning I gave a 90 minute Zoom presentation to about a dozen participants enrolled in our local Elder College art appreciation course. It was a new experience to ‘lecture’ to an empty room, accompanied only by a gallery of small pictures of the registrants! Nevertheless, I think they learned a lot about soft pastels and I hope I inspired some of them to give them a try.

Here’s the painting I got about half finished during the presentation—I polished it up after the call ended. I thought you might be interested to see how it turned out. I’m calling it Last Warmth, and hope to have it framed and on the wall before Art Crawl.

Last Warmth pastel on board 14 x 11

A Fish Tale

I am again participating in the Sechelt Art Walk, which began Saturday Sept 26th and continues through October. This year I have four works at the Fish Market on Cowrie Street in Sechelt. Appropriately, they are beach and water themed, including this big spawning salmon. Enjoy while picking up your fresh fish and seafood from the best vendor in town!

Take Me to the River mixed media 24 x 24 $650

Those Who Stay launching October 3rd

The sequel to my first historical fiction book, Those Who Wander, will officially launch on Saturday October 3rd, via a Zoom presentation from 4:00-4:40 pm PST. Those Who Stay follows many of the characters from the first book, but focuses on Grace Joe, a fictional mixed blood character, as she struggles to find her identity in the face of many challenges presented by the British Columbia health care system in the 1920s-1940s. The online event will include a slide show and reading, and time for a Q & A. Hope to see you then!

The first book explored the early days of Vancouver and the Sunshine Coast in British Columbia through the eyes of Clara Lyell, Halfmoon Bay’s actual first white settler, concluding with her involvement in an unsolved murder that took place in Halfmoon Bay in 1922. The sequel takes us further up the Sunshine Coast to Pender Harbour and inland to the Chilliwack area in the Fraser Valley. Whereas the first book’s characters were affected by BC’s residential schools, this book places Grace in a segregated ‘Indian’ hospital.

To register for the launch, contact Emily Kammerle at ekammerle@hotmail.com. A link to the online event will be sent to you on the day of the event. If you need instructions for downloading the Zoom software (it’s truly simple), contact Emily for assistance.

Books ($25) are available from me at the studio (contact me at rodgers.ruth@gmail.com to arrange pick-up) or at Talewind Books in Sechelt.

Yes, Art Crawl is a GO for 2020!

Maybe you’ve been wondering—will our usual fabulous studio tour featuring hundreds of artists along the Sunshine Coast from Langdale to Earl’s Cove run in our current pandemic? The answer is YES—with some differences to protect both artists and visitors.

ALL artists on the Crawl will have an expanded web presence at https://suncoastarts.com/art-crawl/. Each artist will be available online via a ZOOM link for specified times each day from October 23-25, during the Crawl. My time will be from 900-930 am each of the three days. The link will be published on the Art Crawl site—just click on it and join the conversation! Great for connecting with artists you admire, inquiring about specific works, or making private appointments to view their works.

SOME artists will be web-only; SOME will be ‘by appointment only’; SOME—including me—will be ‘drop in (almost) as usual.’ Open studios will be following provincial guidelines. Masks may be required (and always preferred); hand disinfection prior to entry will be required; numbers in the studio at any one time will be restricted; contact information will be collected at the door for contact-tracing; one-way directional flow will be established. My studio is spacious enough to accommodate about ten people at a time, which is typical of my traffic during the Crawl anyway. So you can come by and feel safe—though I’ll have to skip the hot tea and cookies this year, I think, just to be safe—sorry!

So we are working hard to be ready for you and hope you’ll support your local artists this year more than ever—low traffic and reduced exposure has made it hard for artists this year, just as for many others. If you can help us out with purchases and encouragement, we’d be glad of it!

Art Crawl 2020: Friday Oct 23 through Sunday Oct 25, 10-5 each day.

Hope to see you then!

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Passing Shadow Oil on paper 19 x 26 framed $650