The Niagara Pumphouse Arts Centre is gearing up for their 14th Annual Art at the Pumphouse Show and Sale, scheduled for the August long weekend.
Event coordinator Sandra Stokes says this year’s event promises to be bigger and better than ever, with 63 professional artists showing and selling paintings, photographs, sculptures, jewelry, pottery and more, Aug. 3 and 4.
In conjunction with the show, which takes place on the Ricardo Street grounds of the Pumphouse, there will be a celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Pumphouse Gallery, featuring the Walker Industries Art Competition Awards Ceremony.
In June, jurors chose the top two finalists out of the 25 entries to the competition. At the awards ceremony, to be held Sunday, Aug. 3 at 3 p.m., the first and second winners will be announced, as well as the People’s Choice Award winner, for which visitors to the event can vote.
The Local met up with two artists who are returning to the event this year, both showing and selling their creations.
Julia Kane works out of her studio in St. Davids, primarily in acrylics, watercolours, and fused glass. She moved there from Thornhill three years ago, and says the Pumphouse was one of the main reasons she decided that it would be “okay to move to the Niagara area.” The classes, workshops and camaraderie she found at the facility have been a big boost to this life-long creative artist.
This will be her third year at Art at the Pumphouse.
Kane will have about 20 pieces at the show. “The Meeting Place” is a striking 6-foot-long painting of a gathering of seagulls. She points out its dimensions make it perfect for hanging behind a queen size bed.
She also will be showing “View From the Vineyard,” which uses the viewing station at Konzelmann Vineyards as her vantage point. She says both this and “The Meeting Place” are works that have definitely been influenced by her move to Niagara.
More indicative of her work prior to her move here, “The Energy of Joy” is a bit more abstract. She says this one is from her heart. No brushes were used in creating this painting. It was completed using rollers, and done “with emotion more than anything, and I love the way it turned out. It really speaks to me.”
Returning for the second year is Cathy Peters, an artist based in Port Colborne. She enjoys the show as a chance to meet other artists, whom she finds to be knowledgeable and approachable.
She says her work, much of it in mixed media and collage, “is very intuitive, very soul-to-hand.” Her process usually begins with something like Japanese rice paper. She then adds some photos, and some paint, and she’ll see where it goes from there.
Two pieces for the show seem to be done this way. “They’re Playing Our Song” superimposes an image of a couple ballroom dancing, with the music notes from an unidentified song weaving through the scene, all tied together with a textured choice of colours that sets the mood of the piece. When asked what tune the notes represent, Peters says, “I can’t tell you that. It might influence how you feel about the painting.” Perhaps someone who purchases the item at the show will sit down and plunk it out on the piano.
Appropriate for the show, “Old Town Icons” uses a similar effect of paint mixed with images of the Cenotaph, the Queen’s Royal Park gazebo, the front door to the Pumphouse, and other recognizable Niagara-on-the-Lake landmarks. Peters says this one was created with the upcoming weekend in mind.
A third piece on display is called “Dramatic Seas.” It’s an acrylic painting, depicting a sailboat taking on some challenging conditions. Peters suggests her location in Port Colborne, near the shores of Lake Erie, was what inspired this work.
Peters promises to have these three and about 20 more on display at the show.
Stokes says in addition to the art, the Waterfront Bistro and Bar will be back for the weekend, as well as a barbecue, while musical entertainment, as always, will be part of the package. Admission to the event is free.
The Art at the Pumphouse Show and Sale runs Aug. 3 and 4, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days.
