Still Water Books and Art Presents a Nature Photographer, a Landscape Artist, a Potter, and a Creative Card Maker
Campbell River and Vancouver Island are home to a variety of skilled and imaginative artists, photographers and artisans. Some are local emerging artists, while others are internationally-known.
We invite you to combine your love of books with your love of art by visiting Stillwater Books and Art, now open in Campbell River.
Featured Painter: Jill Paris Rody
Biography:
Growing up in an expressive family, art has been a constant in my life since childhood. I was encouraged to explore creative ideas. I consider myself mostly self-taught, although I have a background in Fine Arts
(1969) from Oregon State University and Portland Community College in Fine Art studies (1992 to 2007). I've spent much time honing skills of ‘tool manipulation’ and ‘teaching methods’ in the Decorative Painting Field. I attained Certification in the Society of Decorative Painters (CDA - 1996). During that time of Decorative Art immersion, I designed and published a book for the beginning artist; and over 70 pattern packets.
Presently:
Original Paintings – some by Commission – can be found in private homes. My Home studio is both a working and instructional setting, suitable for an intimate group of 1-6 students. Color, Design, Drawing, Composition and Intuitive thinking are all part of the classroom experience. Currently I paint and teach in Acrylic and Acrylic Gouache; however Watercolor and Oil Pastel are rapidly becoming favorites again as I renew these ‘friendships’ from much earlier years. I also enjoy Portrait Drawing.
Jill Paris Rody ~ Artist's Abstract:
As an artist, I express thru painting an awareness of the inherent goodness of life and nature around me. I am more than a Realist - I am an Idealist. I paint not only what I witness, but what I long for: Peace and Tranquility. For me, Art is best expressed in a Spirit-Sense. That is, I am eager to ‘listen’ to God as I know him, and do the work imparted to me as I ‘hear’ him.
Scenic and Still Life settings needn’t be ‘perfect’ to have appeal, for blemishes tell a story. For me, the picture must have a representation of Goodness and Redemption. For instance, I believe a sense of Goodness can be found in the resting state of a hard-working farm; or the drip of a worn-down candle. These things are natural and true. The cycles of the seasons; the refreshing yellow-green of new growth on an old maple tree; it’s these things which catch my attention. My work is to present these ‘stories’ in texture, light and color.
Nature Photographer Jamie Scarrow
Every season photographer Jamie Scarrow continues to photograph his first love, the majestic Grizzlies of Knight Inlet. The only difference from when he first started is that now he can personally relate their precarious position to other species worldwide that face the same survival challenges.
In addition to the beauty that a Jamie Scarrow photograph brings to a room it is his fervent desire that his wildlife photography will also inspire ordinary people to help protect the natural world and the animals that inhabit it. Through photography, Jamie attempts to express the beauty and importance of some of the world's most fragile ecosystems and most vulnerable animals.
As a famous Canadian once said, we're all in this together!
Click here to visit Jamie's website!
Jamie Scarrow - Bio
Jamie has always lived on Vancouver Island, currently residing in the Comox Valley. He has been a photographer and naturalist guide for over a decade working in many remote locations around the world. His beginnings as a guide originated in Knight Inlet, a coastal fiord in British Columbia which is home to a healthy population of grizzly bears. Here Jamie takes guests from all over the globe to see BC’s most exciting animals. Over the years Jamie has developed a close relationship with Knight Inlet’s grizzlies, and this has allowed him to capture some truly unique and intimate images.
Grizzly bear viewing keeps Jamie busy for half the year, and in the winter when the bears den up he works elsewhere as a guide. For five seasons this was in Churchill, MB as a polar bear guide and naturalist. Currently his winters are spent down south in Antarctica where he enjoys the spectacular beauty and the company of the penguins.
Jamie’s work has been published in many notable magazines such as National and Canadian Geographic and in Nature Conservancy.
Featured Potter: Kathy Mancell
Kathy Mancell of Earthy Spot Pottery has had a passion for art all her life. She obtained a Fine Arts and Education degrees from the University of Victoria and completed one year at the Victoria College of Art. While teaching for 5 years in a Northern Vancouver Island high school, Kathy concentrated on her first love, Pottery.
Even after getting married, and having 4 children she never lost her desire to excel at this art form. Upon moving to the Comox Valley in 1998, Kathy built her studio where she has incorporated her drawing and varied art skills into the pottery that she enthusiastically creates. Her works have been displayed and sold at many art shows and galleries.
The work featured at Stillwater Books and Art is a unique interpretation of scenes around Mount Cain Ski Hill on Northern Vancouver Island. The pieces are a combination of painting, sculpture and printmaking.
Featured Card Creator: Natalie Martin
Natalie grew up on Vancouver Island, and currently resides in Vancouver, after having lived in Chicago, Toronto, New Mexico and Dublin. She is trained as a teacher, but loves to design and make cards. She lives with her husband and two young girls and a (small) pomegranate tree.