Williams Lake watercolourist Leah Selk is hosting her first exhibit in 100 Mile House later this month at a new pop-up show hosted at Cariboo Studios.
Running for only two nights and one day from Oct. 17 to 19, These Rhythmic Seasons are part of Cariboo Studio's Closer Sessions After Dark. Cariboo Studios owner Joel Duntin said the pop-up will feature a selection of Selk's art along with musical performances, live storytelling and the screening of a short film about Selk. The show is free to attend and is being hosted at Cariboo Studios located at 869 Alder Avenue, Unit 2.
"These Rhythmic Seasons is a pop-up exhibition by artist Leah Selk that explores the phenomena of growth, change and ageing," Duntin said. "The exhibition will feature artworks that speak to the phases of human life. As you wander around the studio, we hope you'll see yourself in the reflection and consider the stories that make up your own existence."
Selk was born and raised in Williams Lake before moving away to study visual arts in Montreal and eventually returning to the Cariboo after marrying her husband Michael Kjelsrud. While she has been doing a lot of work with watercolour recently, her background is in drawing, photography and printmaking.
While initially Selk said she never wanted to move back to Williams Lake, she has since fallen in love with her hometown again. She has particularly enjoyed drawing inspiration for her art from the landscape of the Cariboo, which she captures in photographs and watercolours.
"Getting to express myself is always a positive thing and I feel there is so much beauty in the Cariboo that is often overlooked. It's nice to be able to kind of notice and bring that beauty to light in a way people might not normally look at," Selk remarked. "Reconnecting with my creativity has been a really important process as well."
Over the last few years, Selk has built up a collection of photographs and paintings she plans to showcase during These Rhythmic Seasons. She chose several paintings and photographs based on the concepts of growth, change and ageing. Selk views her side of the show as something of a retrospective on her life, noting she plans to include a self-portrait she did when she was in Grade 12 at Lake City Secondary School.
"There will be quite a few of my photos from university that document a bit of my relationship with Michael being in Williams Lake and me being in Montreal. Slowly falling back in love with the Cariboo through my relationship with Michael," Selk remarked. "There will be some large format photography and my new paints as well which are all landscape watercolours."
For landscapes, Selk remarked she has been into planar, or on-location painting, this summer. That means many of her paintings were painted in the environment that directly inspired them.
Selk said the pop-up will open from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Oct. 17 and Oct. 18 with members of the public invited to attend and view her work. From 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. both nights there will be performances of spoken word and music, though Selk remarked Duntin has kept even her in the dark about exactly what that will entail.
"It will be different, intimate and have kind of a cozy vibe of sharing some art, some music and hopefully some good conversation and laughs."
Finally, on Saturday, Oct. 19, the gallery will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for anyone unable to attend the evening showings. Selk encourages everyone interested in art to attend, meet her and see the show. All proceeds from art sales during the show will go directly to Selk.
"100 Mile is a new region for me. I paint the Cariboo but I'm ashamed to say I don't get to the 100 Mile region as much as I would like to. I'm expanding my region a little bit and I'm really excited to work with Joel and Sally Duntin. I met them this summer and they are just bursting at the seams with really cool ideas," Selk remarked. "I'm really looking forward to working with them and seeing how their ideas come to life."
Anyone looking for more information about Selk or her work is invited to check out her website leakselk.ca.
