Another excellent author experience at Art and Words

Had an excellent time at this year’s 3rd Annual Art and Words event, held at the Gibsons Public Market Aug. 22-25. This event, hosted by the Sunshine Coast Writers and Editors Society, started with the Book Fair, where more than a dozen authors and artists shared their wares on the main floor. Some participants came from the Okanagan, Gulf Islands, and the Lower Mainland. I always enjoy meeting people and selling and signing my books at my author’s table. It was great to see the wall exhibition of writers’ works paired with their artistic counterparts: oil and watercolour paintings, colour photography and collages.

From the main stage on Aug. 24, I enjoyed an interview by Michael Gurney of The Coast Reporter. I shared how the collaboration process unfolded between me and Dawn White, the artist with whom I was paired. She did a painting of a supernova and from that, I created the poem Supernova Sky. (Dawn was unable to attend due to illness.) We ended the presentation with a reading of my poem. The backdrop to all of the interviews was a large, striking painting by Marleen Vermeulen of an aged forest tree.

This three-day event included workshops on many aspects of writing and publishing, including talks by agents, plus hands-on artistic presentations. It’s full of creative inspiration and always leaves me feeling grateful to be part of such a vibrant local arts scene. Thank you to the market staff and SCWES volunteers and board who work so hard to put this multi-layered event on, and to all the donors.

After this event, some of the Art and Words collaborative pieces were mounted inside Gibsons Public Library as part of a temporary display.

(Above): Michael Gurney and I onstage at Art and Words, August 2024; (middle): Dawn White’s painting and my poem; (below): my author’s table with some of the Art And Words collaborations behind me.