Aboriginal Art Festival is coming to Quaaout Lodge: April 17 – 19

Excitement is mounting as the final touches are being made for an exciting art festival that will be held next month at the beautiful Quaaout Lodge situated on the idyllic north shore  of Little Shuswap Lake.

The Quaaout Lodge and the Little Shuswap Indian Band are proudly presenting their First Aboriginal Art Festival on April 17-19, 2015 at the Quaaout Lodge in the heart of the Southern Interior of British Columbia.  Artisans will be showcasing their talents all weekend in addition to a live auction and fashion show, with proceeds going to the Aboriginal Youth Art Scholarship Fund.

The festival will include many talented artists across all genres of artistry including sculpture, painting, drawing, fashion, glasswork, beading, moccasins and much more. The emcee for the event will be Nelson Leon and entertainment will be provided by Aboriginal storyteller Ken Thomas.

A fashion show will feature creative designs by Nadine Spence, owner, designer, artist  Rev/Evo Designs. Nadine Spence sees clothing as an art form. When she was a little girl she created wearable art for her dolls. She continues to create to this day, only now it’s on a larger scale. Spence is passionate about her creations, her heritage and the earth. Her designs are strongly influenced by her upbringing in the culture of the Nlakapamux people (Thomson or Interior Salish).

One of the featured artists of the festival is Alisa Nielsen (Spirit Wolf Design), whose art is a unique blend and balance of glasswork and pottery inspired and informed by her Gitxsan and Carrier heritage. Although born and raised in Vancouver, her roots are in Kispiox, a Gitxsan Carrier Tribe originating in the Hazelton, BC area. She is from the Wolf House (Wilp Lax Gibuu).

Many of the Alisa’s design inspirations come from natural habitats – rock formation, creature designs, even the media utilized. Although mechanically manipulated, the materials are of the raw earth.

Nielson describes her art as follows, “I use copper inlays to create my design detail which I have created in the traditional form-work and then skeletonized the design to control the copper movement in the glass creation. Each of my glass “colourways” are created using several colours and layers of powdered glass which are sifted and have gone through a fusing process prior.”

Another First Nation artist whose wonderful creative talents will be on display is internationally renowned artist Riley Charters. Her beautiful creation “Turtle Dance” (2010) is featured on the cover of the March 2015 issue of Alberta Native News.  For over 30 years, Riley has created exquisite one of a kind oil paintings, hand pulled lithographic prints, pastels, water colours and bead work. She is best known for her use of strong colours combined with a unique style of storytelling that reflects her heritage. She has also completed a line of cards and small reproduction prints on archival quality papers using archival inks including a small line of gemstone jewelry.

Artists Shirley Babcock will be there, as will Teresa Walker and Norman Retasket.  The incomparable Dewey Smith will be conducting carving demonstrations which will certainly be a highlight of the festival.

Doris Bonneau will display custom made beadwork, moccasins, mukluks and hair barrettes reflecting her creative interpretations from her Cree background. Local fibre artist Melissa Nasby will have her one of a kind whimsical pieces on exhibit including masks, puppets, and sculpture showcasing the texture and versatility of wool influenced by fantasy and nature.

Other confirmed artists include Les Louis, Roxanne McCallum and Isha Jules and there are several more whose details are just being finalized. The level of talent that will be on exhibit at this festival will be superb and the weekend will be steeped in Aboriginal culture.

This is sure to be a fantastic weekend of art and artistry. Don’t miss this wonderful event.  Click here for more information about Quaaout Lodge or call 800-663-4303. The Quaaout Lodge and Talking Rock Golf Course are located just minutes off the Trans-Canada Highway #1, in south-central British Columbia, the perfect stop between Calgary/Banff and Vancouver and the west coast of BC.