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Creativity is blossoming alongside flowers and tree buds in western Winnipeg as the Charleswood Art Group shares works in a variety of mediums at their Spring Show & Sale.
Founded in 1951, the Charleswood Art Group has fifty active members who gather every Monday to create together and inspire one another.
Water colourist Monica Bailey first got more serious with the group after she retired from a career as a teacher. “I heard from a friend at that time – it was about ten years ago – that the art group had openings coming up that year because we have a cap at fifty [members],” she recounted in an interview on Morning Light. “She said, ‘Apply right now,’ so I did!”
It was a similar story for cartoonist Jo McKeever, who also received a recommendation to join from another artist. “It’s a really good opportunity to share ideas with other people that have some of the same thoughts or completely different ones than you do,” she says about the inspiration she finds in the group.
In addition to a variety of mediums, the artists that comprise the group also have a different amount of education levels amongst the club’s membership. “Sometimes, they’ve done a lot more reading and research than those of us that went to art school,” McKeever smiles as she speaks about her fellow artists. “They really maybe are more dedicated to finding things out that some people just kind of take for granted.”
Although there is a wide variety within the group when it comes to education and medium, one common denominator amongst the artists is the inspiration they find in their neighbourhood. “I know that a lot of our artists do Manitoban scenes,” says Bailey, noting that the deer that frequent places like the Assiniboine Forest are frequently portrayed in the works that the group displays.
The art show and sale, which is set up at Charleswood United Church on the corner of Roblin Boulevard and Dieppe Road, takes the form of a grid that allows people to circulate easily amongst the different artists and their work. There’s also an opportunity to purchase works where the proceeds will support CancerCare Manitoba.
The show and sale runs Friday, April 25 from 5 to 9 p.m., April 26 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and on April 27 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. More information on the Charleswood Art Group can be found at their website.