The Citizen, 2011-06-23, Page 19THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JUNE 23, 2011. PAGE 19. Husband and wife team opens Festival Gallery
The Blyth Festival Art Gallery
kicks off its 2011 season with an
exhibition that promises to be
fascinating, unique and entertaining.
The husband and wife team of
Danuta and Vlodek Tydor hail from
the Elmira area and have had many
solo and group exhibitions and won
several awards for their work.
They have created a fantastical array
of ceramic sculptures and oil
paintings entitled “Footsteps in the
Garden”.
Danuta’s paintings evoke distant
memories of an ideal place of joy,
love, play and laughter, an
atmosphere of a peaceful habitat.
The interplay of shoes and garden
scenes suggest a story to the
imagination of viewer. She has also
made a couple of dozen ceramic
shoes, whose sometimes bizarre
shapes range from the sublime to the
enchanted to the erotic to the
downright weird. The shoes express
symbolic footsteps and all contain
an element of magic and of humour.
Vlodek displays an inventive,
unique, futuristic world of
sculptured ceramic flowers. His
garden is indicative of things to
come, perhaps an environmental
calamity, as he calls them, “Clay-O-
Genetically Altered Flowers”. He
portrays the continuous evolvement
of flowers derived from nature that
become more and more eccentric.
Some are several feet tall, while
others would comfortably fit on a
household shelf. They can be kept
indoors or outdoors and Vlodek
states wryly that their true advantage
lies in the fact that they are
absolutely maintenance-free.
Whether placed in the Sahara desert
or in chilly Alaska, the flowers are
guaranteed to bloom year round and
never wilt.
This is the first of three seasonal
exhibitions presented each year. It is
curated by Robert Tetu and
sponsored by Bruce Stainton and
Ann Procter Stainton. The public is
invited to meet the artists at the
Opening Reception of “Footsteps in
the Garden” at 6 p.m., Friday, June
24. The exhibition continues until
July 20.
Coming up in the Blyth Festival
Art Gallery season – “Jo Manning –
a Retrospective”. This is a review of
“a life in art”, paintings and prints
by former Blyth resident and
renowned artist (July 22 to Aug. 10)
and “Double Exposure”, featuring
paintings, drawings and prints by
another husband and wife team,
Anne Hamilton and Tristan Eekhoff
(Aug. 12 to end of the season).
All exhibitions are mounted in the
Bainton Gallery of the Blyth
Memorial Hall, next to the Blyth
Festival box office. It is open
Monday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9
p.m.
For more information, contact
Robert Tetu at 519-345-2184 or
e-mail: gallery@blythfestival.com
The Blyth Festival will celebrate
Canada Day with a very special
opening night performance of Vimy
by Vern Thiessen. The Royal
Canadian Legion Branch 420 will
open the 8 p.m. performance on
July 1 with a colour party, assisted
by the 3144 Clinton Army Cadet
Corp.
On April 9, 1917, 20,000
Canadian men led the first wave
over the top to storm Vimy Ridge.
Despite blinding sleet, snow, heavy
enemy fire, and the endless
quagmire of mud, our troops took
the ridge. Many believe that Canada
was truly born on this day. In Vimy
four soldiers reflect on their lives in
a field hospital after the battle, as a
young nurse from Shubenacadie,
Nova Scotia tends to the aftermath
of grief and fear.
Festival Artistic Director Eric
Coates says, “Every Canadian
should see this play. It not only
provides an overview of the size of
World War I, but it puts names and
faces to the people who made the
ultimate sacrifice. It is an honour to
present this work inside our own
Memorial Hall.
Familiar faces appearing in Vimy
include Gil Garratt (Pearl Gidley, A
Killing Snow, Against the Grain)
and Tova Smith (Courting Johanna,
Against the Grain, Innocence Lost).
The cast also includes Greg Gale,
Mark Crawford, Meegwun
Fairbrother and Sebastien David,
making their Blyth Festival debuts.
Vimy is directed by Coates.
Preview performances of Vimy run
June 29-30, prior to the official
opening on July 1 and running until
August 6.
The Blyth Festival’s 2011 season
runs June 21 to August 27 and also
features Hometown, Rope’s End,
and Early August.
For more information visit
www.blythfestival.com or call 1-
877-862-5984.
Vimy is sponsored by the Royal
Canadian Legion Branch 420
(Blyth) and the Legion Ladies
Auxiliary to Branch 410. The media
sponsor is The Rural Voice.
THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2011 – 8 PM
CENTENNIAL HALL - LONDON
Tickets at The Centennial Hall Box Office. Call 519-672-1967
or online at www.centennialhall.london.ca
50th
Anniversary
Celebration
Lloyd & Mabel
Glanville
Saturday, June 25
Brussels Legion
Dance from
8:00 -11:30 pm
RSVP Lisa
519-887-6071
50th Wedding
Anniversary
Please join our family
to celebrate the
50th Wedding Anniversary
of
Mel and Lois McCutcheon
with an open reception.
Friday, June 24 at 9:00 pm
at the Brussels Legion.
Music by DJ.
In lieu of gifts, donations can be given
to the Community Nursing Services.
Entertainment Leisure&
Happy 80th
Birthday
Mary
The family of
Mary McIntosh
invites you to attend a
Party
on July 2nd
1:30 - 4:30 pm
at Wingham Legion
Victoria St., West
Best wishes only.
Bromley
The family of
Willis & Marie Bromley
invites you to celebrate their
60th Wedding
Anniversary
Sunday, July 3rd
2~4 pm
Londesborough Hall
Good Wishes Only Please
Family & friends are
invited to a
Buck & Doe
for
Brad Stephenson
&
Becky Bylsma
Friday, June 24
9 pm - 1 am
Listowel Ag Hall
Age of Majority
Tickets $5/$7 at the door
For tickets call
Tyler 519-291-7052
Scott 519-887-6221
NIXON
We invite you to help us
celebrate our
25th Anniversary
Friday, June 24, 2011
8:00 pm - 12:30 am
Belgrave Community Centre
We wish to thank you for
your love and support.
Please let your
presence be our gift.
John & Sheila
Family & Friends are
invited to a
Stag & Doe
forBrent Black
&Vicky Black
Saturday, June 25
Goderich Memorial Arena (upstairs)
9:00 pm - 1:00 am
Age of majority
* Cash Bar * DJ
* Light Lunch Provided
$5 Advance $8 Door
For tickets call Heather
at 519-531-0821
Come help us
celebrate our
mom’s birthday
June 25
Dancing 9 pm - 1 am
B.M.G. Community
Centre, Brussels
Best Wishes Only
Festival honours Canada
with opening of ‘Vimy’