Sheila Farstad’s new exhibit I Felt Inspired was celebrated at the Estevan Art Gallery and Museum’s (EAGM) reception on Friday night.
Farstad, who lives near North Portal, has been creating art for a long time and enjoys creating art with non-traditional materials.
“I have been doing art for at least 20 years or longer in this area and I am a self taught and self directed artist,” said Farstad.
“Art for me was a process of examining myself and it wasn’t anything to do with putting art out into the world,” she added.
“It was a way of sorting through my own inner processes and how you can push materials and really explore what unconventional materials can do.”
Farstad was chosen to have an exhbit at the EAGM after she took top spot at last year’s Ev Johnson Memorial Adjudicated Art Show.
“This is the end result of the Ev Johnson Memorial Adjudicated Art Show,” said Farstad.
“Last year I was the winner and the art gallery has made the next step to asking the winner to come and do a solo show,” she added.
The process that Farstad went through to have their artwork presented at the art gallery as part of the art show will have to repeated if they choose to apply at the provincial level.
Farstad was not excepting to show a video during her reception but the art gallery encouraged her to create a brief stop motion film about the process of her creating her art.
“The process is almost like a mentorship, they’re wonderful and they challenged me to do the video, which was a bit of a stretch for me but I am so glad that I did it,” said Farstad.
The reception and similar events hosted by the EAGM allows local people to showcase their art and have a chance to expose it to the community.
“I think it brings exposure to artists speaking about their work, which is not something you always get at the other galleries,” said Amber Andersen who is the EAGM’s director.
“If you don’t actually know what a work is about this was such a great opportunity for the artist to talk about their work and answer any questions that people may have,” she added.
“It is presented in a way that is very relaxed and fun and you get to meet people from all over the country,” said Andersen.
The reception attracted approximately 100 people. The reception also featured the posters of the late Andrew King. Both Farstad’s I Felt Inspired and King’s exhibit will be on display at the EAGM until Dec. 8.
