With just one week to go before the big event, here's a taste of the talent in store for visitors of ArtWalk, the self-guided tour of 樱桃视频Valley artists' studios and galleries happening Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 20 and 21. Visitors can check out their guide in this week's Chief, or at various 樱桃视频locations - including the Adventure Centre and 樱桃视频Arts Council building on Cleveland Avenue. Collect stamps at each site for a chance at winning beautiful prizes.Gelato Carina will be the venue for talented interior designer Toby Jaxon, who extends her flair and design philosophy into her artwork by taking into consideration focus, colour and arrangement. "Applying thick acrylic in deliberate strokes requires drying time," she said. "When I'm in my creative zone, this technique forces me to always have several paintings in progress which, as a result, allows me to always have a fresh canvas on my easel. "It's exciting to me, working through the composition - design of shapes, colours and complementary adjacencies. Sometimes I think that I spend most of my time mixing paint to get the exact saturation, tone and hue. "The whole creative process pulls me into a vortex and I get obsessed and all I want to do is paint."Jaxon is an accomplished artist and the new curator of the Foyer Gallery. She was president of the VISUALS artists' group for the past two years and is its current vice-president, as well as an active mom and wife. Jaxon looks forward to meeting visitors at Gelato Carina where she will display her latest portraits and paintings. Jan Phelan, a recent transplant to Squamish, is a ceramic artist from Georgian Bay, Ont. Her intricate multi-fired works with cutouts and gold luster can be found in the residence of the Governor General of Canada, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as well as many corporate and private collections in Canada and the U.S., including renowned musician Oscar Peterson. "I find my inspiration in the dance of sunlight over a meadow of summer wildflowers, or in the memory of my mother's rose garden," said Phelan. "I know of nothing more beautiful." Phelan is in the process of setting up her studio in 樱桃视频and her work can be found at Mountain Galleries in Whistler, Jasper and Banff. Meet Phelan at the 樱桃视频Arts Council Building on Cleveland Ave during ArtWalk and give her a warm 樱桃视频welcome.Fran Solar, woven metal sculpturist, is a contemporary Canadian artist who combines textile techniques with unconventional materials to create unique woven sculpture, both free-standing and wall-mounted. Solar studied at the University of Manitoba, graduating in 1960 with a degree in interior design. In the mid-1990s, Solar began to experiment with basketry as another textile art form, initially using traditional materials such as wood and reed. She later developed an interest in using metals in combination with textile techniques such as loom weaving, basketry, and quilting. Her materials today include "masculine" materials and hardware pieces, such as copper, brass, stainless steel sheet and wire, bike parts and gears, turning them into quilts and basket vessels with more of a "domestic/feminine" dynamic. These materials are further altered through the use of heat and chemical patinas. Solar's work is held in numerous public and private collections internationally, and she is represented by galleries in British Columbia including Mountain Galleries at the Fairmont, Whistler and Numen Gallery, Yaletown. Solar looks forward to greeting visitors to her studio in the Garibaldi Highlands. Linda Wagner, donor of this year's annual fundraiser prize to be drawn at the conclusion of ArtWalk, is an accomplished oil painter. She moved to the Garibaldi Highlands four years ago and has been active in the arts community as both a volunteer and showing artist, through VISUALS, Wild at Art and the Foyer Gallery. "I prefer to push one idea through a number of paintings to form a series, maintaining a bold approach with strong lines and bright colour," said Wagner in describing her work. Although Wagner paints mostly abstract designs, she will have some landscapes on display at ArtWalk. After her recent sail around Vancouver Island, it was impossible to ignore the inspiration that she felt on the beautiful West Coast.
