March In Our Main Gallery

SHUSWAP RIVER WATERTHREAD TAPESTRY

How well do you know where the water comes from, that we drink every day?

Coordintated and facilitated by Runaway Moon Theatre of Grindrod BC, we are proud to present an embroidered tapestry of seven panels, representing the Shuswap River Watershed. 

This “map” was embroidered by over fifty people in the various communities fed or partially fed by the watershed of the Shuswap River and its tributaries located in the North Okanagan of British Columbia. Drop-in workshops were held between January and April 2024 in Sicamous, Mara, Enderby, Ashton Creek, Armstrong, Vernon, and Lumby.  People of all ages and all levels of experiences took part; their names are embroidered on an accompanying panel.   When completed, Splatsin Elder Marie Thomas beaded the main waterway, from the source at Greenbush Lake to where the river empties out into Shuswap Lake at Sicamous. 

The Vernon Forestry District map from the British Columbia Foresty Service was studied to discover the extent of the Shuswap River watershed.  This paper map also accompanies the tapestry and is marked (in green) to indicate the extent of the Shuswap River watershed. Red lines on this map show how the area was divided into seven panels worked by each of the participating communities. The embroidered tapestry on display is oriented East/West instead of North/South, so that it could be displayed horizontally.

Special thanks to Marie Thomas (Splatsin), Cheryl Keetley (Sicamous), Anne Richardson (Mara), Armstrong Quilters, Deb Humphries (Vernon) and Cathy Lansing (Lumby), Laura MacDonald who built the wooden framework that holds the map, and to Cathy Stubington, Carolyn Uher, Katherine Watson and Jasmin Wright who facilitated this endeavour.

On opening reception will take place on March 6 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

March Featured Member

Bronwyn von Niessen

Bronwyn has been drawing for as long as she could hold a pencil. She pursued her passion for the arts throughout high school and University where she graduated from University of Victoria with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in visual arts. She moved to Vernon in 2023 and loves the town and its people.

Bronwyn has at least a couple sketchbooks on the go. Her main inspiration is whatever is right in front of her, often drawing landscapes, portraits, or the contents of the table she is sitting at. Her style ranges from detailed realism to sketchy ink and brush drawings. She enjoys trying out new mediums like pastels and oil paints, but she always goes back to her favourite, simple materials: pencils and ink.

Process Work is a large part of Bronwyn’s artistic practice. This means she will start a drawing or painting without a plan for how it will turn out. The point of process work is about the making of the art, rather than how the final outcome will look. This can lead to hours of meditative crafting, as was the case for Moonlit Lake. This painting started as brightly coloured abstract shapes and after many transformations of places and faces, it ended as a nighttime landscape.

In contrast, the portrait drawings are more planned. Bronwyn is interested in capturing the essence of the moment or person rather than on getting the details just right. For some portraits, such as Matt and Cole, it meant using the brush quickly without much thought. For others, like Brittany, it meant altering the finished graphite drawing with an eraser to indicate the nuances of energy and breath flow.

These and other works of Bronwyn’s can be seen at Gallery Vertigo from March 4-29, 2025. On opening reception will take place on March 6 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Come and meet the artist.

Next Month

Noaa members show – Renewal