Samantha Agar

“The Journey” is a bit of a self-portrait: an expression of how I have found myself living a life I love and am grateful for, in a home I returned to after years away. While I was born in Vancouver, my parents were from the east coast, so we returned to Nova Scotia, where I spent my  childhood.

Things weren’t so great for me as I entered adulthood. In late adolescence a cluster of personal challenges left me traumatized and feeling hopeless and broken. I decided I would move to BC and get a fresh start.

I had one friend who had moved here prior, and on my second night in town, she and her boyfriend introduced me to the man who is now my husband. Thus began a new community for me. With my new relationship came a huge extended family; my father in-law is one of 11 children, so there are hundreds of cousins! My first family reunion with this group sealed the deal: these were – and are – my people. 

Following my relocation to BC, my immediate family members also moved here, one by one. Three of them are now on the island and one in Squamish. As they have married, remarried, acquired children and stepchildren, our family community has continued to grow. It’s a glorious, never-ending circle of love… and yes, the complications familial relationships can bring…but we learn so much from one another, even in hard times. 

I’m told that as a child, I was a “people collector.” I’d meet a woman and her dog at the playground one day and months later request to visit with them. I love people. I am fascinated by them. My interest in behavioural psychology runs deep and I can claim “armchair expert status” when it comes to all sorts of related things. I hope one day we soon will teach children about emotional intelligence: boundaries, respect, and the importance of living principled lives. When we remove the neuroses our lived experience can lead us to in our interactions with others, the potential for true connection and love becomes limitless. I continue to learn and apply the knowledge I’ve acquired over time to the relationships I’ve cultivated in my 27 years here in BC. My friends and family members are comprised of some of the most amazing humans! I am so thankful. 

Not to be ignored is the land on which this life of mine has taken shape. The trees, mountains, water and wildlife of this province of astonishing beauty inspire and calm me. They are not merely landscape but part of my community’s and my family’s communal history. I am supremely honoured to be sharing my life here on W̱SÁNEĆ territory.

I retain a handful of close relationships back east, but the west is where I repaired my broken heart and rebuilt my life. Home. This piece is an homage to the community I now live in, and the love and beauty I continue to experience within it.

Instagram.com/samanthaagarart

Louise Brennan

Our local environment features a diverse tapestry of creatures who are an often overlooked part of our community. Compassion and care are the greatest assets a community has to offer, perhaps we might be more aware of extending it to all of our neighbours, who in their fashion take care of us.

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Marilyn Chapman

My work celebrates our magical peninsula landscape, intuitively emulating the amoebic flow of intertwined patterns and rhythms found along the ocean beaches and hiking trails which are so much a part of our community’s lifestyle. My paintings step inside the landscape to explore its raw energy, conveying a spirit of place. The nature outside the window of my North Saanich studio creeps into the work in unforeseen ways as a culmination of feelings, experiences, and memories emerge through the language of abstraction, an organic interpretation...a close-up view of the life systems we all rely upon to work silently together. 

marilynchapman.ca

Monique Froehler

When I moved here in 2017-home- I felt a deep connection. I found a like-minded community of artists, a community of teachers, parent/friends, and individuals that I have met and have come to make up my community. I think our common thread revolves around being connected to the sea. 

 Everywhere I travel around the Peninsula, I get peek-a-boo glimpses of the ocean. I love the colour and character of the boats in our harbours. Sometimes a whiff of salt air surprises me in the morning up at my house in the middle of Dean Park mountain.  

 We live in a community surrounded by water. Even if you don’t own a boat, you must move by boat to get off and on our island. This connects us. 

 I feel that sitting near the ocean and gazing out at the water, gives your brain and senses a rest from overstimulation. As an artist, the ocean puts me into a mindful state, and trigger insights and ideas that take me beyond my daily life. I think that many people I have met here have a similar feeling about the sea and living here. 

 When I was a kid, I spent part of my summer holidays on the island picking sand dollars on the beach and playing in the tide pools. I would later return as a young adult at art school visiting various artist/teachers on the island. Somehow, the island always beckoned me.  And here I stay. 

moniquefroehler.ca

Kassandra Klassen

This piece was inspired by a bike ride through the farmland in summer with the shade of the oak trees dappling the sunlight on the golden grass along the road. Finding moments of beauty like this is a part of where we live and can make us feel closer to those around us. Other members of our community, who share these moments and help us connect. 

kassandraklassen.com

Lynda Lombardi

The beach is a living, ever-changing macrocosm and a representation of society.  One small part of the beach, or microcosm, represents our community, living and thriving together.  

Here in Victoria, the beaches are a favourite place where so many come together, different activities, but one common desire is to be on the beach near the water and enjoy the abundance that nature has to offer.  We may come as a group or on our own or with our dogs, one of the things I have found is that we often greet passersby and interact with others.  Community coming together.

lyndalombardiartist.com

Larry Neufeld

Community is all around us. In the world of Reality, living things connect in multitudinous ways. In the world of Imagination, connections can be even more wondrous, surprising and most of all, fun.

I enjoy creating unique connections by combining reality with imagination. That which can easily be photographed and that which cannot be photographed at all.

I photograph scenes that I enjoy, then I paint the setting with C.A.T.S. (Closed Autonomous Travel System). Feline shaped vehicles that raise no alarm, in which are housed the remote consciousness of beings who wish to experience the joys of nature and architecture, as well as enjoy the community of like minded individuals.

The painting is a travel snapshot, if you will, of a community of C.A.T.S. enjoying their visit to a popular tourist spot where a graffito depicts the first C.A.T.S. to visit Earth.

A special occasion honouring their grey predecessor and celebrating the joy of a shared experience... at least in my imagination.

Special mention to Luke Ramsey’s original Spiral Beach mural.

instagram.com/neufeldscats

Matt Politano

Stargazer

I was exploring a new trail nearby, at Mt. Work. I rounded a rock outcrop and found myself in a cluster of Arbutus trees – upon which sat the largest gathering of ravens I’ve ever seen in one place. They were very animated, talking rapidly to one another and clearly disturbed by my arrival. I had stumbled into a community of our winged neighbours.I’ve revisited the spot a few times but haven’t met the ravens again. This painting was heavily inspired by the encounter. Perhaps I’ll find them again.

Darkening Sky

One of the primary anchors of community is location. I moved to the peninsula a few years ago and set about exploring my new home. The Sidney pier is an established landmark and I often ride my bike there, watching couples stroll its length, children racing up and down, and sightseers discovering the views. It’s rare to find it deserted, but one of the beauties of long exposure photography is that moving people often leave no trace – and the clouds this day cast a dramatic spell over the scene.

mattpolitano.com

Kev Price

This painting represents a return to making art after almost 20 years in business. A few years ago, I had to quit my corporate career due to health issues. Shortly afterwards the Covid pandemic happened, so for 3 years, I didn’t see many people outside of my immediate family. Incorporating an art practice became part of my healing process and has subsequently become a way to create and connect with an artistic community, both here on Vancouver Island and across the globe via social media.

My goal is to become a full-time artist. I live and work on the Saanich Peninsula.

instagram.com/kevpriceart

Julie Proulx

Communities are shaped by the natural places where they are founded. Together - Where We Live, weaves together the fibres of the human community and intertwines them with the communities in the air, soil, and water, in nature. More than just a place to live, this is the place where we connect and feel right at home. Here on the Saanich Peninsula, we are part of a larger community, where stewardship is in everyone’s interest, where we connect with others and the natural environment. These are common threads our community members share. 

 Textile art is very tactile, liken it to running a finger over the bark on a spruce tree or the lichen on a rock. Using multiple layers of thin wisps of dyed wool rovings, Julie Proulx uses a single grooved needle to lock the wool fibres together into fabric. Throughout the process, from base colours to highlights, fine threads of several colours of wool are mixed and applied together. The resulting layers of fibre manipulate light and colour similar to an acrylic painting.

Julie is grateful to live on W̱SÁNEĆ territory in Brentwood Bay. Julie is Métis from the traditional unceded territory of the Huron-Wendat people. Drawing from light, colour, and movement, Julie translates forest and coastline scenes into contemporary works. Compositions are from photographs taken on her adventures on land and sea from northern to southern Vancouver Island and on the Gulf Islands. Having a background in sculpture and painting, she enjoys physically building the layers of the landscapes with the textile materials. Wool fibres used are locally sourced and prepared.

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Brandy Saturley

I am obsessed with the iconography of Canada, and in turn I am creating my own. What informed my work began with ‘popular culture’ and stereotype. Over the years I became more interested in ‘authentic experiences’ and I began to travel to gain a true understanding of the collective Canadian consciousness, and in returning home to Vancouver Island, a better understanding of the culture in which I was raised. My practice focuses on acrylic painting on canvas, and over the years has incorporated collage, photography, writing, and video. My paintings encompass themes related to Canadian popular culture, symbolism, and the landscape; distinctly rendered in my signature pop realism aesthetic and vivid palettes.

brandysaturley.com

Andrea Simmonds

The theme of the community inspires this piece as it refers to the plants and animals that have symbiotic relationships in Garry Oak Ecosystems. In this work, I was inspired by September and the beginning of the transition between summer to fall; the birds are eating seeds that have a high-fat content to fatten up for the winter months, the acorns are falling from the beautiful Garry Oak trees, leaves are lining the air and the paths that we walk on. Many insects and butterflies lay their eggs on these leaves, stressing the importance of leaving the leaves on the ground to maintain pollinator habitat. The native plants I've featured include California Oatgrass, Coastal Sage, Garry Oak Leaves and Acorns, Broad-leaved Stonecrop, Licorice fern, and Juncos.

andreasimmonds.com/

Laura Smith

Living on Vancouver Island, I feel so thankful to be surrounded by gorgeous nature all the time - so that nature is what comes to mind when I think of my community. In particular, it shows one of the arbutus trees on top of Little PKOLS (Mount Doug) an area I hike in regularly. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been on those hills since moving to the area several years ago, but whether it’s a weekly catch-up, reconnecting with a friend I haven’t seen in a while, or simply there by myself - smiling at those I walk by, I always feel a sense of community. For me, being in nature is a very grounding and connecting space, between myself and the environment but also with the wider community of people enjoying these outdoor spaces. 

As with many pieces I create, I love to work with bright colours and bold lines. The majority of the piece is done in art markers (Copics and Prismacolor) with the background done with watercolour. 

Marcela Strasdas

Some streets of Victoria are lined with cherry trees which when they are blooming in the spring create the most spectacular sights in our city. It was fascinating for me to learn the history behind these trees.  

"In 1937, Victoria held parades to celebrate the 75th anniversary of its incorporation. A float sponsored by Victoria’s Japanese Community Association was admired and praised, and won a cash prize of $300. The association donated the prize money to the city for the purchase of 1,013 Japanese flowering cherry trees for Beacon Hill Park and the city’s boulevards. Since that time, people with ties to Japan have donated cherry trees as gifts in Victoria, Vancouver, and along the B.C. coast." 

What a beautiful way of linking these two nations and creating a tighter sense of community.  Being an immigrant myself, it's small things like this, the sight of a familiar tree or a shared favourite dish that help us connect the community we come from to the one we have just joined. 

marcelastrasdas.com