WHITEFISH FALLS—When the La Cloche Art Show first began, 37 years ago, every piece of submitted art went into the show. But that was then. Since those nascent days the show has grown each year and, with a rising reputation across Northern Ontario and beyond, the number of submissions that have come into the little art show at the foot of the mountain that inspired Canada’s fabled Group of Seven has long since outgrown the display space available on the walls of the Whitefish Falls Community Centre.
In fact, competition to enter the show grew so swiftly following its inception that the organizers had to move to a juried format, leaving an artistic jury to make the difficult decisions as to whose work would be awarded the honour of being selected for the show—let alone secure a placing ribbon or honourable mention.
The art show committee selects a distinguished artist to headline the event each year and among that artist’s duties is assisting on the selection jury. This year’s distinguished artist is Martin Foley of Sudbury. Although Mr. Foley is a longtime contributor to the show, being awarded the prestigious title of Distinguished Artist held a few surprises.
“I wasn’t quite sure what being the distinguished artist would be like,” said Mr. Foley. “My first task was to jury the entries submitted. I did this with the assistance of Nancy Gareh and Rebecca Allen. Together with many interesting and lively debates, we were able to select 145 works for the exhibit. Hugh Kruzel and Garth Wunsch selected the photography portion of the show.”
The gig came with a few fringe benefits as well. “The La Cloche volunteers provided us with a fantastic luncheon that day,” he said.
“I was provided with enough space to hang thirteen of my own works as the distinguished artist,” said Mr. Foley. “It was great meeting and discussing with visitors to the show the tremendous variety of works gracing the walls. The submitted works are truly worth viewing. It is a very strong show again this year.”
It wasn’t all just talk and nibbling, however, Mr. Foley provided a workshop for the art community on ‘Volume Shading.’
“This is a method of shading that does not require either natural or artificial light,” explained Mr. Foley on the La Cloche Art Show website. “Its intent is to maximize contrast for various planes within a drawing.” All that was required of the participants was several graphite pencils, HB or 2b, 6b or 8b, and a large sketchpad. “This method of shading can be applied to either indoor or outdoor, large or small images,” he said.
Despite Mr. Foley’s many artistic accomplishments over the years, being chosen as the Distinguished Artist held a special place for Mr. Foley. “It has been a great opportunity for me,” he said, “a privilege and an honour for which I am most grateful for.”
As is the tradition at the La Cloche Art Show, a work by Mr. Foley has been selected as first prize in the raffle draw. This year the prize is the stunning ‘The Study for the Blue Hour.’ The draw was held at 5 pm on July 13 at the conclusion of the show.
Also in the forefront of the show are works by the La Cloche Art Show’s artist emeritus, Ivan Wheale. In 2007, Mr. Wheale, a co-founder of the show, was honoured with the title. Mr. Wheale has held more than 86 solo exhibitions, including three which have circulated through Ontario, and his work has been included in 54 group exhibitions. Although Mr. Wheale’s works are a highlight of the show, they are not juried or in competition.
The La Cloche Art Show Best of Show award for this year went to Karin Fediw, for ‘Reflecting Rocks.’
The artists selected for this year’s show included: Carrieanne Agawa,
Tanya Allen, Terry Allen, Debbie Lou Auger, Berdina Beaven, Ken Bennison, Brigitte Bere, Peter Bering, Dougal Bichan, Bob Blaney, Beth Bond-McCullagh, Beth Bouffard, Marcie Breit, Kathy Browning, Anita Bunt, Jon Butler, Susan Cairns, Lorie Chapman-Deschamps, Joan Chivot, Sheila Cole, Dolan Kathy, Nick Dubecki, Richard Edwards, Karin Fediw, Linda Finn, Maggie Fournier Foran, M’lou (Mary Lourdes), Dorothy Funk, Wayne Goertzen, Doug Goodale, Bonnie Hallay, Annie Hebert, Tuula Hietala, Lamar Hyatt, Jaime Jessup, Patti Johnstone, Guinevere Joy, Harriet Kideckel, Calvin Knight, John Knox, Martin Kotyluk, Susan Lampinen, Laura Landers, Denis Landriault, Porkola Legault, Monique Lewis, Suzanne Ellen Lindsay, Carenie Little, Paton Lodge Lindsay, Don MacKenzie, Shirley Mailloux, Louise Martel, Michelle McAnsh-Gervais, Kim McKibbon, Gail Meehan, Carson Merriefield, Darren Mick, Anka Milligan, Linda Mullola, Rochelle Neal, Rob Niezen, Susan O’Donnell, Walter Pape, Sadie Paquette, Karlan Powers, Sharon Preen, Paula K.Rautanen, David Read, John Reeves, Fay Reid, Gaetanne Riopel, Vivian Ripley, Carole Rodrigue, Kathleen Ross, Linda Maddy Saffrey, Christy A.Smith, Marthe St. Louis, Paulette Stewart, Aldene Strand, Colette Theriault, Danny Vaillancourt, Lionel Venne, Petra Wall, Paula Walsh, Ivan Wheale, Brenda White, Bill Whittaker, Andrew R.Wilkinson, Linda Williamson and Linda L. Williamson.
