The Lucknow Sentinel, 2014-01-22, Page 9Grey -Bruce artists show
off unique talents
Garit Reid
QM! Agency
Art comes alive in many
forms be it from painting,
sculpture, architecture or
performance art.
For two local area artists,
27 -year-old Sarah Slater of
Owen Sound and 30 -year-
old Allison Brown of Kincar-
dine, painting is their chosen
method to express them-
selves artistically.
Together they both stum-
bled upon the Santa Fe Gal-
lery in Owen Sound (8283rd
Ave East) where they said
they have found a renewed
passion for their work.
They both have unique art
styles with Slater's being
abstract landscape and
Brown's a semi -abstract style
where she utilizes real world
imagery.
Both went to art school to
further ply their style. Slater
going to Georgian College in
Barrie and Brown went to
Queen's University. They
both said while at school
their work became more
defined and they found what
they were passionate about.
They both said they have
loved painting for a good
part of their lives taking
influences from family, other
artists as well as teachers
along the way.
"My grandpa taught me
how to paint when I was in
Grade 8 with oils, which was
really new to me. I didn't
know what I was doing then
and he showed me a bunch
of Bob Ross videos, which
was my first real introduc-
tion to the art of painting,"
said Brown. In university I
was with a lot of unique stu-
dents who all had their own
style and the professor saw
something different in every-
one. He encouraged us to
find our own path, which I
think really helped me
develop the type of art I paint
today."
Slater said her influences
come straight out of nature
and she said it's so accessible
in this area because the
Grey -Bruce area has such
beautiful landscapes. Other
artists influence her work as
well, but nature is where
most of her passion for paint-
ing comes from.
"When I'm outside I'm
always looking at the sky, no
matter where I'm walking.
It's just something that is
very uplifting for me. Tex-
tures and smells even inspire
my art. Landscapes are
always what I have been
drawn to and this area is
ideal for them," said Slater.
"As far as artists The Group of
Seven and Tom Thomson
have been big influences for
me given their body of land-
sc ap e work. Vincent Van
Gogh's skies in his paintings
are something I have also
always been drawn to:'
Finding the Santa Fe Gal-
lery was a boon for Slater
and Brown as they both said
they needed a permanent
space to work on their paint-
ing and they are hoping to
start showcasing their work
on the walls at the gallery.
Right now there is artwork
from many artists all over the
walls of the building for peo-
ple to come in and look at.
Slater and Brown hope more
artists come to Santa Fe to
work on their art. They said
the more artists who come to
the gallery the better it is for
the art community in Owen
Sound and across Grey -
Bruce.
"We stumbled upon the
Santa Fe Gallery and it's
quite a funny story. We met
at museum management
school at Fleming College in
Peterborough and we were
recently catching up and
with our art backgrounds we
were talking about how we
wanted studio space to go to
work on our art," said Brown.
"We were complaining that
we didn't have time to work
on our painting and we were
in search for a place and
Owen Sound and we luckily
found about Santa Fe. Slater
added, "I hope being here
makes other artists aware of
this gallery. It's not just a gal-
lery, but an artists commu-
nity as well:"
Slater and Brown have just
started at Santa Fe and hope
working there gets more
notice of their art as well as
for other artists in the area.
"It's going well so far, we
have just been here a month
and people are always wel-
come to come up to our stu-
dio and see out artwork and
all of the artists showcased
here at the gallery," said
Brown.
For more information on
the Santa Fe Gal-
lery, visit www.
dragonflyridge.
ca/santa-fe-gal-
lery or call gallery
director Lin Souli-
ere at 519-793-
4758. For more
information on
Sarah Slater, visit
www.sarahslater.
wordpress.com.
For more infor-
mation on Allison
Brown, visit www.
allisonbrownart.
wordpress.com.
Wednesday, January 22, 2014 • Lucknow Sentinel 9
Garit Reid QM Agency
Local Grey -Bruce
artists Allison Brown
and Sarah Slater have
their work on display
at the Santa Fe Gallery
in Owen Sound.
IN MEMORIAM - A Celebration of a life focused on family.
JEAN ALBERTA MARTIN (1918-2013)
Born to Rosemary and Edward Thom on the family farm just north of St. Helen's, preceded by sisters Margaret
(Thompson) and Helen (Rothwell) and followed by Kathleen (Collyer). After high school, she followed her two
older sisters into the nursing profession, specializing in the care of newborns. She always loved her work,
and met her husband, Al (an accountant and musician), while on a case in Pictou, Nova Scotia. The young
couple returned to Ontario and had their only child, Ned, while living in Toronto. In 1959, Al relocated the
family to Los Angeles. She eventually came to enjoy her life in California, still nursing part-time, but Jean
seldom let a summer go by without spending a part of it in Lucknow with her sisters and their families. When
Al passed away in 1983, she retired and purchased a cottage on Amberley Beach, next to her sister Margaret.
The four "Thom" sisters had always been very close throughout their lives and cared for each other's children
like step -moms. As they were each widowed, Jean and her sisters would again spend many happy times
together shopping, on snowbird vacations and just catching up ... ageing gracefully all the while. In many of
the messages of condolence received at her passing, she is remembered as caring, compassionate, generous,
and optimistic. Her namesake neice recalls her as "always young at heart and sincerely interested in every-
one and everything around her". "Uncomplaining bravery" is how the hospice caregivers described her
struggle with congestive heart failure. Predeceased by Margaret and Helen, she is greatly missed by sister
Kathleen, her neices, nephews, friends and especially by her son; he was always a mummy's boy.
Don't cry because its over; smile because it happened. - Dr. Seuss