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After 20 years of seeing each other at a number of different art shows, four women have become friends and banded together to show their work as one group.
Ida Mackenzie, Jo Smoley, Winona Kling and Judy Sutton first met at the Art Rocks art show in East St. Paul. Since then, they have seen each other at other shows and through art groups getting to know each other, complimenting one another on their art and forming a solid friendship.
Most of them started getting involved with art when they were children or teenagers, each having practiced in many mediums.
Mackenzie, for example, works with pottery, and wood carving, Sutton works with soft sculptures, and all of them are familiar with and excel at painting.
The purpose of these Canadian women artists banding together is to present their vision under one name, ARTists 4.
Their first showcase is on May 5-7 at The Village Studio at Pineridge Hollow.
"We started going to Pineridge Hollow and having lunches and just sort of catching up on what we had been painting, what we had been doing over the course of the shutdowns," says Smoley. "While we were having wonderful lunches, we were watching The Village being built out there and wondering how wonderful it would be if there was an art studio out there or a place where we could show our art."
It was that simple thought that inspired them to contact Pineridge Hollow to book the space for their first art show as ARTists 4.
The art show at The Village Studio is just the beginning, they have already been in contact with galleries in Morden, Assiniboine Park and Carmen.
"We're also planning on a second follow-up show at The Village Studio the first weekend in December," says Kling. "So, we've got our fingers in a few pies."
For more information about ARTists 4, their show at Pineridge Hollow and updates on future showcases, visit their Instagram account.
For questions and inquiries, they can be reached via email: info.artists4@gmail.com.